Kids to perform at St. Louis
Storytelling Festival

Curtis Luebbering (left) and Mallory Krueger

Thousands of area kids will be at this year's St. Louis Storytelling Festival to hear folk tales by adult storytellers. But, not all kids are there to listen. Some will be performers.

Eleven-year-old Mallory Krueger will be one of those kid storytellers. She's among a group of young kids who have been practicing folk storytelling. Selected kids will put on a two-hour storytelling "concert" Saturday, May 3.

Their "kids only" event will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in the museum under the Gateway Arch. The 24th annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival is actually a four-day event April 30-May 3.

(For more information about the entire festival, see below.)

Mallory is a veteran storyteller. Last year, she was at the festival with a comedy story, "Giraffes Can't Dance." This year, she's planning to tell a spooky story, "The Golden Arm."

That's a story about a woman who has an artificial arm made of gold. She gets her husband to promise that, if she dies, her golden arm will be buried with her. Then, after she dies, he reneges and steals the gold.

But, the wife has the last word. She comes back as a ghost to haunt him. Mallory tells the story complete with an "old lady" voice and creaking door sounds.

Mallory is a fifth grader at Hagemann Elementary School and has appeared in lots of dramatic plays. She wants to be an actor. She said, "I like to tell mysteries and comedies . But, I like scary stories too."

Jennifer Friebel (left) and Maggie Ruchenbrod

She won her spot on the festival storytelling team by winning first in a school district competition held last month at Oakville High School.

The competition was directed by Sue Hinkel, a teacher at Beasley Elementary School. In addition to picking kid storytellers, she'll be one of the adult storytellers at the festival.

Four of the kids in her group will be telling stories made famous by the old radio comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.

Fifth-graders Jennifer Friebel and Maggie Ruchenbrod will tell the baseball story of "Who's on First?"

Maggie said she first heard that comedy routine when she was in kindergarten. Jennifer said they polished their act by studying a movie, "The Best of Abbott and Costello."

But, Jennifer said they "messed up" their delivery during a school talent show. But, one hallmark of Abbott-Costello stories is chaos so the audience didn't notice, she said.

Fifth-graders Almedina Veletanlic and Rocky Lochhaas said they decided to try an Abbot and Costello routine after hearing Jennifer and Maggie. Their tale is an argument between Abbott and Costello about dying.

Almedina Veletanlic (left) and Rocky Lochhaas

The misunderstanding comes when Abbott talks about getting a suit dyed at the cleaners. Costello thinks he's talking about being dead.

Almedina was asked about the decision to tell another Abbott and Costello story. She said, "We thought the audience would be more excited if they could hear two different stories."

Rocky said she got into storytelling because "I always wanted to tell stories when I was a kid." She said she often practices at home in front of the family. She said she gets good help from her 16-year-old sister, Theresa, who has done lots of plays in school.

Eleven-year-old Curtis Luebbering is another of the kid storytellers who is using an old-time story. It's called "The Babe and I."

It tells the story of a kid growing up in the 1930s Great Depression. He earns money by selling newspapers outside Yankee Stadium where Babe Ruth plays. But, the story is more about a kid growing closer to his dad when both are doing odd jobs to earn money.

Curtis said the librarian at his school, Rogers Elementary School, suggested the story .

Marilyn Kinsella is a former children's librarian from Fairview Heights, Ill. She recently retired so that she can become a full-time professional storyteller. She said the "kids only" session at the Festival is an effort by older storytellers to train a new generation in the art of folk tale telling.

She said area adult storytellers agree to mentor kids. One reward for the kids is to be able to tell stories at the April festival. This will be the third year for the kids storytelling "concert" at the festival.

Last year, over 24,000 people attended the storytelling event. Over 17,000 of them were kids. A big turnout is guaranteed this year. On the first day of registration, 11,000 kids registered to attend.

If you and your family would like to attend, you can get festival information and details by logging on to www.umsl.edu/~conted/storyfes.

 

2003 St. Louis Storytelling Festival schedule

The 24th annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival is a big, four-day event that's ideal for kids and families. Dozens of storytellers will appear in places all over town from April 30-May 3.

Over 24,000 people attended last year's fair and advance registrations indicate large attendance again this year. Over 17,000 of those who attended last year were kids.

The festival will feature a number of national storytellers as well as over 70 adult regional storytellers. Many of the storytellers make a living with full-time storytelling across the country.

(For a complete schedule of storytellers and where they will appear, visit the festival website at www.umsl.edu/~conted/storyfes. Or you can call (314) 516-5948.)

Storytelling is the oldest form of human communication. This was the way many cultures passed on their heritage information before there was any written record.

Many of the major events of the festival will be at the Gateway Arch and the Old Courthouse downtown. But, there are venues all over town where storytellers will perform.

Be sure to check out the schedule of events. There's something for everyone with most of the emphasis on storytelling for kids and families.