When I went to Tennessee to perform on the Exchange Place Stage at the National Storytelling Festival in 2018, I didn’t know what to expect. As a performer of true, personal stories for the past 11 years, I was worried that I wouldn’t like the variety of storytelling. Well, there was variety, and it was wonderful. Every performer truly earned the right to be called a professional, and every performance was better than the last.
I loved every performance I saw at the NSF, but I will say that one of the funniest shows was Anne Rutherford performing a story in character as “Clementine.” Anne/Clementine told a tall tale of a search for some haunted pirate gold. The story had edge-of-seat drama followed by wet-the-seat laughter. Anne was enchanting.
I spent the whole weekend marveling at the talent in the room, at these amazing storytellers gathered in one place. I kept thinking I can’t wait to go back to TN so I can see some of these performers again. And at the very end of the weekend I had this hand-to-forehead moment where I remembered that I’m a show producer.
When I learned that Anne Rutherford and Norm Brecke had plans to perform in DC, at The Grapevine, in March, I invited them to come to Fairfax, VA for a show with us. Northern Virginia got lucky, because they agreed.
“We’re excited to be part of the dynamic scene Jessica has created in Fairfax with Better Said Than Done,” said Anne Rutherford. And then she added, somewhat ominously, “Of course, I am a 4-time winner of the Northwest Folklife Festival’s Liar’s Contest, so don’t believe everything I tell you.”
The great news is, you don’t have to go to Tennessee – but you definitely should – to see these amazing storytellers perform. Join Jessica Robinson, Anne Rutherford and Norm Brecke for “Tales of Adventure: tru-ish stories of (mis)adventure,” Saturday, March 9, 2019, at 7 PM, downstairs at The Auld Shebeen, 3971 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.
$15 at the Door (Cash Preferred)
$12 Advance Tickets here
Seating is on a first come, first served basis. The Auld Shebeen offers a full dinner and bar menu for purchase during the show.
Better Said Than Done usually defines storytelling as the art of performing a true, personal story in front of a live audience. But professional storytellers, the ones who roam the country sharing their tales, do not limit their stories strictly to truth.
Norm Brecke explained the extent of truth in his storytelling. “In our performing, folktales and personal stories go hand in hand, with music thrown in for spice. The folktales we tell, which most have never heard before, tend to add universal truth to what we are communicating.” Anne Rutherford added, “We like to find stories that blur the line between legend and reality. Every good story has an emotional truth, even those that are pure fiction.”
Come to our show, “Tales of Adventure,” and see if you can see the line where truth and reality meet legend.
Storyteller Bios:
Norm Brecke is a spirited storyteller who loves a good story. He was a teacher for fifteen years and told daily in his classroom as well as teaching storytelling to intermediate students. Norm has told stories from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, CA. He’s been a featured storyteller at the Stone Soup, Art of the Story, and Powellswood Storytelling Festivals. Telling at the Seattle Art Museum, National Storytelling Summit, and narrating for the Seattle Symphony were also high points for him. Norm tells folktales, personal stories, historical accounts, and stories in song.
Find out more at www.normbrecke.com
Jessica Robinson is the founder of Better Said Than Done, Northern Virginia’s premiere storytelling troupe. In addition to performing at Exchange Place at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN in 2018, Jessica has performed stories for Story District, Tales in the Village, The Grapevine, Stories in the Round, Perfect Liars Club and GMU’s Fall for the Book Festival, and at such venues as Jammin’ Java, Epicure Café, The Auld Shebeen, Town DanceBoutique, The Atlas Theater, Dance Place, the National Women’s Equality Museum, the City of Fairfax Public Library, and on the National Mall. Her short stories have been published in the anthology Sucker for Love, the anthology Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors, as well as The Northern Virginia Review. She is the author of the urban fantasy novel Caged, published in 2016. Jessica has led storytelling workshops for INOVA Fairfax Hospital, AHRQ, and The World Bank, as well as for many individual storytellers in her classroom.
More about storyteller Jessica Robinson here.
Anne Rutherford was a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival as well as Teller in Residence for the International Storytelling Center in Tennessee. She has told at many Storytelling Festivals around the country. Her CD “The Habit of Joy” is a Storytelling World Award winner. As well as telling at festivals, Anne also enjoys her work as a teaching artist in the schools with Young Audiences of Oregon, telling at libraries and writing new stories.
Find more at www.annerutherford.com
Anne & Norm: Storytellers, Teachers, Workshop Leaders 2015 – Present
Anne Rutherford and Norm Brecke have been performing together since 2014. In 1999, Anne got an idea for a story program for adults, rented a hall, sold tickets – and people came! She’s a four-time winner of the Folklife Liar’s Contest and was a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival last fall. Norm heard a teller in 2002 and said, “I want to do that.” He has told at a few festivals; most recently the Stone Soup Festival in Woodruff, SC last spring. They tell personal stories, original fiction, history, and folktales. They love to laugh together.
Find out more at www.anne-norm.com
