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ARCHIVEDOdds' Holiday Show Features New Song Story Odds' Holiday show, The Winter Cherries: Holiday Tales from Around the World, features something new. Bodkin's rock'n'roll poem, The Takeover Before Christmas, has been given fresh life in the form of completely new music performed on Bodkin's Gibson SG electric guitar and midi foot drum. The music, fast-paced, uplifting and fun, is the perfect score for this humorous, urbane poem about a company that tries to retire Santa Claus to Florida. Says Bodkin, "I composed this music in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in a big white house. I'll test it out on audiences this Holiday season." Other tales in the show include The Winter Cherries, The Generous Man, and The Christmas Cobwebs. Check Odds' performance calendar for his Holiday show appearances in New England. To book a Winter Cherries show between December 1st and 15th, call Mil Bodkin at 800-554-1333. Bodkin Creates
Armenian Tales Show A commission from Trinity Armenian Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts led Bodkin into new mythological and musical territory recently. "A nice woman named Leslie called and asked whether I told any Armenian stories," the artist recalls. "I didn't, but agreed to create the show anyway. She sent me CD's of Armenian music, folkloric sources, and I went to work." The result is The Oud and the Apricot, an hour-long performance of Armenian folk and fairytales, with music. "The challenge was to study the musical idiom--it is flavored by Islam, by Sephardic Jewish music, as well as Christian liturgical music--and to create scores for the three stories accordingly," says Odds. "The audience of children and mostly adults gave me a standing ovation for it." The Oud and the Apricot features three tales and an original short song. The Paradise Flower, a tale that combines elements of Beauty and the Beast with The Myth of Persephone, is scored with what Bodkin calls "oud-tuned modal 12-string guitar." The oud is the fretless, gut-stringed instrument played by many Islamic musicians. His second story, The Pot of Gold, is performed with Celtic harp, but tuned differently, so that lush melodies with an Armenian flavor emerge. His final story, The Fool Meets God, is upbeat, fast and fun, making use of what the artist calls "the occasional major scale found in Armenian music". To finish his performance, Bodkin creates what he calls "a song for the Armenian expatriate in America" called Apricot Tree (the Apricot is the national symbol of Armenia). The lyrics are simple: Apricot Tree Bloom for me I live across the sea Still your roots are deep in me. The Iliad: Book I How do you interest modern high school and college young men and women in a Bronze Age war story? A war story written in epic verse? A tale filled with unfamiliar names, places and allusions? So long and dense a reading task usually results in the "I'll never read that again" syndrome so familiar to adults who were told to read The Iliad in high school or college. Worse, very little of it is remembered because very little of it is understood. Odds Bodkin, however, has a solution. On the heels of his ever-popular performance of The Odyssey, Bodkin now offers The Iliad: Book I to high school and college audiences. "The story is about two warriors fighting over women, basically," says Bodkin, "something most young people can easily relate to. Book I sets up the entire tale for young people." Bodkin's newest epic work, complete with a full score on 12-string guitar, takes about an hour. In it, listeners meet Achilles, the greatest warrior on the Trojan battlefields, and Agamemnon, the Lord Marshall of all the Greek invasion forces besieging Troy. Enmeshed by the intrigues of the Olympian gods, these two towering figures argue over plunder and slave girls. "The argument's ripple effects change the course of the war," says Bodkin, "so by understanding clearly why they argued, and who was behind it all, students can tackle the actual text of the entire Iliad by hearing these voices in their minds, and understanding." To find out more about Bodkin's Iliad: Book I, call Rivertree Productions at 800-554-1333. Odds
Headlines Baltimore Book Fair Parents' Choice Foundation, the nation's most respected reviewer of children's media, has invited Odds to perform three concerts at the Baltimore Book Fair this September 17th and 18th. Bodkin's rave review Off-Broadway performance, StoryBlast!, is scheduled for two shows on Saturday at the Walters Art Museum at 1:30 and 3:45 p.m. and one additional performance on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at the Parents' Choice tent. Odds will be available after each performance to autograph books and recordings and talk to listeners. Leeny Del Seamonds, another Parents' Choice Gold Award winning storyteller, will also grace the Parents' Choice stage. Bodkin Debuts The Iliad: Book I for College Audience St. Anselm College in New Hampshire brought its entire freshman class into the Dana Center this September to hear Odds Bodkin debut his newest epic work, The Iliad: Book I. "After The Odyssey," says Odds, "which works quite well for university audiences, many people over the years have asked me when I'd approach The Iliad. Well, I've done it. Approach it, that is. This is just Book I." The 55-minute tour-de-force tells how Achilles, the greatest of Greek warriors at Troy, falls out with Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the siege army camped outside the city. Intrigues among the gods and goddesses of Olympus complicate and spice the story. As with all the talesman's works, The Iliad: Book I is underscored throughout with original music. "This is my best score yet," says Odds. The Iliad's accompaniment is performed on a Taylor twelve-string guitar. "Voices?" asks Odds. "Well, I've found
Hera, Aphrodite, Athena, Zeus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Kryses the Priest,
Kalkhas the Diviner, Nestor, Thetis, Hephaestus and Paris Alexandros.
For Book I, that will do. It's a complex and worldly story," says
the storyteller. "Very adult." To invite Odds Bodkin to your high school or university
to tell The Iliad, call Rivertree Productions. PERKINS PANDA : A STORYTELLING TOY BEAR FOR CHILDREN NOW AVAILABLE Odds Bodkin's newest storytelling creation is a soft, plush Panda Bear. In his backpack sits a tape player. "Hug me anytime," he croons. He's Perkins Panda, a huggable talking bear. He sings. He tells gentle stories, slowly paced. And he teaches children--especially blind children-- about how to name and explore the world. "It begain it 2001," recalls Odds. "The Perkins School for the Blind called me. As a voice artist, they asked me to create a special character, someone safe and gentle enough for blind children. I created Perkins." The Perkins School for the Blind manufactures the Brailler--the raised-dot device for blind reading. "Perkins Panda is their new flagship product," says Odds. "He's the bear, three tapes, three children's books, and learning kits. Hopefully, Helen Keller would approve." The Miracle Worker, the story of Helen Keller, took place at the Perkins School. "Well, I don't know if Perkins Panda will work miracles," says Bodkin, "but he's been tested extensively by Perkins School staff--they wrote the parent guidebooks--and he works." The book/tape chapters are Belly Button, Doing, Doing, Doing and Perkins Goes Out. "I composed the music for Celtic harp combined with twelve-string guitar," says Odds. "It's mellifluous and gentle." Belly Button, Belly Button, Belly Button my friend! "These are songs for babies and toddlers," says Bodkin, " and you certainly don't have to be blind to laugh, sing along, and learn with Perkins Panda. I recommend Perkins Panda for any toddler. Someone Loves You is the long, slow lullaby on Tape I. It helps children fall asleep." To learn more about Perkins Panda, visit www.Perkins.org. The
Harper and The King: The Story of Young David Winner of the 2004 Parents' Choice Gold Award and the 2004 Dove Award, The Harper and The King, Bodkin's first full-length Biblical tale, re-imagines the timeless story of David and Goliath. Set in the Judean Hills in 996 BC, it tells of a time when God was close, miracles changed history, and faith was everything. Detroit Jewish News writes, "With nothing more than his guitar and voice, he manages to paint a scene more captivating than much of what you see on the big screen. Even if you know the story of King David, he brings you right in and keeps you the entire journey." Parents' Choice Foundation writes, "The Harper and The King is a one-man vocal symphony that brings the Biblical story of David and Goliath to the twenty-first century…the journey is filled with Bodkin's mesmerizing character voices and his splendid musical accompaniment. This is an engaging and powerful story of miracles and faith." Booklist writes, "Bodkin allows time for meditation, questions of faith, and some welcome humor…a worthwhile addition to storytelling, bible study, and family listening collections." Says Bodkin, "Over the years, many people have asked for Bible stories. Reverend Ed Horstmann, a friend from Connecticut, took the next step and actually commissioned one. Since I go where I'm invited, I began to read the Books of Samuel and the Psalms again. Harper is the result." The Hercules Process Funded for Statewide Outreach in New Jersey Schools and Beyond Employing his 100-minute epic story, The Rage of Hercules, along with workbooks, query cards and teacher guidebooks, Odds Bodkin is reaching deep into the lives of youth at risk across America. Writes Cathy Walke, Superintendent of the Stanislaus Juvenile Hall in Modesto, California, where teens are imprisoned: "The building itself can be intimidating to people. Then we add the "cover" command and the potential for pepper spray. If any of this bothered you, Odds, we could not tell and your Hercules performance was wonderful. Its impact on the children has gone far beyond anything we anticipated. Your performance made the minors not only realize they must face their own anger but has also intrigued them about Greek mythology. We'd like to have you back, even for the max security inmates." Odds received a standing ovation for Hercules from 150 inmates imprisoned at the Men's Honor Farm in California. Said one inmate, "That was the best thing I've ever seen." On the East Coast, in cooperation with Algonquin Arts, The Hercules Process: A Rage Awareness Program for Youth, funded and ready, has arrived in New Jersey schools. Fran Drew, Executive Director at Algonquin, and clinical psychologist Dr. Nefretete Rashid (who co-wrote the workbooks with Bodkin and conducted research over three years into the proven effectiveness of The Hercules Process) will conduct teacher trainings and distribute Hercules Process Kits to junior high and high school teachers and students. Says, Fran Drew: "This works. We want to take The Hercules Process national." "Hercules was haunted by rages, sad but true," says Odds Bodkin. "He wasn't happy, he wasn't nice, but in the end, he learned how to live. That's what I hope this program helps kids to do who have been hurt by life: to live anyway, and to name the rage they feel. Then they can overcome it and get on with their lives." He smiles. "Strange as it may seem, this is storytelling teenagers will listen to." Odds Bodkin is home in New England for Summer 2004! That means plenty of performances open to the public, plus exciting opportunities to work with Odds personally in workshops. The Door to Imagination: How to Awaken Your Inner Storyteller Summer 2004 workshops with Odds Bodkin: The Montshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland Street,
Hartford, CT Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness, NH Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, Concord,
NH Space is limited. Sign up now. To learn more, call us toll free at 1-800-554-1333 . Odds Bodkin Public Performances for Summer 2004! STORYBLAST! Family Concert Tales of Nature A Pocketful of Wonders: Family Concert Roaring Minds: Tales of the Awesome and Improbable STORYBLAST! Family Concert THE ODYSSEY: Belly of the Beast (10 & UP) MY, THAT'S A SILLY HAT: Stories for Very Young Children ----------------------------------- The Harper and The King: The Story of Young David The Toadstool Book Shop, Peterborough, NH Borders Books and Music, Concord, NH Carol Raymond July 10th at 11:00 a.m. Borders Books and Music, West Lebanon, NH ODDS DEBUTS NEW SONG STORY Electric Jack, Odds' newest rock'n'roll story, is pleasing audiences everywhere. With his Gibson SG wailing and his midi-foot drum stomping, the storyteller has created a story that out-rocks his beloved show-stopper, Three Little Pigs American Style. Catch this new singalong story at any of his StoryBlast! Family Concerts this summer! A few lyrics from Electric Jack: Once upon a time "Here, Jackie boy," his momma said, Jackie saw the situation. "Momma! Momma! BODKIN
PREPARES St. Anselm College has requested Odds' seldom-performed storytelling work, Homer's The Iliad, Book I for Fall 2004. As part of the St. Anselm's "Portraits of Human Greatness" series, Odds will tell the tale of Agamemnon's monumental argument with Achilles, the plagues of Apollo, and the machinations of Zeus. All with a full score on 12-string guitar. Says the artist: "Over the years many people have asked me to create a version of The Iliad to balance my epic telling of The Odyssey. They're very different stories, of course. The Iliad is a political war story, The Odyssey, an adventure fantasy. Still, the characters are powerful. I look forward to it." ODDS
TELLER-IN-RESIDENCE August 15th-21st Odds will be Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center. Located in Jonesborough, Tennessee (home of the National Storytelling Festival), the Center will host Odds for a full week of performances. He'll tell The Dame Ragnell, The Odyssey: Belly of the Beast, Heartpounders, StoryBlast!, Paul Bunyan stories, and numerous other tales drawn from his repertory. For information call 1 (800) 952-8392 or visit www.storytellingcenter.net. The Sounds of the Mountains Festival The Sounds of the Mountains Festival is a celebration of music and stories presented in the beautiful surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains at a Church of the Brethren camp near Roanoke Virginia. In addition to Odds, the festival will feature nationally acclaimed Appalachian storyteller Connie Regan-Blake, who has been a catalyst of the storytelling revival for over 20 years, Also appearing will be the noted African-American storyteller and author Baba Jamal Koram, multi-instrumentalist Joseph Helfrich, folk singer Mike Stern, and the gospel bluegrass band Marshall Brothers and Highroad. A special treat for the children will be the award winning Grey Seal Puppets. This family oriented festival is in its third year and promises to deliver a program that is both entertaining and inspirational. The festival begins with an evening concert on Friday, April 29, and continues with a full day of back-to-back performances on Saturday, closing with a Saturday evening concert. A children's stage will also be featured during the day on Saturday. Camping is available on the grounds. Please visit the Sounds of the Mountains website for more details and ticket infomation. http://soundsofthemountains.org INTERNATIONAL
OPERA STARS We all know that Wagnerian Opera is an acquired taste, and unless you're a Wagner fanatic, the chances are you won't come. So what do two international opera singers do when they visit Odds Bodkin on a working vacation in New Hampshire before a summer in Austria singing The Ring? They reach back into their Pops repertoire and offer something completely different, sung entirely in good old English. They perform THOSE WERE THE DAYS: ROMANTIC BROADWAY. Songs like "Strangers in Paradise" from KISMET,"Almost Like Being in Love" from BRIGADOON, "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "On the Street Where You Live" from MY FAIR LADY, "I've Never Been in Love Before" from GUYS AND DOLLS, "Some Enchanted Evening" from SOUTH PACIFIC, and "All I Ask of You" from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and a host of other songs. Roy Stevens and Annalisa Winberg have sung at The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Italy, The San Francisco Opera and at Wagnerian Weimar festivals for years. Now these fans and friends of Odds are available for concerts here in New England from May 1 to May 15th. If you'd like to hear them, for your church, your community center, your retirement complex, or your school, contact Mil Bodkin here at the web site. For a look at Roy and Annalisa, click http://www.oddsbodkin.com/opera/ MODESTO Odds returned from eighteen performances in the Modesto area of California exhausted, but gratified. Invited by Roy Stevens and Annalisa Winberg, international opera singers and Odds fans, Bodkin took on a challenging itinerary of events. From Juvenile Hall (see Odds' Blog for story) to numerous high school appearances of The Odyssey and The Rage of Hercules, to the San Joaquin Leadership Conference (where youth at risk--but intelligent ones-- are brought in, including Bloods and Crips gang members), plus a number of public family performances, Bodkin reports each and every show went well. Odds wishes to thank Roy and Annalisa, Patty Stone of the Stanislaus Community Foundation, Rob Jacobsen (Odds' roadie, sound man and buddy), the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, and all the donors, businesses, schools and individuals who contributed to the tour's success. The
Harper and The King: The Story of Young David Odds' newest musical story, The Harper and The King, will be released April 1, 2004. Says Bodkin, "This tale was originally commissioned by Reverend Ed Horstmann and his congregation in Hartford, Connecticut. Years before, when Ed led a church in Hopkinton, here in New Hampshire, I'd done a little story about Noah's Ark. He approached me in 2000 to tell a version of David and Goliath. This recording is the final result of that." The sixty-minute story, scored with 12-string guitar, features the character voices of David, King Saul, Goliath, David's father, Jesse, Eliab, Samuel the Prophet, and ancillary characters. "The story moved me a great deal," says Odds. "Especially Saul's failure at Amalek, and what I perceived as his incipient madness. And, of course, the friendship that grows between the King and David. The dialog works for me." "Add to that the stunning new painting created Bleu Turrell of AzulArt.com for the cover art Odds and the staff at Rivertree Productions To read about The Harper and The King, visit Odds'
store. NEW ARTICLE! A Cubic Inch of Brain Did you know that your brain is really made up of millions of little biological wires called neurons? And that they all talk to each other with tiny pulses of electricity? [More...] Odds' Blog is Coming With the New Year, Odds will open up Odds' Blog here at oddsbodkin.com. Decamped on travels here and there, he'll offer an itinerant storyteller's view of the universe and other lesser things, welcoming conversations with readers and listeners, should they decide to blog back at him. Created by webmaster Morgan Leininger of TrulyCool.com, the blog will go live soon! Watch for the Odds' Blog feature on the Welcome Page at oddsbodkin.com! The Harper and The King: The Story of Young David With producer David Batchelder, recording engineer Gerry Putnam, and wife and love-for-life Mil Bodkin offering insights and input, Odds has finally completed the final mix for this spring's new recording, The Harper and the King: The Story of Young David. The 55-minute tale, scored with twelve-string guitar, features Bodkin's original re-imagining of the Biblical story of David, King Saul, and Goliath of Gath. Illustrator Bleu Turrell (who created the Little Proto Trilogy covers and The Rage of Hercules image) will provide the original painting for the CD cover. "I know I always say this," says Bodkin, "but this really is my best story yet." Bodkin to Return to Modesto, CA for Tour #2 The inimitable Roy Stevens, operatic tenor and world traveler, has once again invited Odds to Modesto and elsewhere in California for another host of performances. Mr. Stevens has arranged for numerous appearances before teen and adult audiences, some of them adjudicated, where Odds will perform The Rage of Hercules, The Odyssey, and a special program for women at risk, FACES IN THE MIRROR: THREE TALES FOR WOMEN. For his public family performances, Bodkin will be traveling with Svetlana, his Gibson SG electric guitar, and his midi-foot drum for renditions of his rarely-heard crowd-pleaser, The Electric Three Little Pigs. If you're a listener in California, stop by for a show. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Happy Holidays to All from Odds Bodkin and the friendly folks at Rivertree Productions! Thanks to all the great kids and kind listeners who have emailed Odds this year with their appreciations and suggestions, to all the presenters who have produced events, and to all the folks and families who keep on buying Musical Story recordings. Odds, and all of us here, appreciate knowing you in 2003. NEW ARTICLE! FINDING GUDRUNLOD Well this is by far of all the character challenges I have ever faced the most wonderful and scary. Finding Gudrunlod. She's my favorite heroine. She lives in the pages of The Rowan Canticles. But she's real, oh yes. Scary real. And somewhere in the smithy of my soul, she's obtainable. [More...] David & Goliath: Read about the creation of Odds' "best story yet"! David & Goliath, a sixty-minute retelling of the well known Biblical classic David and Goliath, has been in the works for about three years now.[More...] Odds
Bodkin Fifteen years in the writing, Odds Bodkin's 12,555 line epic poem, The Rowan Canticles, was completed in August of this year. Although portions of the work have appeared at this web site over the years, Bodkin says, "Well, the web site version is basically moribund. The first six cantos have been completely rewritten, so that the rhyme scheme obtains from the first line onward. I've also gone through it and made repairs wherever I felt that the inner music of the verse had problems or where it was just plain awkward. I learned a lot about iambic tetrameter as I went along over the years." The work contains three long books, or canticles, each composed of ninety-one cantos, or shorter songs. "The cantos are chapters, basically," says Bodkin. "The tale itself chronicles a clash of belief systems in an imaginary world that lies between the Arbor Labyrinths, the Rowan Hills and the Northern Bight." What's next for The Rowan Canticles? "Time to find a publisher," says Odds. "Think of it as Harry Potter for adults." Over the next months, The Rowan Canticles will be removed from oddsbodkin.com. International
Storytelling Institute Following renowned storytellers Donald Davis and Willy Claflin, Odds taught The Door to Imagination: How to Awaken Your Inner Storyteller as the last of three institutes to twenty-five participants at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, this past August. Dr. Flora Joy, Program Director and publisher of Storytelling World magazine, and her husband Henry Joy, hosted Odds at their hilltop home in the foothills of the Smokies. Antioch
New England Graduate School This past June and July, Odds returned to Antioch New England Graduate School to teach the course he first fashioned at Antioch fifteen years ago. Odds also offered an Art of the Tale Summer Series of performances at Antioch during June and July. Bodkin
Prepares to Record "Oh, yes. We're ready for the studio," says Odds. "I think I'll entitled it, David and Goliath: A Re-Imagining, or something to that effect. This was an incredibly rich creative experience for me." Originally commissioned by The Reverend Edward Horstmann of The First Congregational Church of Hartford, Connecticut, Odds withheld its performance in light of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. "I was scheduled to debut the piece on September 14th of that year," he recalls. "But after the Trade Towers fell, Reverend Horstmann and I agreed that this was not the story to tell just then." It took two years to find the right occasion. This past June 14th, Odds debuted the work in Hartford. "This tale is in the same category as The Rage of Hercules and Sir Percival and the Fisher King," Odds says. "I've developed character voices for David, Saul, Samuel the Prophet, Goliath, David's father, Jesse, and a few others. Full score on twelve-string. But what I like most about it is that it brings to life—I hope in a stirring and vibrant way—this great tale from Scripture." Filled with historic details from Bronze Age Judea and Biblical back-story, the tale features a young David, devout and filled with poetry as well as bravery, a very human King Saul filled with self-doubt, and Odds' characterization of the Philistine giant, Goliath himself. "I've given Goliath an identity in this tale," says Odds. "What else can you do if you're ten feet tall and weigh seven hundred and fifty pounds, other than fight? There was no basketball in the Bronze Age. Oh, yes, he's bloodthirsty and proud. But he's also been trapped all his life in a body built for war. This was very interesting fictional territory." David and Goliath will be released Spring 2004. Fine Schools Host Odds Bodkin The Madeira School in Virginia, The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, and The Tuxedo Park School in New York are only a few of the many fine schools hosting visits and residencies by Odds Bodkin this year. Appearances range from Odds Bodkin Classics, such as The Odyssey and The Rage of Hercules to week-long residencies for all grade levels. Old What's NewBodkin
to Debut David and Goliath Two years in the making, Odds' latest large-scale musical tale, David and Goliath, will premiere at Emmanuel Congregational Church in West Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m. The work, commissioned by the Reverend Edward Horstmann and Emmanuel Congregational Church, is Bodkin's first storytelling exploration of a great Biblical tale. Sixty minutes in length and featuring an in-audience surprise, David and Goliath is underscored with powerful musical leitmotifs on 12-string guitar. Bodkin's usual vocal effects add to the vivid nature of the imagery, along with the compelling character voices of David, King Saul, Samuel the Prophet, Jesse the Bethlehemite, King of the Philistines and yes, Goliath himself. Bodkin treats the tale with the same humanity and in-depth psychological exploration as his other large works, The Odyssey and The Rage of Hercules. Who were the Philistines? How does this ancient tale of conflict and faith resonate with world events today? Find out, and be among the first to hear Odds Bodkin's David and Goliath. For information about how you can attend this premiere, call Edward Horstmann at 860 527 8121. Opera
Singer Roy Stevens Becomes When a storyteller gets fan mail from an opera singer who sings at the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala on occasion, he perks up. Having discovered Odds' recordings at the Modesto Public Library in California, Roy Stevens, baritone, emailed Odds and told him how much he enjoyed his vocal acrobatics. And how much his daughter, Carolyn, six, and his wife, Annalisa, a professional soprano, enjoyed them, too. They met in New York. They attended one another's performances. Roy suggested a tour of Modesto, California. A show here and there. Having burgeoned into twenty-five performances, Odds' Modesto Tour is now scheduled for this May of 2003. For details, see the Performances/Workshops schedule here at oddsbodkin.com. The Little Proto Trilogy Now Available! Little Proto fans! Now you can buy all three Little Proto stories--in CD or cassette--as a single gift. With all-new cover art, The Adventures of Little Proto, the original tale, has been digitally remastered and issued on CD as well as cassette. It has now joined Little Proto's T-Rex Adventure and Little Proto and the Volcano's Fire in the Little Proto Trilogy! Don't miss it! Over three hours of family listening. Sixteen songs! Sound effects. And a host of unforgettable dino characters. Winner of the Storytelling World Award and the Parents' Choice Gold and Silver Awards. Great family listening for ages Three and Up. Canticle III Intro & Canto I of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGald ponders the dead, his fate, and his sister's future. Canticle II Canto XXXI of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo and
Gudrunlod fight the urges of love as their tutelage with Mah-Ling ART OF THE TALE OPENS OFF-BROADWAY IN NEW YORK Braving the high winds of New York's hard-to-please critics and savvy crowds, Odds Bodkin continues to debut ART OF THE TALE, his five-show, 32-performance series at the Clark Theater at Lincoln Center in New York. Thus far, he has been called everything from "treacly" to "consummate", which, Odds reports, feels about right. NEW YORK TIMES Review Happily Ever After In the age of the pyrotechnics of "Beauty and the Beast" and the elaborate masks of "The Lion King," Odds Bodkin's presentations may seem bare-bones: an empty stage, except for a chair, a guitar, a harp and a little percussion. But he still conjures up a witch, an ogre, fairies and an entire African savanna. Mr. Bodkin (Bodkin is his real surname; Odds is an embellishment) is not a magician but a consummate storyteller. He is making his Lincoln Center debut with "The Art of the Tale," a series including performances for adults as well as "StoryBlast!" family matinee concerts. "StoryBlast!" might be described as "around the world in 80 minutes". It begins in Italy with "The Little Shepherd," whose title character pays for his mischief by completing a quest that makes the search for the Holy Grail seem like a scavenger hunt. Then Mr. Bodkin moves on to Aesop's "Wind and the Sun," accompanied by his Celtic harp. After intermission he offers "The Name of the Tree," a Bantu story that could be subtitled "The Tortoise King." Once again, a tortoise proves that slow and steady wins the race by saving his fellow creatures from starvation. The finale is the ever-popular "Three Little Pigs," which Mr. Bodkin performs as a rousing rockabilly ballad with help from an enthusiastic chorus: the children in the audience. --Laurel Graber Citysearch Web Site Review Quotes "a vocal instrument of tremendous flexibility" / "a
virtuoso craftsman" / Odds' comments: "I think at least one of these critics was looking for the usual blunt weapons of sarcasm, irony and dark humor. Most Americans expect to be offended while being entertained, that being the tenor of the times. Since I am writer, director, composer and performer for my shows, and can do what I like, I'll take my chances with the positive." Canticle II Canto XXX of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo, hiding out in the Arbor Labyrinths, begins to discover his magic powers while fighting a giant Ground Scorpion. ART
OF THE TALE Lincoln Center Debut Tickets Odds' Off-Broadway debut series, ART OF THE TALE, opens October 1st -December 15th, 2002 in the Clark Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. Tickets are currently on sale for the five shows. Visit www.oddsbodkin.com/boxoffice for more information! Order tickets online or call 1-800-554-1333. FIVE different storytelling concerts. Thirty-two appearances in all. ODDS
TO PERFORM AT THE Join Odds Bodkin for four public performances as part of the 2002 Three Apples Storytelling Festival in Harvard, MA this fall, Sept. 27-29th! COLORADO TOUR SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER Join Odds along the Front Range of the Rockies this September 11th through 15th for an appearance at Chautauqua in Boulder, Colorado, along with the Shining Mountain Waldorf School's Storytelling Festival and other delights. For information email Hutch Monteson at hutch@earthnet.net. Odds will be back in Colorado in October at Colorado College in Colorado Springs for a night of Heartpounders: Halloween Horror Stories for a university audience. His best thrillers. Canticle II Canto XXIX of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerBroodie Catland, now king of the Rowan Hills, chafes under his obligation to pay the fee of Norn-extortion to the Dwarf Mage. He despises the Dwarf, yet fears what might happen should he not pay the tribute. New
England Classical Association St. Anselm's College, May 2002--Eight hundred high school students found themselves transported to the ancient world this May at the Dana Center. Invited by the New England Classical Association to entertain young Latin scholars from across New England, Odds performed in its entirety his 100-minute masterpiece, The Rage of Hercules. In two fifty-minute sets, with 12-string guitar in hand, Odds evoked his characters and played his leitmotifs as his award-winning tale unfolded. His audience rewarded him with a thunderous standing ovation. Said the talesman afterwards, "This marked a turning point for me. I am finally comfortable with live performance of this very complex piece. I'm glad the kids enjoyed it." Bodkin has appeared at the New England Classical Association in the past, performing both The Odyssey: Belly of the Beast and The Iliad: Book I. Family
C.A.F.E hears Stories in Orlando From all across Florida they came to the Hyatt Orlando. Families facing the challenge of caring for a child with special needs. Odds topped off the weekend of workshops and an appearance by Florida Governor Jeb Bush with an exciting show of stories chosen just for this audience. While in Florida, Odds and Mil Bodkin celebrated their 20th Anniversary by getting sunburns at Daytona Beach. Canticle II Canto XXVIII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo and
Gudrunlod, far to the south in the Arbor Labyrinths of the Tree ODDS
BODKIN PLANS NEW YORK New York, New York-This coming autumn, The Clark Theater at Lincoln Center will echo with the storytelling of Odds Bodkin. Odds' performance series, Art of the Tale, will include thunderous works for adults such as The Odyssey: Belly of the Beast and The Baleful Eye: Bone Chillers, thoughtful long tales such as The Hidden Grail: A Storyteller's "Parsifal" and What Does a Woman Desire Most? Love Stories, as well as Odds' fun family matinee concerts, StoryBlast. The 32-performance series will span selected week runs throughout October, November and December 2002. Performed in the intimate Clark Studio Theater, Art of the Tale is the first time Odds Bodkin's story art has been offered to the New York theater-going public. Says Bodkin, "I've been receiving standing ovations here at Lincoln Center offering private performances over the past two years, so I'd considered going public. When I overheard a woman comment after one of my performances that she felt as if she'd just been to a Broadway show, I was convinced." Tickets go on sale June 15th. They can be purchased at the Art of the Tale box office coming soon to oddsbodkin.com or by calling 1-800-554-1333. The
Rage of Hercules AudioWorld Magazine's top honor, The Golden Headset Award, has been given to Odds Bodkin's ground-breaking story, The Rage of Hercules. Hercules also won The Storytelling World Award last year. The
Christmas Cobwebs Odds' most recent children's picture book, The Christmas Cobwebs, published by Harcourt, has received a Storytelling World Honor Award in the "Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners" category. Canticle II Canto XXVII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGoodpelf the Thief, now in love with Big Bat, braves an interview with the Dwarf Mage in order learn Big Gald's fate. THE HERCULES PROCESS: A RAGE AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR YOUTH PILOTED IN THE NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS January 23, 2002, Manasquan, NJ, The Algonquin Theater In cooperation with Algonquin Arts, a New Jersey non-profit arts organization led by Executive Director Fran Drew, Odds unveiled the first fully produced version of The Hercules Process. Forty-four teachers from Ocean and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey attended the full-day training and left with complete Hercules Process Kits. Each Hercules Process Kit includes a Teacher Guidebook, A Rage of Hercules Script, 80 Query Cards, Poster and a CD or Cassette of The Rage of Hercules. Created with assistance from Dr. Nefretete Rasheed, a drama therapist and curriculum designer, The Hercules Process is a five-day unit designed to urge teens and young adults to reflect inward on the nature of rage in their lives. The teachers left full of enthusiam and gratitude. The Pilot Process will culminate March 11th at the Algonquin with a sold-out appearance by Odds wherein he'll tell 45 minutes of The Rage of Hercules followed by a 45-minute free discussion of rage with 550 young people who have participated in the pilot program. BODKIN IN THE SOUTHLAND Odds will be touring extensively across the South this Spring, from numerous appearances in Florida to Georgia and Alabama. Some highlights:
Canticle II Canto XXVI of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerThe Dwarf
Mage reflects on what he considers an abomination: the fact that
a woman has invaded the heretofore exclusively male realm of magic.
He worries Odds to Address U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Conference for Special Needs Children in Washington, DC December 13, 2001--Joining Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and hundreds of doctors and health care practitioners from across America, Odds will offer a motivational experience to conferees attending the 2010 Express National Summit for Children with Special Health Care Needs and Their Families. Strategizing to put in place a 10-Year Action Plan to assist families with Special Needs children, this partnership of Federal, state, local and private organizations has adopted a six-point plan for America outlining how our communities can provide care and support for Special Needs children in America. Odds plans to tell Yudisthira at Heaven's Gate, the most powerful tale he knows about compassion, and then share some wide-ranging thoughts about how at least one measure of true civilization is how many resources it is willing to expend to help the helpless in its midst. Stories of Love Now Available from Rivertree Productions Odds' CD of love stories for grown-ups, Stories of Love, is now available on CD from Rivertree Productions and oddsbodkin.com Recorded for Target Stores last year, the CD features two of Odds' finest tales about love, The Crane Wife (in a new, grand harp version based on Odds' best selling children's book from Harcourt) and Dame Ragnell, the Middle Ages' finest story about love. Canticle II Canto XXV of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerSeparated from Gudrunlod, Asmo accompanies Skarnagvidelf through the treetops of the Arbor Labyrinth and ponders his predicament. Should he abandon his predilection against magic? Is that the way to undo the Rowan's curse? LITTLE
PROTO AND THE VOLCANO'S FIRE Little Proto and the Volcano's Fire, third in the popular dinosaur adventure series of storytelling recordings by Odds Bodkin, has been awarded The Parent's Choice Silver Honor Award for Fall 2001. Congratulations to all involved in this exciting production! CLASSIC ODDS BODKIN TITLES WIN NEW AWARDS! The Odyssey: An Epic Telling and The Hidden Grail: Sir Percival and the Fisher King have both won The Children's Music Web Award for 2001 in the category "Classic Recording for Older Children". Visit www.childrensmusic.org for details! Canticle II Canto XXIV of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerFar south in the Arbor Labyrinths, Gudrunlod meets Mah-Ling, the Ogress Queen. .
ODDS
ANCHORS "WORDFALL" FESTIVAL NEW YORK CITY-- If you're Snug Harbor Cultural Arts Center on Staten Island, you launch a new kind of festival: Wordfall. And you invite Odds Bodkin to anchor the event by opening and closing the week-long festival with his most powerful tales. The Rage of Hercules. Dame Ragnell. The Crane Wife. The Storm Breeder. The Panther Boys. Then you add the heaviest anchor of all, The Odyssey: An Epic Telling-four hours of Bodkin's best-loved performance, told its entirety over three shows in one extraordinary day. To round it out for the children, ask the master talesman to perform The Little Shepherd, The Elf of Springtime and Finn MacCool for family shows. Wordfall. Odds Bodkin appearances Friday, October 19, Saturday, October 20, Sunday, October 21st and Sunday, October 28th. It's the first full-scale spoken word festival in New York, but it won't be the last. The
Christmas Cobwebs Odds' newest children's picture book, The Christmas Cobwebs, is now available in bookstores nationwide from Harcourt Brace Publishers. Illustrated in clean, warm images by Terry Widener, The Christmas Cobwebs tells the tale of an immigrant family's love for one another, and for a special heirloom-a box of blown glass ornaments that reminds them of home. But when they must give up the ornaments to survive, the true meaning of home and the Holidays mysteriously reveals itself. LITTLE
PROTO AND THE VOLCANO'S FIRE When things get hot, cools friends stay together. It is sixty-seven million years ago and once again Little Proto-Odds' beloved dino character-- comes to life in an audio adventure for young listeners. Featuring four new songs and Odds' best 12-string guitar work to date, Volcano's Fire is about friendship, accepting differences and the importance of not giving up. It's a hot, dry summer in the Sea Forest. While swimming, Ankles the Ankylosaur's feelings get hurt, so he runs away. But his timing couldn't be worse. A distant volcano erupts and sends a wildfire roaring toward the young dinos' home. For Proto, Bump and Plessy it's a race to find their lost friend before the flames arrive. There's plenty of humor, of course, delivered by King Geoffrey the T-Rex and Old Wrinkles the Triceratops, the two grumpiest old dinosaurs in the fossil record. They're trying to save the Sea Forest from the flames. Third in the Little Proto series, this 72-minute movie for the mind's eye continues the saga begun in The Adventures of Little Proto and the multiple-award winning Little Proto's T-Rex Adventure. Don't miss it! Canticle II Canto XXIII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGoodpelf, tired in his soul of larceny, decides his future lies in the arms of Big Bat. Contrite, he knocks on her door and gets a surprise. NEW
WEBSITE FEATURE; The Rage of Hercules is a tale about youthful anger and the hopelessness of violence. Use it with your students and older children as a springboard for discussing the issue of rage. oddsbodkin.com now offers an online version of The Rage of Hercules Process for free downloading, printing and use. Canticle II Canto XXII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGoodpelf the Swindler has a change of heart about thievery. The National Storytelling Conference This July 15th, Odds will join renowned storytellers Carol Birch, Len Cabral, Heather Forest, Jay O'Callahan and emcee Bill Harley for the National Storytelling Concert at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Odds will also present The Rage of Hercules Process in workshop. Lincoln Center Summer Institute 2001 July 17-19 Odds will appear for the second year in a row at the Lincoln Center Summer Institute in Manhattan. He will perform two shows of Funny Bones and one performance of The Odyssey. The Christmas Cobwebs Published by Harcourt Brace Odds' newest children's picture book, The Christmas Cobwebs, will be in bookstores nationwide this August. With warm and colorful illustrations by Terry Widener, the book is sure to warm young hearts at Yule time.
Canticle II Canto XXI of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerMah-Ling, the Ogress Queen, contemplates the arrival of Asmo and Gudrunlod as Skar swings into the Arbor Labyrinths with the two of them asleep on his back. The
Rage of Hercules Chosen from among 3,714 entries, Odds Bodkin's 100-minute epic story, The Rage of Hercules, won the top accolade from Storytelling World Magazine this March in the Storytelling Recordings category.. 84 professional judges and the staff at Storytelling World Magazine awarded the prize. Recommended for Ages 12+, Hercules' first-person account of his own life is scored with original virtuoso music on 12 string guitar. Hard-hitting, violent at times, funny and compelling, this is the tale of the real Hercules of myth. For more about Hercules, click here. Canticle II Canto XX of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerBig Gald enters the Temple of the Mages seeking revenge and is caught. Odds
to Return to Lincoln Center Lincoln Center Institute has invited Odds Bodkin to return this coming July to present a new repertory of stories and to tour again in 2001-2002. This past February Mr. Bodkin previewed potential stories for the new show including the debut of a new work, Finn MacCool and the Big Man. Odds says: "For years my showstopper, The Three Little Pigs American Style, has worked well with audiences. But for Lincoln Center I needed to create something to replace it. Something fun and outrageous and participatory. Finn MacCool is the best short work I have created in years. It features some of the best rapidamente twelve string guitar work I've yet devised." NEW ARTICLE: A
SPRINGTIME STORY
Canticle II Canto XIX of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerBig Gald
and his sister, Bat, visit the ashen remains of Gudrunlod's cottage
at the marsh and conclude that both she and Asmo are dead. Gald swears
he'll have Window
on the Work Published by A Pocketful of Wonders: Window on the Work is a resource book recently published by Lincoln Center Institute exploring Odds' performance storytelling. A compilation of interviews with the talesman and his Lincoln Center listeners--both young and old--the book also features LCI research about Odds' repertory and storytelling in general. And the Winner Is… Rivertree's recent newsletter went out to thousands of friends this Fall. Nested among the news and announcements, the Odds Bodkin News also featured the Chat with Odds Contest-fifteen questions that could be answered only by someone who had heard every tale Mr. Bodkin has recorded. Imagine our surprise when, two weeks after the mailing, an email arrived with fifteen correct, well-written answers! The Odds Bodkin story expert was thirteen year old Rosa Tifft of Orford, Vermont. Congratulations, Rosa! Odds chatted with Rosa over the phone for half an hour, answering her questions about characters, music, and storytelling in general. Mr. Bodkin was very impressed by this young lady's poise and intelligence. She has been listening to Bodkin's stories since she was six. Others able to answer all the questions are welcome to win a conversation with Odds Bodkin as well. Just send those entries in. If they are all correct, Odds will ring you up. Minneapolis
Schoolkids This past January 2001 Odds flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit the creative Fifth Grade at The Breck School. Students at Breck use The Odyssey: An Epic Telling as their text and listen to the entire four-hour adventure over a period of days. With minds filled with imagery from the tale they proceed to write epic poetry, create dioramas and draw adventure maps, not to mention building a nine-foot tall Cyclops and a cave, right in their classrooms! The six-week curriculum project culminated with Odds' visit. He spoke with the kids in their classes, answered numerous questions about his voices, music and sound effects, then later that evening, before a packed house of kids and parents, performed the first 70 minutes of The Odyssey itself, live onstage. Odds
Offers Keynote and Workshops When the First Lady of Alabama, Lori Siegelman, saw Odds Bodkin perform A Pocketful of Wonders at Lincoln Center this past July, she knew she had to get him to her conference. So the First Lady set the wheels of government turning and now Odds' inspirational work will be shared this month with heads of magnet schools and rural teachers from across the South. Odds will perform and offer a series of workshops--The Door to Imagination and others--which explore the emotional and cognitive benefits of telling and listening to stories. Canticle II Canto XVIII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerThe ancient and wise Ogress Queen, Mah-Ling, sits in her throne in the Arbor Labyrinths, the Ogre Skar's home, and ponders what to do with Asmo and Gudrunlod, for she knows they are coming, and that this presents problems for her world of magic. Canticle II Canto XVII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerOn their way southward toward Skarnagvidelf's Arbor Labyrinths, Gudrunlod deduces that her magic powers flow only when Asmo is present. He is skeptical, yet curious. Little
Proto and the Volcano's Fire Little Proto and the Volcano's Fire, Odds Bodkin's third Little Proto dinosaur adventure story for young listeners, is nearing the recording phase of production. Volcano's Fire follows Odds' best-selling recordings, The Adventures of Little Proto and his multiple-awarding winning Little Proto's T-Rex Adventure. With a full score on twelve-string guitar and four new songs, Volcano's Fire brings back all your favorite Proto characters--Old Wrinkles the Triceratops, King Geoffrey the T-Rex, Bump the Pachycephalosaurus, Plessy the Plesiosaur and Ankles the Ankylosaur--in a thrilling Late Cretaceous adventure. Odds continues to evolve new guitar techniques and vocal effects for the work-in-progress. "The modal tuning for the Proto stories offers endless possibilities," says the talesman. "I've discovered a new set of harmonic textures and leitmotifs I think audiences will love. And I'm still thinking how best to create the vocal effects for Volcano's Fire. Needless to say, when a volcano erupts, the sound has to be big. I'm working on the roar and crackle of fire, too. And Lambeosaurus alarm calls." Odds is charmed by the entries he's received so far in his "name a new dino character" contest for Volcano's Fire. Young listeners from across the USA continue to send pictures and names of dinosaurs, hoping their character will be included in this new adventure. The winner receives a complete Collector's Offer, all autographed. That's every recording Odds has made. And what is the story about? Odds is keeping quiet, other than to say that if you liked the first two Proto tales, you'll find this one just as funny-and exciting. A full-CD length story, Little Proto and the Volcano's Fire will be released August 2001. Lincoln
Center NYC Tour Odds' 2000-2001 Lincoln Center Institute tour of New York City schools and universities continues with rave reviews and thousands of happy imaginers. Audiences young and old are falling under the spell of the storyteller as he performs The Little Shepherd, The Wind and the Sun and his crowd-pleaser, The Three Little Pigs American Style. Keep your eyes open for that green Lincoln Center van with harp, guitars and storyteller! Canticle II Canto XVI of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAt last returning to The Rowan Hills, Asmo learns too late of Broodie Catland's siege and victory over the young prince's homeland. His old uncle dies in his arms, but not before telling him to win back his legacy. Gudrunlod's magic saves him from a Rowan attack, and they, with Skar the Tree Ogre, head south into the unknown.
Canticle II Canto XV of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo, Gudrunlod and Skar the Ogre fly southward through the trees. Asmo does not realize he is about to discover his countrymen and family, dying in the depths of the Swalefolk's swamps. Odds Bodkin News in the Mail If you are on Rivertree's mailing list, look for the latest edition of The Odds Bodkin News, this year's catalog. The News includes two contests for kids, new products, and the latest info on the Talesman's travels. If you are not on our mailing list, email us with your snail mail address and we will send you your own copy! STORIES OF LOVE CD Available at Target Stores Nationwide in October
Odds Bodkin's second CD release of the season, STORIES
OF LOVE: A Timeless Collection of "I finally created the ultimate--at least for me--telling of one of my favorite Arthurian love legends," says Odds. "Dame Ragnell. The story of how, in order to save King Arthur's life, Sir Gawain agrees to help him answer the question, 'What does a woman desire most?'." The tale is fully scored with music on twelve-string guitar. The CD also features a new version of Odds' haunting version of The Crane Wife, a story of love and trust from old Japan, performed on his Grand Celtic harp. The CD is recommended for adults. NEW ARTICLE: What's Scary Enough? An article by Odds for the spooky season. First published by the Family Education Network. Canticle II Canto XIV of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo, Gudrunlod and Skarnagvidelf flee the Braid of Wills sent by the mages to kill them. Skar invites the two lovers to go south with him, to his tropical homeland, the Arbor Labyrinths. THE
RAGE OF HERCULES It began as a commissioned work for The Art Institute of Chicago. From its original 30-minute length Odds' RAGE OF HERCULES has now reached its final length of 100 minutes, captured on two CD's or two cassettes. Here is the genuine Hercules of myth. You'll be inside his mind the whole way as he transforms from dangerous sociopath to gentle man. His loves. His madness. His guilt. His epic Twelve Labors. All change his character profoundly as Odds Bodkin's latest long tale unfolds. But there's more. This Hercules tells his own story. Odds, "a master of sound and imagery" (Los Angeles Times), has harnessed all his creative energy to bring to life an immense, booming voice--the voice of Hercules--so that listeners can experience the hero's own account of his glorious, tragic life. He's trapped in the Underworld as the tale begins. Hades and his unwilling queen, Persephone, refuse to let Hercules rise to Olympus to become immortal until he tells them his life story. And so, from earliest childhood to his moment of death, Hercules remembers aloud. Odds has used his Taylor XL twelve-string guitar to score this story. As always, he sat in the studio and played live as he told the tale, so that every moment of spoken word is accompanied by sculpted, muse-inspsired music. New virtuoso guitar techniques emerged during this creative project, and Odds hopes his listeners enjoy the new dimensions to his music. But as with any creative project, Odds has others to thank. David Batchelder, friend and producer, stood watch every moment of the session to insure top quality audio for Rivertree listeners. When David says an inflection doesn't work, or some music feels awkward, Odds stops and goes back, time and again, until the work is up to David's standards. Thanks too to Gerry Putnam, master engineer at Cedarhouse Sound and Mastering in New London, New Hampshire. Gerry's amazing ability to listen and balance sound--not to mention his patience and expertise in recording a voice artist who does not multi-track voice and music--made all the difference in this story. The striking image of Hercules on the cover of the new recordings was painted by Bleu Turrell at AzulArt.com. Bleu's work on last year's Little Proto's T-Rex Adventure cover made him the prime choice for Hercules, and every one at Rivertree Productions is thrilled by his work. Final thanks goes to Bill Fletcher, graphic designer, whose patience and quality work enabled Rivertree to produce its most sophisticated packaging to date. THANKS TO ALL! PS-You can order THE RAGE OF HERCULES direct from Rivertree Productions at 1-800-554-1333 or via our online store here at the website, from Chinaberry Book Service's fall catalog, or in stores across America. 2 cassette set......$19.95 ODDS
TO PERFORM AT THE NATIONAL Storytelling fans from the world over come to hear storytellers every year in Jonesboro, TN, home of the largest storytelling festival in America. This year, Odds Bodkin will perfrom numerous times as a featured teller during the event. Ghost stories. Family concerts. Olio appearances. To hear some of the talesman's best-loved work, or to say hello in person, come to the hills of Tennessee this October 6-8th. For information call Storytelling Foundation International at 1-800-952-8392 or visit www.storytellingfestival.net. ODDS
TO PERFORM HERCULES Chicago-area listeners! On Saturday, September 30th,
Odds will headline a storytelling festival at The Art Institute of
Chicago. He'll be performing three times, telling the original 30-minute
version of The Rage of Hercules. NEW
YORK CITY SCHOOLS If you know children in the New York City School System, they may well see Odds Bodkin live this year. Lincoln Center Institute, as part of its program, Window on the Work, will sponsor numerous appearances by the master talesman in schools across the NYC area this coming 2000-2001 school year. He'll be performing THE LITTLE SHEPHERD, THE WIND AND THE SUN, and his show-stopper, THE THREE LITTLE PIGS: AMERICAN STYLE. NEW ARTICLE: Psychic Numbers How Odds Bodkin, during a stay with a Vermont dairy farmer and his family, was fooled by the notorious game, "Psychic Numbers". Canticle II Canto XIII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerThe epic continues. Grodoo and Goodpelf, now spies, visit the Dwarf Mage in the Mages' Temple, witness terrifying magic, but nonetheless report that they have found Asmo dwelling in the village. The Dwarf is pleased until something overwhelms him, some horror permeating the ether than even he fears. Odds Wows 'Em at Lincoln Center New York City--Odds gave five performances to rave reviews at the Clark Theater for the Lincoln Center Institute Summer 2000 this past July. Amidst standing ovations and an encore, the talesman performed The Little Shepherd, The Wind and the Sun, and his old show stopper, The Three Little Pigs American Style. Odds will return to New York for school and university shows booked through Lincoln Center Institute this coming 2000-2001. Canticle II Canto XII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerAsmo and Gudrunlod, together in Ctharcto and Silya's old hut by the marsh, compare stories about the Mages. Gudrunlod experiences another unexpected manifestation of her magic powers. NEW ARTICLE: On the Beach Canticle II Canto XI of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGrodoo and Goodpelf, now spies, poke around searching for Asmo until they hear about Big Gald and his sister, Big Batty. Goodpelf decides to charm Bat into revealing Asmo's whereabouts, and break her heart in the process. LITTLE
PROTO'S T-REX ADVENTURE AFIM, the Association For Independent Music, awarded Odds Bodkin's latest recording, Little Proto's T-Rex Adventure, top honors at its award ceremonies in New Orleans last month. Along with the Storytelling World Award and The Parents' Choice Gold Award, this "Grammy of the Independents" brings T-Rex's national honors to three awards. The 72-minute dino adventure for young children (and their entertained parents) is the sequel to The Adventures of Little Proto, Odds' original dinosaur musical. This is Odds' second Indie Award. His first went to The Hidden Grail: Sir Percival and the Fisher King in 1998. NEW ARTICLE: Why Do Kids Love Dinos? Canticle II Canto X of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerLiving in Ctharcto and Silya's abandoned house by the marsh, Gudrunlod contemplates her dead parents and dreams of finding Asmo. Little does she know that he is nearby, and that she will meet him in the midst of a magic revelation. Canticle II Canto IX of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerOn his way out to the marshes to find Gudrunlod, Asmo stops to pick Minlet by a shady pool. A sidewise blow sends him reeling, delivered by Skarnagvidelf, a sojourning Tree Ogre. It is a fateful meeting. THE WHITE HOUSE Yes, story fans, it's EASTER AT THE WHITE HOUSE once again. Cherry blossoms, crowds, secret service personnel patrolling in the rhododendrons, and Odds Bodkin onstage telling stories. If you're in the Washington, DC area, join Odds for a couple of shows on the White House South Lawn on Monday, April 24th! ST.
PATRICK'S EAR Manasquan, NJ--Sunday, March 12, 2000 WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY If you ever wanted to work with Odds Bodkin in a small
group setting and learn the imaging secrets he uses in his story
art, here's your chance. Potomac Overlook Park in Arlington, VA will
host a storytelling workshop by Mr. Bodkin on Saturday, April 8th,
and and evening performance to follow that night. BENEFIT
PERFORMANCE Join Odds Bodkin, renowned Native American teller Medicine
Story, and cowboy singer extraordinaire Skip Gorman for Legends:
American Tales of Character at the American Stage Festival, Milford,
NH on April 15th. Tickets are $18, to benefit Keepers of the Lore:
The Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth, Folklore and Story. Canticle II Canto VIII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerIn idle bar conversation, Asmo discovers from Big Gald that Gudrunlod is close by. NEW ARTICLE: THREE TON ORANGE DEBUT!!! ST.
PATRICK'S EAR: This March 12th, Odds Bodkin will debut a new performance for adults at the Algonquin Theater in Chatham, New Jersey (on the coast) entitled ST. PATRICK'S EAR: ANCIENT TALES AND SONGS OF IRELAND. Teaming up with Tom Rexdale, renowned Irish singer, the evening of adult entertainment will include four Odds Bodkin tales: THE GAELIC ARGONAUTS, USGA FUR, FIN MACCOOL AND THE BIG MEN, and THE CHANGELING as well as numerous Irish songs, some rare and some old favorites, sung by Tom Rexdale, a fine Irish tenor. For years Odds has told Celtic stories, but this show promises to draw together his best material. Odds will also perform HERCULES: THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD OF STRENGTH and an excerpt from his THE ODYSSEY: AN EPIC TELLING while visiting the Algonquin. For information call the theater at (973) 635-7623. COLORADO
COLLEGE GREAT PERFORMANCES Sunday, March 9th at 7:30 pm in Packard Hall, Colorado College in Colorado Springs join Odds for a 70 minute excerpt of The Odyssey. Odds will also lead a seminar on storytelling and imagination for students earlier in the day. TALESMAN
TO DELIVER KEYNOTE In a former life, the Talesman was a whitewater rafting guide and outdoor educator. He first learned to tell stories in the woods and on river islands. So it follows that The American Camping Association would ask Odds to deliver its keynote address on March 25th. He will also lead a workshop: The Door to Imagination: How to Awaken Your Inner Storyteller, for camp directors. BACK TO MARBLEHEAD Marblehead, Massachusetts. Historic homes. Inlets dotted with anchored fishing boats. Home of Marblehead Middle School where Mr. Bodkin will tell the entire ODYSSEY--all four hours and ten minutes--over three days this coming March 15-17. This is his fifth consecutive year performing the epic for the Seventh Grade of Marblehead Middle School, and he returns in 2000 once again by popular demand. Canticle II Canto VII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGudrunlod finds her parent's abandoned hut by the marsh, and tries to probe the mystery of their lives. ODDS
BODKIN PLANS NEW YORK New York, New York-This coming autumn, The Clark Theater at Lincoln Center will echo with the storytelling of Odds Bodkin. Odds' performance series, Art of the Tale, will include thunderous works for adults such as The Odyssey: Belly of the Beast and The Baleful Eye: Bone Chillers, thoughtful long tales such as The Hidden Grail: A Storyteller's "Parsifal" and What Does a Woman Desire Most? Love Stories, as well as Odds' fun family matinee concerts, StoryBlast. The 32-performance series will span selected week runs throughout October, November and December 2002. Performed in the intimate Clark Studio Theater, Art of the Tale is the first time Odds Bodkin's story art has been offered to the New York theater-going public. Says Bodkin, "I've been receiving standing ovations here at Lincoln Center offering private performances over the past two years, so I'd considered going public. When I overheard a woman comment after one of my performances that she felt as if she'd just been to a Broadway show, I was convinced." Tickets go on sale June 15th. They can be purchased at the Art of the Tale box office coming soon to oddsbodkin.com or by calling 1-800-554-1333. The
Rage of Hercules AudioWorld Magazine's top honor, The Golden Headset Award, has been given to Odds Bodkin's ground-breaking story, The Rage of Hercules. Hercules also won The Storytelling World Award last year. The
Christmas Cobwebs Odds' most recent children's picture book, The Christmas Cobwebs, published by Harcourt, has received a Storytelling World Honor Award in the "Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners" category. Canticle II Canto XXVII of The Rowan Canticles: A Tale Told in the Ancient MannerGoodpelf the Thief, now in love with Big Bat, braves an interview with the Dwarf Mage in order learn Big Gald's fate. THE HERCULES PROCESS: A RAGE AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR YOUTH PILOTED IN THE NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS January 23, 2002, Manasquan, NJ, The Algonquin Theater |
Tales
from the Heart, will be in Target Stores nationwide this October. Available
exclusively at Lifescapes Listening Posts, the 65-minute CD is Odds'
first recording for Compass Productions of Minneapolis.