Rhode Island, U.S. – RISD Residency
February 18-23, 2008
Five Silk Road Ensemble members visited Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to begin a semester-long residency revolving around storytelling. They visited RISD’s “Folk Tales in the Digital Age” class, in which students explore new ways of retelling traditional tales from the Silk Road region through visual art, writing, music, and performance. Ensemble members will visit RISD three times and will continue to work with the class throughout the semester.
Ben Haggarty, a master storyteller from the U.K., asked the class to tell stories in which the relationship between two characters changes during a dream. Within an hour, three groups plotted stories, selected storytellers, sketched settings, and prepared music—all of which they shared at the end of the class.
Ben Haggarty also led a two-night storytelling workshop for 16 members of the RISD community, a fun and insightful introduction to the art of telling a good tale. |