Nancy Binzen returns with more Traditional Storytelling for Adults

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome back traditional storyteller Nancy Binzen for another wildcrafted evening of folktale and myth from around the world–especially for adults. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, February 10th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Storytelling isn’t just for children! Traditional storyteller Nancy Binzen will narrate two tales: “The Woman Who Became a Fox” and “The Handless Maiden,”  

“The Woman Who Became a Fox” is a short Siberian tale. "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" asked poet Mary Oliver. From the steppes of Siberia, "The Woman Who Became a Fox" responds. 

“The Handless Maiden” is an old, old story map of the journey from innocence to wisdom and the courage and commitment required of anyone seeking to claim who they truly are. Today, more than ever, we need this map. Come join us on the journey.

Nancy Binzen has a BA in Theatre Arts, a Certificate in Storytelling from Dominican University, and has studied with noted mythologist, Martin Shaw. She’s been telling traditional tales for 25 years and is a seasonal Vineyard Haven resident. 

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or send an email to vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org. 

Our Queer Elders in History and Song

In celebration of Pride Month, the Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome singer, songwriter and storyteller Katie Castagno for an evening of music and storytelling. “Our Queer Elders” will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, June 10th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Katie Castagno uses storytelling and original song to celebrate and elevate the lives of people who have queered social and gender norms throughout history. At a time when queer history and voices are increasingly erased, “Our Queer Elders” is both informative and cheeky, whether it’s an account of Rachel Carson’s whirlwind romance with Dorothy Freeman, a sweet love song about Mary Oliver, or an imagining of the night Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt took a joyride after dinner in 1933.

Katie Castagno is a geologist by day and a singer-songwriter by night. Drawing on roots in rural New England and collegiate a cappella, Katie writes about people, places, and geological phenomena. Katie has released several singles, including “High Tide,” an exploration of life as a menstruating field scientist. Katie’s first full-length album, Every House I’ve Known, is a collection of songs reflecting on what it means to call somewhere home, with each based on a different place of residence. When not making music, Katie is the director of the Land-Sea Interaction Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA, and spends most of the time in the salt marsh.

Tales of Now & Zen with Award-Winning Storyteller Motoko

On Sunday April 28th at 2pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library presents "Tales of Now & Zen" with Award-Winning Storyteller Motoko. In this virtual program for adults, Japanese storyteller Motoko offers an afternoon filled with humor, charm, and elegance. She regales with hilarious tales from her old country, as well as poignant personal stories from her childhood in Osaka and her experiences as an immigrant to the US. Motoko is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s 2017 Circle of Excellence Award.

Tales of Now & Zen is a travel itinerary to places as strange and exotic as ancient China and the interior of our own heart. Motoko brings us to long ago and far away, then leads us back to ourselves in this moment, as each of her characters reveal their intentions and desires. We learn why a grandmother is strong, why a child is wise, why a warrior is frightened. It is an excursion like no other.

To register for Zoom access visit bit.ly/48uQiMi

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library.

Ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year with Family Puppet Program!

Note time change for this event: performance begins at 6:30pm

 

In anticipation of the Chinese lunar new year,  Vineyard Haven Public Library will present an exciting free family event on Thursday, February 8th at 6:30 pm. Behind the Mask Studio will perform "Monkey King Makes Mischief in Heaven", the tale of a boisterous and unlikely hero in search of immortality, who causes havoc in Heaven and Hell. Boston-based puppeteers Eric Bornstein and Margaret Moody will use a combination of masks, music, storytelling, and dance to tell the story.

Bornstein received his MLA from Harvard, studied mask-making in Bali and Italy, and founded Behind the Mask Studio in 1990. Over the past thirty years, his masked characters have appeared in a variety of venues including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Ballet, the Peabody/Essex Museum, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Windsor School, and Young Audiences of Massachusetts, and, for fifteen years, were a highlight of Boston’s First Night celebrations. Bornstein explains that “mask-making is about rich storytelling and fascinating characters—human, animal, magical. When I create a mask, I celebrate the depth and diversity of the stories I love, the natural and the mystical worlds we inhabit, and my very own soul.”

Puppeteer and voice actress Margaret Moody will also be adding her talents to the program. Margaret loves old stories and the characters that inhabit them. She studied traditional puppetry in Taiwan, and often uses traditional Chinese choreography and small puppets in her work. Margaret’s multitude of characters, hand, rod and life-sized puppets, act as windows into folktales, fantasies, and historical stories and bring history and heritage to her performances.

This free family event is made possible by a grant from the New England Roundtable of Children’s Librarians and the Massachusetts Library Association. The Jordan Miller Storytelling Grant is awarded bi-annually to a New England library to bring storytelling to its patrons. The award is named for Alice M. Jordan (1870-1960) who was the first Supervisor of Work with Children at the Boston Public Library, serving from 1900 to 1940. In 1906, Jordan founded NERCTL to provide a meeting ground for the profession. Since 1960, NERTCL and the MLA have sponsored the Jordan-Miller Grant in recognition of her commitment to storytelling.

The hour-long program is suitable for ages 4-94 and begins at 6:30 pm. Seating is limited.