PORT ANGELES — Freshly graduated storytellers are all set to entertain Monday.
The Story People, a local group of tale spinners, recently sponsored “Honing the Steel,” a six-weekend storytelling class with expert teller Cherie Trebon.
She put the pupils through their paces: tongue twisters, exploring the nuances of vocal expression, polishing the skill of painting a bright picture with words.
And now her students — Alice Susong, Jan Yates, Pat Ferris and Erran Sharpe — will offer their tales during the Story People’s monthly get-together from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
Admission is free to the gathering at the Camp Fire Clubhouse, 619 E. Fourth St.
Varied stories
The evening will be varied, like the tellers’ life experiences.
Susong, for example, will tell a story set on Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, taken from three decades living with her ranger husband, Dunbar, in national parks all over the United States.
Ferris, a full-time grandmother and retired children’s librarian from Ohio, will offer “The Baker’s New Coat” from her repertoire of folk and fairy tales.
Yates is an actress, writer and theater director who favors both tall tales and stories of wisdom, while Sharpe is a storyteller who draws on his life as a counselor, drummer and dance caller.
Theirs was an advanced intermediate storytelling class, Trebon said, for people who had some storytelling experience but wanted to take their art a step higher.
In twice-monthly meetings over three months, each student developed a piece, adding in new dimensions: point of view, characterization, sense of place.
“They each did incredible work,” Trebon said, “as they delved deeper and deeper.
“The end result was a finely tuned tale that bears only slight resemblance to their initial telling . . . I’m very proud of the work they’ve done.”
Graduates first
On Monday at the clubhouse, the graduates will go on first.
There will be halftime with refreshments, and then an open-mic session will round out the night.
The Story People host these story swaps every fourth Monday of the month but will be taking a break after this one; the next swap is slated in September.
For more information about the group and the swaps — as well as the first Liars Contest to be held at the Camp Fire Clubhouse at 7 p.m. Wednesday — phone 360-582-1724.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
