DOUG FIELD/Fairfax NZ
Southland Celebrate Story committee chairwoman and popular storyteller Elizabeth Miller is pushing for more adults to attend storytelling shows.
Drama, Fun and Excitement for adults
This is the first year the guest speakers will be part of the Southland Festival of the Arts in an attempt to attract more people.
Southland Celebrate Story committee chairwoman Elizabeth Miller said storytelling was for adults as much as for children, but they were struggling with attendance at adult shows.
"We're trying to push for a greater adult uptake.
"We're hoping to get more people because it is just so exciting - we've had some amazing people out here [to speak]," she said.
The biggest adult audience was about 50 people a few years ago and she hoped to attract at least 100 people this year, Ms Miller said.
This year singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy award winner Bill Harley will blend song and story, while storyteller Geraldine Buckley will speak of her journey from a British convent school girl to a chaplain at a large prison for men in the United States.
"It will be exciting and it will be stimulating and there won't be a moment you want to go home," Ms Miller said.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Literacy Association has been granted $8,000 by the Invercargill Licensing Trust this month for the annual storytellers' school programme.
As part of the programme, the Dreamweaver, Ms Miller, tells interactive stories with rhythm and chant to children from preschool through to year 8.
There was plenty of interest from schools and the children were engaged and responsive, but the problem was attracting more adults to the Celebrate Story events, she said.
The first of three storyteller events is called Meet the Tellers and will be held on May 8 at 7.30pm at the Cheeky Llama Cafe, in Queens Park.
Tickets cost $12 for adults and $8 for concession, and are available from the Invercargill i-SITE or at the door 30 minutes before the show.
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