4:30 p.m.: Pre-show workshop
5-6:15 p.m.: Performance
RAIN DATE: Thursday, July 7
Whether or not she accompanies a story with a thumb piano, djembe, or 21-string kora, Charlotte Blake Alston’s most powerful instrument is her melodic and mesmerizing voice. It is with that primary instrument that she breathes life into ancient and contemporary tales. In this electronic age, Charlotte does what stories have achieved for thousands of years and engage the imagination, underscore human commonalities, and reiterate life lessons gained from centuries of human experience.
In her one-women production, Stories & Songs in the Oral Tradition, Charlotte weaves together stories from the West African countries of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Mali for our youngest audiences. Exploring the lessons learned from and relationships between humans, animals, and our natural environments, Stories & Songs in the Oral Tradition is filled with moments of audience participation. Come ready to clap, sing, and help tell the stories!
A ticket to Guild Hall’s KidFEST @CMEE provides entry into a free pre-show workshop beginning at 4:30pm. Designed and led by educators at both Guild Hall & CMEE, this workshop will have audience members create hand puppets of the characters and symbols explored in Charlotte Blake Alston’s, Stories & Songs in the Oral Tradition. Audience members will also receive a take-home kit with activities, reading recommendations, and more to continue and strengthen the lessons shared in Charlotte’s stories.
