Thursday, August 20, 2009

No Substitutes

I'm realizing that there is no substitute for a live audience when it comes to recording a storytelling performance. I've tried to recreate that energy in my mind when recording a story at home and I keep being dissatisfied with the results. The story is fine, the pacing is good, the volume is steady, but the performances are just flat. Argh.

It's getting to the point that I'm thinking about inviting people to my house and recording a private house concert, just so I can tap into the magic of a live performance. I'd done some storytelling this summer, but the performances were done in spaces where I could not have recorded them (firepits mostly).

I need to start my self-promotion again as an artist, sending a fax to the schools and placing ads in family-based magazines. I've been chatting with a couple of cafe owners in NDG about putting on some shows in the Fall: there's definite interest there, but still waiting for the commitment.

Wait... where have I heard that before... ? *grin*

With October's creepy-crawlies around the corner, I should be able to get a few gigs going soon, and my microphone will be there to record them all. In the meantime, I'll go through the files and see if I can find something to offer for September.

Thanks for staying with me on this. I hope to reward you with a new story soon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As someone who attends jam nights an does theatre, I wholeheartedly agree. There's a contact high you never get in studio (like I've been in a studio more than once).

TM

Dawn Wolf said...

Yes there is nothing like the magic of interacting with people pulled into the space you create and the story you tell. I like your approach to the Internet. Posting your recording is a great idea!

I am not a good self-promoter. Others do it for me mostly, or Spirit guides me to those places and people who need ceremony. I like your approach. I could do that: ads in family magazines, letters or faxes to schools.

I get into schools in DC by invitation conducting Rites-of-Passage ceremonies of which stories are a part. I use stories to do a number of things including opening closed parts of people's souls shut down by violence...

Anyway you have a great embrace of life it seems. - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories

 
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