Published: February 20, 2009 11:17 am      

More than a story

One of Philadelphia, Pa., most powerful storytellers, Charlotte Blake Alston, will use instrumentations, gestures, facial expressions and audience participation in her performance at the Chuck Mathena Center on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.

A teacher for 21 years, Alston now devotes a majority of time to storytelling, an interest started by listening to her father read the dialect poems of African American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

According to Lisa Altizer, marketing director for the Chuck Mathena Center, this is the first storyteller performance for the center, which opened last year.

‘To date we've had many musicians perform live music on the CMC stage. Having Alston as our first storyteller is a real privilege and in essence she is our first dramatic theatre performance,” said Altizer. “When you attend a storytelling with the caliber of an actor such as Charlotte, all audiences find themselves entering into and participating in the story through their imagination.”

In keeping with African oral traditions, Alston’s stories promote an understanding of a multitude of human experiences including hope, fear and even the funny bone of each individual. With shekere, talking drums, kalimba, kora and her voice, Alston speaks of both ancient and contemporary tales. The program will include a traditional porquoi tale, which is a story that explains why something happens in life. Porquoi stories were created to explain e natural occurrences, such as why the moon is in the sky and why leopards have spots. There will also be a tricker’s tale — a familiar story for many audiences — about Sungura the rabbit, Anansi the spider, Bre Rabbit and Fox and the Monkey. A historic tale will touch on community figures and events. This story incorporates audience participation, especially for young children. The final story will be a dilemma or a riddle. Based on West African griots (history tellers) desire to challenge listeners, audience members will be faced with a problem-solving tale.

Alston will use music in her performance, but the majority of the show will be centered around storytelling.

“Storytelling has existed as long as the human language,” said Altizer. “What is unique about Charlotte is she also brings traditional African instruments and will use the music to enhance her story. If we take a moment and think about it, we've all enjoyed someone telling us a story from memory. There is an added element to it that makes it more real than just reading from a book.”

Tickets will be $12 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets are subjected to a fee at the time of sale. A 10 percent discount is available to groups of 10 or more.

To purchase tickets, visit online at www.chuckmathenacenter.org or call (304) 425-5128. Tickets can be purchased at the Center, located on 2 Stafford Commons in Princeton.