Storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston to lead workshop
January 9, 2013
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Charlotte
Blake Alston |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Master storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston on Jan. 23 will hold a free workshop entitled Playing With Stories: Incorporating Music, Rhythm, Audience Participation and Other Fun Stuff!
The workshop, which will be at the West Lafayette Public Library, runs from 7-8:30 p.m. Advance reservations are required by calling Scott Tracey at the library at 765-743-2261 or emailing stracey@wlaf.lib.in.us.
Alston is a storyteller, narrator, instrumentalist and singer who performs in venues throughout North America and abroad. She breathes life into traditional and contemporary stories from African and African-American oral and cultural traditions. Her solo performances are often enhanced with traditional instruments such as djembe, mbira, shekere or the 21-stringed kora.
Often a featured performer with symphony orchestras, she hosts the annual "Sound All Around," family concert with the Philadelphia Symphony, which she has done since 1991. She has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, The National Festival of Black Storytelling and at regional festivals throughout North America.
Alston's workshop is part of a four-day residency to area Indiana schools as part of Purdue Convocations' education and outreach performances. She will perform for more than 1,900 students at the following schools: South Newton Elementary and Middle School, Kentland; Lincoln Elementary, Demotte; Morocco Elementary, Morocco; Lake Village Elementary, Lake Village; Otterbein Elementary, Otterbein; and Murdock Elementary, Lafayette. Her performances are sponsored by Wilson Industrial Fund for Newton County and other donations. Alston's public workshop is made possible with support from the Tippecanoe Storyteller's Guild, West Lafayette Public Library and Purdue Convocations.
Contact: Abby Eddy, Purdue Convocations director of marketing, 765-494-5405, aeeddy@purdue.edu
