Brian Rohr - Storyteller, Writer, Poet
I love it when artists that we work with come to town. It's a great opportunity to get to know them, their goals, and their work on a more personal level. Last night I had the opportunity to see Storyteller Brian Rohr perform live at Karma Yoga in Denver. It was a show performed to an intimate crowd, with the lights turned down low, and folks seated comfortably on cushions and chairs around the room.
The 20 minute pre-show was a hand drum solo by a local zen drummer, and then about 7:00 Brian came to the stage. I was only able to stay for the first hour of his performance, but did get to hear two of his tales.
He began by having the audience invite the spirits to come and listen with us. This seemed to be a little confusing to most of the folks there, but we dutifilly invited the rock people, the oceans, various fish, and four legged creatures, bugs and things that slithered and the spirits of those departed.
Brian began his first story by tapping on his drum, creating a rythm, and in a sort of chant began telling us the story of a power necklace. I can't begin to duplicate, the story, so I won't try...you'll have to listen to one of Brian's performances for that. Once he stopped tapping on his drum and truely got in to the story, it was captivating. The audience laughed, the audience groaned, the audience grew thoughtful, and in all of the right places.
Before the performance I met up with Brian in Denver, to try and get to know him a little better. He originally got interested in storytelling while he was living in Chicago, and through a series of fortunate events found a mentor at a storytelling conference. He was so moved to study with his mentor that he packed his bags and moved out to Washington, to a small town called Port Townsend. He spent a year studying the art of storytelling before he felt comfortable, and then began speaking locally and telling tales. Last year he came out with his first DVD - Eating Baba Yaga - and was picked up by BWI, a division of Follett that caters to Public Libraries.
Brian is on a quick tour taking him from Arizona back up to Port Townsend, with stops along the way for storytelling. He had a show Tuesday night at White Mountain Library in Rock Springs, Wyoming. After speaking with the librarian there, he said that Brian was a hit, and that they'd love to bring him back next time he's coming through the area.
Brian is available in Washington and Oregon year round, and occasionally tours other parts of the country. If you would like to schedule Brian Rohr at your library you can visit his profile here.
