An exciting, free workshop programme where participants will be able to train as storytellers with top performers in the field will be running at Mildenhall Library from November 2016.

Seasoned East Anglian storytellers Maryjane Edgar, Harvey Salmon, and Marion Leeper will provide 6 workshops for a group of 10-12 local people where participants will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn the ins and outs of professional-level storytelling at no cost.

The workshops will run once per month on Monday afternoons from November 2016 – April 2017, giving participants the chance to fully develop as performers at a comfortable pace. They will also then be able to form their own Mildenhall Storytellers group based at the library.

Applications to the programme are now very much welcome – contact Denise at Mildenhall Library on 01638 713558 or at [email protected] to request a short application form.

Applications will close at 5pm on Monday 24 October.

Successful applicants will then be notified and the first workshop will take place on Monday 7 November.

The workshops have been funded by the Market Place Development Commission Fund, which granted Mildenhall Library £2,000 in May 2016 to grow storytelling in Mildenhall. Market Place is an arts development organisation set up by Arts Council England in 2015 to engage new audiences in the arts across Fenland and Forest Heath.

The storytelling project kicked off by featuring commissioned performances from Maryjane and Harvey at the recent Mildenhall Community Showcase, enabling local audiences to experience a taste of their craft. The second phase is now to train a group of local enthusiasts to tell their own stories.

Maryjane Edgar has been bringing magic into schools, businesses and communities through her visual arts and storytelling workshops since 2000, specialising in captivating audiences with a range of unusual instruments from around the world. Harvey Salmon is currently based in Halesworth and has worked across Europe as a storyteller, actor and presenter for over 20 years. He performs as a whole host of fascinating and comedic characters. Marion Leeper founded the Cambridge Storytellers and has organised storytelling shows, festivals and even a national gathering. She was 2015’s Storytelling Skald of Suffolk and regularly works with libraries.

Whether looking to develop performance skills, bring to life local folklore, gain confidence as a community leader or teacher, or simply make reading aloud to others much more exciting, people of all ages in Mildenhall and the surrounding area are urged to apply to the free programme.

Additional Information links:

maryjane-edgar

Maryjane Edgar www.theartofmaryjane.co.uk

harvey-salmon

Harvey Salmon – www.harveysalmon.co.uk

marion-leeper

Marion Leeper  – www.marionleeperstoryteller.co.uk

About Market Place

Market Place is part of the Creative People and Places programme, initiated and funded by Arts Council England. Creative People and Places is about more people taking the lead in choosing, creating and taking part in art experiences in the places where they live. There are 21 independent projects, each located in an area where people have traditionally had fewer opportunities to get involved with the arts.

Market Place is about bringing fun, excitement and creativity to the region in the market towns of Brandon, Chatteris, March, Mildenhall, Newmarket, Whittlesey, and Wisbech. www.cppmarketplace.co.uk

In May 2016 Mildenhall Library led a successful £2,000 grant application to the Market Place Development Commission Fund to showcase and develop storytelling in Mildenhall.

www.suffolklibraries.co.uk