Homewood will be the center of the storytelling world (in the south suburbs, anyway) Tuesday, Feb. 17, as two events will present talented tellers.
At 7 p.m. nationally known Choctaw author and storyteller Tim Tingle will perform at Homewood Public Library.
Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw and an award-winning author and storyteller, according to his website.
His great-great grandfather, John Carnes, walked the Trail of Tears in 1835, and his paternal grandmother attended a series of rigorous Indian boarding schools in the early 1900’s. Tingle began collecting tribal stories in the early 1990s.
In 1992, he retraced the Trail of Tears to Choctaw homelands in Mississippi and began recording stories of tribal elders. His family experiences and these interviews with fellow Choctaws in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma are featured in his latest middle grade novel, “How I Became a Ghost,” (Roadrunner Press, May 2013).
Tingle will be in Homewood at the invitation of local storyteller and James Hart School drama teacher Greg Weiss. Tingle will conduct writing and storytelling workshops at the school’s storytelling festival Wednesday, and will perform at storytelling assemblies there and at Millennium School Thursday.
Thursday at 7 p.m. he will perform at the Young Authors Showcase.
“Not only is Tim Tingle an engaging storyteller and a talented author, he is doing some of the most important work a storyteller or writer can do — artfully giving voice to ancestors and historical events so that we might learn from the ghosts of the past and not repeat mistakes,” Weiss said.
Also on Tuesday, national award-winning storyteller Megan Wells will be featured at Homewood Stories.
The monthly storytelling show begins at 7:30 p.m. at Grady’s Grille, 18147 Harwood Ave. Founder and host Karen O’Donnell recommends making reservations at [email protected] because the room is usually full.
Wells has won three national awards as a solo artist, storyteller and theater director. She has been touring with her original performances or 22 years — one woman shows and story programs from world myth, folktale, literature, history and personal experience.
Joining Wells on the program will be Mike Speller, who has performed on stage and on screen for more than 30 years. His credits include the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Walt Disney World’s Pleasure Island and Nickelodeon Television.
Dave Santori, who last told at Homewood Stories in August, will share a story from his life as an arbitrator, practicing attorney and adjunct professor at St. Xavier University. He studied at Second City Training Center to hone his storytelling skills on all sorts of adventures, starting with growing up in Wrigleyville.
Homewood Stories regularly features new and local storytellers, and this month Jim Gannon, a 40-year Homewood resident and long-time local police officer, will share a story.
As always, O’Donnell will anchor the program with a story of her own.
More information:
Tim Tingle
Megan Wells
Mike Speller