This weekend-long party is not what you think.
The Forest Storytelling Festival, aka the 16th annual gathering of entertainers from across the nation, is no mere kid stuff.
And if you talk to the tellers, you could call it a passionfest.
“I like to spread the passion,” says Laura Simms, the New York City entertainer who’s in Port Angeles today.
Along with four other professional storytellers from the east and west coasts, she’s opening the Forest Storytelling Festival in Peninsula College’s Little Theater.
The local group the Story People of Clallam County is presenting the 16th annual event, which includes workshops and an open-mic story swap Saturday and a free inspirational concert Sunday morning.
“My stories are about transformation, love, rejoicing and the relationship between humans and the natural world,” adds Simms. She plans on performing an excerpt from “Rejoice Regardless,” her one-woman show about finding the way back to joy.
So yes, this is adult entertainment, though tellers worth their salt will acknowledge that it appeals mightily to kids, too.
But what about all those gadgets people are carrying around? As the young, the middle-aged and the mature become glued to their phones and iPods and Kindles, do storytellers like Simms notice any change in audiences’ attention spans?
In a word, “no,” says Kirk Waller, the Oakland, Calif., performer and storytelling teacher who’s another featured artist this weekend.
“Once the storytelling begins, that magic that happens is the same it’s always been,” he says.
“It’s an antidote,” adds Simms, “to the disassociation that can occur,” when you’ve spent a little too much time fixated on one small screen or another.
To Waller’s mind, storytelling is what we all do, throughout our lives.
“Adults tell stories every day . . . we live in story,” he said. “Adults are my best audiences. They understand the nuances, the subtleties of a story,” beyond the entertainment factor.
The weekend’s theme is “Now there is this to tell,” and gatherings start with a concert tonight at 7:30, continue with the open-mic gathering at 12:15 Saturday afternoon, another concert Saturday night and the free inspirational concert at 10 a.m. Sunday.
The crop of spinners has artistic director Rebecca Hom proud. In addition to Waller, there’s Laura Simms from New York, Michael Parent from Maine, Kim Weitkamp from Virginia and Heather McNeil from Oregon.
For complete details, visit www.DancingLeaves.com/storypeople.
Waller, 46, holds — among other experiences — a master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University. And when he stands up to unleash a tale, he uses everything he’s gathered along the way. That includes music, mime and other moves, all in the name of picking up his audience and perching them on another plane.
The joy of being a storyteller, Waller said, is “being able to share a gift with other people . . . They start out worried about their troubles, and their hearts are lightened,” by a tale that mixes sweet moments with sudden insights.
Weitkamp comes from the other side of the country, from Christiansburg, Va., where she works with youth, seniors and everyone in between.
“I like to think my distinguishing style is that people feel cared for in my shows, and that they forgot their troubles while they were with me,” she said, sounding much like Waller. “I hope that they are so moved that they share their own stories,” with family and others they love.
“No matter how technology changes, story is the essence of human communication,” Weitkamp added.
She calls herself a “gearhead,” since she has a smart phone and a deluxe Bluetooth device, among other gizmos.
Kids want to take pictures of her with their cell phones, and she’s seen people texting at storytelling festivals.
“I’m not concerned,” she said, because “it’s in every human to have that eye-to-eye communication,” and people will always search it out.
She tells stories from her childhood; stories about nursing homes; stories for guys and for women and for seniors.
“I’m considered a humorist and a storyteller. You’re laughing, and then suddenly you’re crying. I can’t help it,” Weitkamp added. “That’s who I am.”
Hom, who orchestrates the festival along with director Cherie Trebon, encourages community members to partake in the workshops and in Saturday’s open mic hour, held in the Pirate Union Building, or PUB, beside the Little Theater.
“We’re all gathered in the commons having lunch,” listening to whomever signs up by 12:15.
Each person has seven minutes to spin a tale — and Hom knows how much courage that takes.
“It’s an appreciative audience,” she promised.
The Forest Storytelling Festival culminates in the Sunday concert in which the featured tellers share personal stories, ones with “some heart to them,” Hom added.
This free gathering is a mix of tales, “some with worldly wisdom, and some folk tales, about the strength and courage that get us through.”
Though the Forest Storytelling Festival draws nationally known performers, Hom believes it’s kept its down-to-Earth feeling.
“We look for the people we know. But it does not have a cliqueish atmosphere at all,” she said. “You get so close to the national tellers; you can sit and chat with them.”
Never tried a storytelling festival before?
“You will be warmed and welcomed,” Hom said.
“You will be recharged.”