Sadness in the Storytelling World

In honor of Storytelling Thursday I have created a separate page for Storytelling.  Right ... up...THERE!  See it?

You will be missed, Kathy.

Unfortunately, the very first thing I have to post on that page is the passing of Kathy Pierce, a fine storyteller and a storytelling pioneer.  Kathy was a long time member of the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild.  She traveled with nationally acclaimed teller (and StoryFUSION 2012 featured artist) Elizabeth Ellis in her younger days.   Kathy had been plagued with a series of illnesses and finally succumbed to a stroke on New Year's Eve. 

I am having a hard time getting my head around Kathy's departure.  She had the best laugh and I know that I will expect to see her sitting at the counter at Godfrey Daniels as I walk in the door.  I will hear a voice of similar timber and I will turn expecting to see her red hair and her smart-ass smile.  And her stories, oh my.  I hope that somewhere along the line someone recorded Kathy as she told. 

Here's the thing.  Some tellers will decide to add in a whistle or a prop, or a gesture, or expression, and it comes off staged.  Everything - everything -  Kathy added to her stories felt just right, comfortable.  Kathy invited us into her stories and we saw what she saw, heard what she heard.  Of course, her expressions, motions and the few props she used - and she never needed props even when she used them - were a joy to experience.  But Kathy could be the visible performer and the invisible vessel of story - all at the same time. 

There is sadness in the storytelling world this week.