Without you, I'm talking to myself.
— Anne, Spring 2008
A story is a gift you give over and over again
— 1st/2nd Grade Class
METROPOLITAN LEARNING CENTER, 2002
— Anne and student
WEDDELL ELEMENTARY, 2003
ANNE RUTHERFORD, Storyteller — telling original tales with warmth, wit and flair
HOME NOW PLAYING SCHEDULE PROGRAMS STORIES CDS ABOUT ANNE CONTACT
| R E S U M E | INTERVIEW |
Creates and tells original stories that connect people with universal themes in their own lives. Performs for adults, children, and families in a variety of public and private venues.
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ANNE'S STORY In the mid-1990's I was desperate to find work that used my best self. Researching careers in the library, I stumbled on a description of a day in the life of a "Chalk-Talk Artist." Enthralled, I read about a man who drove his old beat-up station wagon from church basements to schools to libraries, telling flannel-board and chalk-talk stories. "People DO this? For a LIVING?!!" I cried out. Other library patrons eyed me oddly, but I didn't care. I had found my calling. |
After a few years training and crafting stories, I rented a hall and sold tickets to my first solo storytelling show for adults. To my great joy and astonishment, people came. And came back. And brought friends... Ten years later, I have produced and performed over thirty such performances, as well as telling stories for audiences in schools, libraries, festivals and through recordings of my work. Thank you, Mr. Chalk-Talk Artist, wherever you are. |
Living in the Driveway | STORIES OF FINDING OUR PLACE | 2007
On the Great Pacific Flyway | CELEBRATING PORTLAND'S MIGRATORY BIRDS | 2006
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Member | PORTLAND STORYTELLERS GUILD
Artist in the Schools | YOUNG AUDIENCES OF OREGON
Neighborhood Artist | REGIONAL ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL
Member | NATIONAL STORYTELLING NETWORK
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Storyteller | 1999 — Present
Founder, Instructor, Performer | STORYLAB NW | 2008 — Present
Actor, Co-Founder | AS YOU ARE PRODUCTIONS | 2003 — 2006
Mediator, Facilitator, Co-Founder | FULL CIRCLE CONSULTING | 1995 — 2006
Fiscal Coordinator | OREGON STATE HEALTH DIVISION | 1989 — 1996
Area Director | JESUIT VOLUNTEER CORPS NORTHWEST | 1984 — 1986
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Improvisational Theater | THE BRODY THEATER | 1999 —Present
Mandolin and Music Theory | JAN DEWEESE | 1995 —Present
Planning Effective Arts Residencies | JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS | 2008 — 2009
Backstage Secrets for Onstage Success | DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE | 2008
Vocal and Dramatic Presentation | ANA EDLER BROWN | 1999 — 2000
Master Storytelling | WILL HORNYAK | 1998
Storytelling | LINDA SUSSMAN | 1996
Mediation Certification | CLARK COUNTY DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTER | 1996
Masters of Public Administration | LEWIS AND CLARK COLLEGE | 1992
Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society | BROWN UNIVERSITY | 1983
STORY REPERTOIRE Anne's repertoire includes more than one hundred hours of stories for adults, children, elders and mixed-age audiences. Most are her original stories, including third-person fictional stories, personal experience and fictional monologues. She also tells dramatized versions of historical events, local folklore, and world- and Northwest-native-folktales. Anne uses her training to bring music and improvisation into her storytelling; her strong and flexible performance style engages, stimulates and respects her audiences.
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— Anne
BY 2ND GRADE STUDENT
— Ken Iverson, Roger Coles, Anne
PORTLAND STORYTELLERS GUILD, 2004
— Anne
GREAT PACIFIC FLYWAY, 2006
| I N T E R V I E W | RESUME |
Stories are how we make sense of our lives and the world around us. I express my view of the world in the stories I create; characters and themes come alive for me and I want to share them. I love it when people in the audience nod or laugh (or tear up!) because they relate to something in the story I'm telling.
WHERE DO YOU GET THE STORIES YOU TELL?
I create them. A character or situation occurs to me, and I talk it out until the story takes shape. Then I figure out what the point of the story is, and prune it down to the essential details. It's always fun to revisit a story I made up several years ago, and re-invigorate it from my current perspective.
DO YOU WRITE YOUR STORIES DOWN?
Not until I"ve told them a lot and they are pretty well formed. The rhythm and word choices you make in writing a story are very different from a story told aloud. It's a different art form. I have started to craft written versions of my stories to submit for publication; we'll see what comes of that.
HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THEM IF YOU DON'T WRITE THEM DOWN?
The same way you remember a story from your life you tell a lot. Even if it is a fictional story, I live it in my imagination until the events and people are real to me, nd I can see it in my mind when I'm telling it. Details change depending on the circumstances in which I'm telling it, and that keeps it fresh.
If I'm successful (in performance) it sounds like I'm relating a story that just occurred to me. The listener doesn't need to know how many iterations it took me to get there!
WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT AT ONE OF YOUR PERFORMANCES?
To feel relaxed and invigorated. You create the story in your imagination as I tell it, so it's like going on a vacation in your own mind, with me as tour guide. People often tell me they're refreshed after a performance, that my stories (like those of any good storyteller) sparked memories and ideas for them.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
In 1999 I got the idea for a storytelling program for adults. I'd been experimentng with storytelling for a while, and it was time to act! I rented a hall, advertised, and people came. So I kept coming up with themes and putting on more programs, expanding to work with children as well. I also got some training in improvisational theater, which added to the spontaneity of my storytelling style.
In 2006 I was hired to create a CD of original stories and songs about urban migraory birds in Portland. Since then I've been using music more in my storytelling, and recording my own stories on CD's as well. I've been storytelling for almost ten years now - my husband and I joke that in another ten years, I'll be an overnight success!
WHAT'S YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND?
I grew up in a little town in eastern Pennsylvania that was a cross between Norman Rockwell and Stephen King. It provided a lot of vivid settings and characters that up in my stories. I went to college in Rhode Island, then came west to Portland with a volunteer organization in 1983
I loved Portland, stayed here, did a bunch of twentysomething jobs, eventually got a Masters degree in public administration and worked for the state health division. I left that to start a mediation practice, got a taste of being an entrepreneur, and started storytelling. With my husband Ron's support, I"ve been able to become a storyteller full time.
WHO INFLUENCED YOUR STORYTELLING STYLE?
I grew up in the Catholic tradition, which is full of stories. I read a lot as a kid (and still do); Edgar Allen Poe, Saki, O. Henry and Ray Bradbury are authors whose style I emulate. Oral storytellers: Garrison Keillor, Bill Cosby and George Carlin. And anybody I'm around who is telling a good story!
ANY FINAL WORDS?
A huge thank you to everyone who has given my storytelling a try, by coming to a performance or listening to a CD. Special thanks to those folks who spread the word to other people. This is an oral tradition and that's how people find me, word of mouth. And thanks to you for reading to the end of this interview!
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Photos: Ron Geitgey | ©2009 Anne Rutherford | All Rights Reserved |
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