PRESS RELEASE
June 23, 2013
Contact: Marilyn A. Hudson
LOCAL
EVENT TO BENEFIT HISTORIC SITE
Each year around the country, people
gather in a variety of settings to do one thing, celebrate the age old but
always delightfully new tradition of oral storytelling. Lending their talents
to the Oklahoma City celebration will include Molly Lemmons, Mustang, Ok;
Kathryn Thurman, Del City, Ok; Salley Riffey, OKC, OK. MC for the event
will be storyteller/author Marilyn A.
Hudson, Norman, OK.
The
event, part of an international event, is co-sponsored by the National
Storytelling Network, the Oklahoma Territory Tellers, the Oklahoma Association
of Storytellers/ OKC Tellers guild and Wesley United Methodist Church.
The
event is scheduled for Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 at Wesley UMC, NW 25th and
Douglas Ave (just north of NW 23rd and Classen). A special guided tour of
the historic sanctuary stained glass and architecture will be conducted from 5
p.m. to 6 p.m. and the storytelling performances will begin at 6 p.m.
Tickets for the benefit will be $10 per person with funds going to the
preservation of the historic building dating to 1928.
Wesley
United Methodist Church was founded in November of 1910 and the current
sanctuary dedicated in May of 1928. The church and its people have a unique
history in the church located just off the early ‘Route 66’ through the
city. A triangle of land on the east
front of the property was deeded by early Oklahoma City business leader, A.
Classen.
All
of the artists sharing their talents are experienced professional tellers who
can delight any audience with stories diverse, humorous, thoughtful and
challenging.
Molly Lemmons, "With Tales to Tell"
Molly Lemmons is
an award-winning author, and the stories she tells are taken from her very own
book, "Kind of Heart," released for publication in 2000. Her stories,
told unashamedly from her heart, are stories of life, loves, childhood, relationships,
family and friends as she lived it during her growing up years in the 1950's
when things were as they ought to be.
Her stories will
tug at your heartstrings and encourage you to celebrate God, families, and
life. She believes that "No One Lives To Be Forgotten!" And keeping
their stories alive, no one WILL be forgotten. She is also the
author of "The Passing of Paradise," an inspirational romance novel
that was released in 2005.
Her latest publications are: As Bright and
as Pure as the Driven Snow, a study and worksheet manual written for young
girls on the topic of God's plan for sexual purity before marriage, Seize the
Flashbacks! a how-to manual on heart writing, Hold My Hand, My Precious Child,
a book honoring mothers, and We are Invisible, a help-manual for caregivers
everywhere. She has been published in the Chicken Soup Series, the Heavenly
Patchwork Series, and many periodicals as well as newspapers in Texas,
Arkansas, and Oklahoma. All six of her books may be ordered from Amazon.com or
directly from her via email.
Available for both
storytelling and workshops, she has taught classes on How to Write and Tell
Life's Memories (from the heart), adapting her classes to all ages. Her book,
Seize the Flashbacks! is a companion book to her book, Kind of Heart and is the
class manual used for her writing/telling classes.
For Oklahoma's
Centennial, she has developed and performed the character of Mattie Beal,
Lawton's lady who won the second drawing in the 1901 Land Lottery. She
has also developed, and performed other stories that she has taken from
Oklahoma's history, having grown up and lived in Oklahoma for seventy years.
She is a member of Oklahoma City Writers, Inc.,Oklahoma Writers
Federation, Inc.,Tejas Storytelling Festival, Women's Inspirational Network,
Christian Storytelling Network, Oklahoma Association of Storytellers, Oklahoma
Performers and Presenters, and is a member of Oklahoma Territory Tellers.
She was selected as first runner up for
"Ms. Senior Oklahoma 2011," and is a member of the "Age of
Elegance Club," a group of former Ms. Sr. Oklahoma contestants who have,
at over age sixty, reached "the age of elegance."
Kathryn Thurman, "Contemporary Native
American Flutist"
Kathryn Thurman is a professional
Musician and Storyteller who uses her unique musical background to create
entertaining stories that can be enhanced with different types of music.
Audiences may see such instruments as the psaltery, slide whistle, finger
cymbals, spoons, kazoos, and percussion frogs. She has spent the last twenty
years performing in schools, libraries, museums, Girl Scout camps, civic groups
and community events. Each program is crafted with an element of fellowship,
friendship, and fun, perfect for any type of audience.
A published Author and Book Reviewer, she
travels to diverse locations to perform for audiences of all ages, such as
preschool children who love animal stories, Book Clubs looking for a book
review, Seniors who enjoy family stories, school students learning about the
Land Run, and Scouts who love Ghost Stories at the Campfire.
With a background involving over fifty
theatrical and musical productions, Kathryn brings the spontaneity of the
theater into her performances. When possible, she adds audience participation
and interaction by teaching a song or dance movement, clapping a lively rhythm
or rap rhyme.
Kathryn's background includes a (Muskogee)
Creek Great-Grandmother who shared her heritage through stories, and began
Kathryn's journey that has led her to becoming an accomplished Native American
flute musician and teacher.
Her Musical Story Programs include:
Fairy Tales & Folktales from around the World / Campfire and Ghost
Stories / Land Run and Cowboy Stories / Oklahoma Tall Tales / Native American
Trickster Tales and Animal Stories
Sally Riffey
Her stories will tickle your funny bone
and pluck at your heart strings!
Sally is a native of Oklahoma City and
feels that her roots go deep into Oklahoma's red clay. Her stories have
been called Stories from the Heart.
As a Storyteller, Sally enjoys telling
folktales, original stories and stories of the season with a deep passion for
Biblical stories. She has been a participant in the annual Easter drama
The Great Plains Passion Play.
Sally does Biblical portrayals of Mary
Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus in Biblical costume as a solo drama
presentation. A highlight of Sally's storytelling career was the recent
opportunity to tell Biblical stories at several sites in Jerusalem and at the
Sea of Galilee.
Sally has taken her stories behind prison
walls to our state and federal prisons. She has been a featured teller at
Tellabration and Oklahoma Olio. She has also told stories at WinterTales, the
Oklahoma City Arts Festival, for the opening of the Oklahoma Trails at the
Oklahoma City Zoo. She frequently tells stories for civic organizations,
women's ministry groups, churches, schools, professional business groups, as
well as Easter and Christmas presentations and programs.
Sally is a member of Territory Tellers
which is Oklahoma's premier storytelling organization. She is also a past
board member of Deaconess Hospital Health Venture Corporation.
Marilyn A. Hudson, MC
Marilyn A. Hudson
is an author, historian, and storyteller who has been traveling the twists and
turns of the "Story Road" for nearly 20 years. Her audience
experience ranges from young children to senior adults and she has traveled
each summer since 1999 sharing tales for public libraries during their summer
reading emphasis. She presents original stories, as well as historical and
folklore tales, with her own little twists.
She is also
"The Ghost Teller" specializing in haunted tales of literature,
history, and folklore. She frequently conducts benefit concerts at the historic
Overholser Mansion in OKC, "Scary Tales and Twilight Tours." Marilyn
is a member of the Territory Tellers, the Association of History Performers,
and a facilitator of the Oklahoma City storytelling guild, Oklahoma Association
of Storytellers.
She frequently
conducts events blending both her storytelling and her writing for adult and
teen audiences. Her published works include "The Bones of Summer",
"Tales of Hell's Half Acre", "When Death Rode the Rails",
"Murderous Marriages" and the novel, "The Mound".
For information on
tickets, events, or interviews please email event facilitator, Marilyn A. Hudson at marilynahudson@yahoo.com
The modern storytelling revival was presaged by the folk music of the early 1960's and there was a resurgence of the ballad, the folk story, and similar traditional folk arts. It was a 'fringe' experience, often limited to college campuses, coffee houses and the like.
The Moth Mainstage
