We had the last two parties on Saturday, I’m still tired! And then this morning I did a presentation. I always feel a bit rusty after the summer, and I was a bit concerned, since Telling Tales was a festival that I’d never presented at. It was just down the road from my parent’s house, and […]

I was watching Postcards from the Edge while walking my three miles on the treadmill, and was once again impressed by the quality of the dialogue and writing in the movie. But it was the end scene, where Mery Streep is singing that funky cowboy song I’m Checking Out, that I’ve been replaying and watching […]

The director of a day camp said this to me as I was leaving. It’s one of the best compliments to storytelling skill there is. It’s absolutely thrilling ot hear them moan, “Oh my butt fell asleep” or “My legs hurt” (from sitting still too long). It means they were so captivated they forgot to […]

On Saturday I was down at the Lattitudes Festival in Kitchener, Waterloo. They invite me practically every year since they started and the crowd that comes to gather and hear stories is definitely getting bigger! It was raining hard on Saturday. When I got to the little island in the middle of Victoria park, I […]

Anything out of the ordinary leads to its own bit of nervousness and even anxiety. Most of the time my presentations are down pat, almost scripted. I’ve designed them so that they carry their own story arc and involve a range of emotions, tragedy and humour, not necessarily in equal proportions, but each offsetting the […]

Yikes! That’s about as much Italian as I know! But I’m assured there’ll be a translator. At least I’ve worked with one before. It was in Mexico, and his name was Pepe. The best thing about him was that not only did he translate simultaneously as I spoke, he was able to infuse emotion into […]

Fitna is an Islamic term that I think roughly translates into trial, but it’s more like a test of faith, I think. Don’t quote me on it though. I’m no Islamic scholar. I’ve just heard the term bandied about all my life and figure that’s what it means. These last few weeks have been a […]

On Wednesday, I had the most difficult presentation situation I’ve ever encountered, and it was at a school I thought would be easy. Yes, it was an inner city school, but I’ve done loads of inner city schools before! I’ve even presented to downright scary kids, kids that had made other presenters cry. The fact that […]

The countdown is on for my trip to Singapore. I leave early on Tuesday and one thing kind of concerns me. This always happens when I’m invited to a big event overseas. It’s like an extra potent case of stage fright. Double or triple anything I get when going to a local school. It’s because […]

I swear I have premonitions. Something told me that today’s presentation wouldn’t go right. Something told me that I should check on the address of Maple Leaf P.S., but did I listen? Nope. They’d invited me to present a little story and hand out certificates at their recognition assembly. It was an assembly where they’d be […]