Cafe Credo 1st Season 2000 to Spring 2002
Off the page and some might say off the wall... but
it works! by Shan Stephens
Once a month in a cool chic cafe in a very famous street in London, Portobello Road, the wine flows, some light food is shared and The CREDO Storytellers, an oral bibilical story-telling group, do an hour of telling from the text of a biblical story.
Then follows half an hour of chilling out with the audience. After which it is "Open Floor" where anyone from the audience can tell any story (it does not have to be biblical), recite a poem, sing a song, tell a joke, or play some music.
As yet no official reviews of what The CREDO storytellers are doing has been written up (we have only been doing this since October 1999). But the comments and phone calls are interesting and positive. Such as:
"Was that really from the Bible?,"
"It was such an exciting and moving story,"
or the comment from two members of a large Black Pentecostal church;
"What an amazing atmosphere. I have never seen the Word of God shared in this way."
Then there is the observation from an experienced social worker and counsellor in church:
"It's a lovely, welcoming, gentle, and unthreatening environment which allows people to get in touch with their hearts and the creative child in them and with each other."
For me the best 'comment' is that the small trickle of unchurched people who have started coming in off the streets stay, and do not seem to want to leave at the end of the evening.
So why are we doing Bible storytelling in this environment? Is it just a trendy idea? Well, we as CREDO storytellers think it is more than that. We think we are getting back to the roots of what Jesus was doing and what the Bible says when the Word became flesh and dwelled amongst us.
Jesus spent a lot of his time being with people in an environment of food and hospitality. Indeed key principles of the kingdom were demonstrated around the table. A table with food on it is not a pulpit or a lecture room, but a place to pass the salt on to one another, a place of sharing and interaction.
When I first saw oral biblical storytelling in 1999 on the Bible Society tour in Britain I was struck by the heightened power of the word of God when it is released from the page and allowed freedom to express through the eyes, and through gesture, and in the deep spaces or gaps of nuanced silence.
The word became flesh and sits down to eat . . .
'The shortest distance between a human being and Truth is a story' Anthony de Mello
Once a month in a cool chic cafe in a very famous street in London, Portobello Road, the wine flows, some light food is shared and The CREDO Storytellers, an oral bibilical story-telling group, do an hour of telling from the text of a biblical story.
Then follows half an hour of chilling out with the audience. After which it is "Open Floor" where anyone from the audience can tell any story (it does not have to be biblical), recite a poem, sing a song, tell a joke, or play some music.
As yet no official reviews of what The CREDO storytellers are doing has been written up (we have only been doing this since October 1999). But the comments and phone calls are interesting and positive. Such as:
"Was that really from the Bible?,"
"It was such an exciting and moving story,"
or the comment from two members of a large Black Pentecostal church;
"What an amazing atmosphere. I have never seen the Word of God shared in this way."
Then there is the observation from an experienced social worker and counsellor in church:
"It's a lovely, welcoming, gentle, and unthreatening environment which allows people to get in touch with their hearts and the creative child in them and with each other."
For me the best 'comment' is that the small trickle of unchurched people who have started coming in off the streets stay, and do not seem to want to leave at the end of the evening.
So why are we doing Bible storytelling in this environment? Is it just a trendy idea? Well, we as CREDO storytellers think it is more than that. We think we are getting back to the roots of what Jesus was doing and what the Bible says when the Word became flesh and dwelled amongst us.
Jesus spent a lot of his time being with people in an environment of food and hospitality. Indeed key principles of the kingdom were demonstrated around the table. A table with food on it is not a pulpit or a lecture room, but a place to pass the salt on to one another, a place of sharing and interaction.
When I first saw oral biblical storytelling in 1999 on the Bible Society tour in Britain I was struck by the heightened power of the word of God when it is released from the page and allowed freedom to express through the eyes, and through gesture, and in the deep spaces or gaps of nuanced silence.
The word became flesh and sits down to eat . . .
'The shortest distance between a human being and Truth is a story' Anthony de Mello
Café Credo 2007
CREDO 2007
Monthly Storytelling circle
The monthly storytelling circle ran bi monthly on the first Tuesday of every month with the final one in July and will rest from running it for at least a year.
Credo Circle Clinic
We ran one Credo clinic, a service we offer for a price for storytellers who are either working professionally and want to fine-tune their work or for storytellers who want to become professional.
Earls Court Community Arts Festival for the 3rd year running, Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival. We planned to concentrate on youth and storytelling for the Earls court event. We ran a series of 10 workshops on Slam storytelling, culminating with a performance. Based on its potential we are planning running a similar event in 2008.
A special Peace Storytelling Project initiated by Credo will take place at the Bible Lands museum in Jerusalem and has been booked for December 29th. It will be a collaborative work between a Christian Jew and Muslim, sharing stories that are sacred to them as children of Abraham.
Ongoing programme.
Workshop - The Good The Bad and the Glory – what makes a good story November 4th 2007
Story as Gift and Adventure
It is about beginners and professionals alike journeying together as we seek to explore the twin disciplines of immersing ourselves in the text and preparing it for telling.
Take a text, tell it and see where it leads you. Live with a bible story, imbibe it learn it as a gift, pray over it and tell it and see what spin offs may come of it. Share experiences with an online community and discover a real time community.
Pilgrim storyteller’s retreat planned for June 21 2008 venue tbc
Launched Online Community for Biblical Storytellers
Monthly Storytelling circle
The monthly storytelling circle ran bi monthly on the first Tuesday of every month with the final one in July and will rest from running it for at least a year.
Credo Circle Clinic
We ran one Credo clinic, a service we offer for a price for storytellers who are either working professionally and want to fine-tune their work or for storytellers who want to become professional.
Earls Court Community Arts Festival for the 3rd year running, Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival. We planned to concentrate on youth and storytelling for the Earls court event. We ran a series of 10 workshops on Slam storytelling, culminating with a performance. Based on its potential we are planning running a similar event in 2008.
A special Peace Storytelling Project initiated by Credo will take place at the Bible Lands museum in Jerusalem and has been booked for December 29th. It will be a collaborative work between a Christian Jew and Muslim, sharing stories that are sacred to them as children of Abraham.
Ongoing programme.
Workshop - The Good The Bad and the Glory – what makes a good story November 4th 2007
Story as Gift and Adventure
It is about beginners and professionals alike journeying together as we seek to explore the twin disciplines of immersing ourselves in the text and preparing it for telling.
Take a text, tell it and see where it leads you. Live with a bible story, imbibe it learn it as a gift, pray over it and tell it and see what spin offs may come of it. Share experiences with an online community and discover a real time community.
Pilgrim storyteller’s retreat planned for June 21 2008 venue tbc
Launched Online Community for Biblical Storytellers
Cafe Credo 2006
Monthly
Storytelling circle
The monthly storytelling circle has run successfully on the first Tuesday of every month.
National Storytelling week we held a service in conjunction with the church and arts group Intermission. Our creative director performed at St Paul's Cathedral on the theme of art and faith as a story teller
The Tent at St Ethelburgers, several of our regular attendees were asked to perform at events in the Tent
Credo Circle Clinic
We piloted our first Credo Clinic for storytellers who were working professionally. We aim introduce this more fully in 2007.
Earls Court Community Arts Festival for the 2nd year running Cafe Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival. We invited Jewish storyteller Chana Yaffe to be our main event. Then members of the story circle presented an hour of stories, that the audience chose randomly from a lucky. dip. The event was well attended and raised a lot of interest. We will be back for our third year in 2007, when we plan to concentrate on youth and storytelling for the Earls court event.
A special launch evening for our youngest storyteller of 19 years of age. Anna Mueser played the fiddle and gave an evening of enchanting fairy story’s. She has since been invited to perform at the Ottawa storytelling festival.
Ongoing programme
We will continue taking Cafe Credo styled events out in to the Shopping Malls and High Streets of London. Various events are currently being planned.
The monthly storytelling circle has run successfully on the first Tuesday of every month.
National Storytelling week we held a service in conjunction with the church and arts group Intermission. Our creative director performed at St Paul's Cathedral on the theme of art and faith as a story teller
The Tent at St Ethelburgers, several of our regular attendees were asked to perform at events in the Tent
Credo Circle Clinic
We piloted our first Credo Clinic for storytellers who were working professionally. We aim introduce this more fully in 2007.
Earls Court Community Arts Festival for the 2nd year running Cafe Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival. We invited Jewish storyteller Chana Yaffe to be our main event. Then members of the story circle presented an hour of stories, that the audience chose randomly from a lucky. dip. The event was well attended and raised a lot of interest. We will be back for our third year in 2007, when we plan to concentrate on youth and storytelling for the Earls court event.
A special launch evening for our youngest storyteller of 19 years of age. Anna Mueser played the fiddle and gave an evening of enchanting fairy story’s. She has since been invited to perform at the Ottawa storytelling festival.
Ongoing programme
We will continue taking Cafe Credo styled events out in to the Shopping Malls and High Streets of London. Various events are currently being planned.
Cafe Credo 2005 relaunch after a sabbatical
On Twelfth night, Cafe Credo had a
re launch storytelling party in the art gallery of
the Troubadour Cafe in Old Brompton Road, Earls Ct.
London. We celebrated with a feast of stories. As it
was the eve of the Russian Orthodox Christmas, a
lovely telling of Babushka was especially included .
In the open floor section our Mexican waiter for the
evening told his first story ever in public and some
surprise visitors from the local drama school turned
up who added to significantly to the quality of the
evening. Along with the stories wine and mince pies
were in abundance. It was a great start to our new
season of future Cafe Credo events .
Monthly Storytelling circle
Everyone was invited to come to the new monthly storytelling circle which started in February and has since been running successfully on the first Tuesday of every month.
On the Twelfth of July Cafe Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival performing at Costa Cafe. Members of the story circle presented an hour of stories followed by a lively open floor, and our story slam competition for the funniest , saddest and most hopeful story told in under 3-5 mins. Prizes of book tokens and books were awarded courtesy of Books Etc. and Wesley Owen. It was a huge success and Credo have been invited back for next years festival.
Ongoing programme
We will continue taking Cafe Credo styled events out in to the Shopping Malls and High Street of London. Various events are currently being planned.
Workshops
We will maintain an ongoing series of storyskilling workshops to encourage and sharpen our skills
Storytelling for the beginners Sep 24
Story telling and singing Oct 22
Master class in storytelling Jan28
Your voice and storytelling April tbc
Monthly Storytelling circle
Everyone was invited to come to the new monthly storytelling circle which started in February and has since been running successfully on the first Tuesday of every month.
On the Twelfth of July Cafe Credo was part of the Earls Ct. arts festival performing at Costa Cafe. Members of the story circle presented an hour of stories followed by a lively open floor, and our story slam competition for the funniest , saddest and most hopeful story told in under 3-5 mins. Prizes of book tokens and books were awarded courtesy of Books Etc. and Wesley Owen. It was a huge success and Credo have been invited back for next years festival.
Ongoing programme
We will continue taking Cafe Credo styled events out in to the Shopping Malls and High Street of London. Various events are currently being planned.
Workshops
We will maintain an ongoing series of storyskilling workshops to encourage and sharpen our skills
Storytelling for the beginners Sep 24
Story telling and singing Oct 22
Master class in storytelling Jan28
Your voice and storytelling April tbc
Open Floor Sessions 2000 - 2002
The Surprises of the season 2000 2002 were many, not
least some of moments of wonder and charm that
emerged from the open floor sessions. There were some
incredible moments of first time vulnerability -
whilst someone unlocked their treasure of a story
they have held dear or even created themselves.
Poetry and music have been a wonderful compliment to the richness of the the storytelling. We have heard original poetry as well a refreshing deliveries of the classics.We have had some exquisite moments of song offered from the floor and some lovely instrumental work that has appeared from a black box hidden under the cafe tables.
The relaxed atmosphere has enabled the flow of a lot of lyrical daftness, with comedic songs, poetry jokes and stories. And yes before you think you are in utopia there have been the odd awkward moments but we emphasise the open floor as a safe space, a raw space a space for both the professional and beginner, a place where it is okay to fluff your lines. A space to communicate your humanity and creativity in all its magnificence, strangeness and familiar frailty.
Poetry and music have been a wonderful compliment to the richness of the the storytelling. We have heard original poetry as well a refreshing deliveries of the classics.We have had some exquisite moments of song offered from the floor and some lovely instrumental work that has appeared from a black box hidden under the cafe tables.
The relaxed atmosphere has enabled the flow of a lot of lyrical daftness, with comedic songs, poetry jokes and stories. And yes before you think you are in utopia there have been the odd awkward moments but we emphasise the open floor as a safe space, a raw space a space for both the professional and beginner, a place where it is okay to fluff your lines. A space to communicate your humanity and creativity in all its magnificence, strangeness and familiar frailty.
Professional Actors Season Spring 2002
From February to July we spent a season working and
rehearsing with a troupe of professional Actors and
musicians. We presented Biblical text tellings with
professional actors and musicians. Our first
presentation was the dramatic and poignant story of
Joseph which we did over two Cafe Credo evenings. The
story of Noah, Elisha, Daniel, The story of pentecost
from the book of Acts and an evening on Psalms.
Working with actors rather than storytellers was very challenging for both parties.For the actors it has opened up a new space of what it means to carry a narrative or part of narrative rather than concentrating solely on the inner motives of one character.The actors also felt challenged by the storytellers ability to look the audience in the eyes and connect at a deep intimate level. For the storytellers we have been greatly challenged by their professionalism and performance skills.
It was an excellent season and with it brought a whole new audience ie. friends of actors.
Working with actors rather than storytellers was very challenging for both parties.For the actors it has opened up a new space of what it means to carry a narrative or part of narrative rather than concentrating solely on the inner motives of one character.The actors also felt challenged by the storytellers ability to look the audience in the eyes and connect at a deep intimate level. For the storytellers we have been greatly challenged by their professionalism and performance skills.
It was an excellent season and with it brought a whole new audience ie. friends of actors.
A Biblical text telling season
As part of the ethos of CREDO which is to emphasise
the collective and collaborative nature of the
Christian story, we share telling the narrative and
work with an average of 5 to 7 people who work
together to tell the Biblical Text for the evening.
Music was very much part of these events.
RUTH A telling of the book of Ruth
LOVE STORIES - Abraham & Sara,Isaac & Rebekkah, Jacob & Racheal
BEFORE THE TALKING PIG, ‘BABE ‘ THERE WAS BALAAM'S ASS! Stories of four footed creatures and their role in the Bible
SHE’S NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE ! A moving story of a young woman whose bravery changed the course of Jewish history - the book of Esther.
WINNING WITHOUT THE BIG GUNS How unlikely characters succeed against the odds. The story of young man called Gideon .
THE RELUCTANT PROPHET (The book of Jonah) How a city was saved by an unwilling prophet called Jonah.
JESUS’ TAKE AWAY - THE OTHER SUPPERS.... Food for all - fantasy, miracle or just another new TV Chef series Come and see what stories are cooking...
FIRE WALKERS IN THE CITY ( the book of Daniel) How a Jewish yuppie and vegetarian beat the system
FOR PETE’S SAKE!!!!! (Extracts from the New Testament) If the TUC had been formed then, he would have led it, some stories of success and failure and a letter of hard earned wisdom.
RUTH A telling of the book of Ruth
LOVE STORIES - Abraham & Sara,Isaac & Rebekkah, Jacob & Racheal
BEFORE THE TALKING PIG, ‘BABE ‘ THERE WAS BALAAM'S ASS! Stories of four footed creatures and their role in the Bible
SHE’S NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE ! A moving story of a young woman whose bravery changed the course of Jewish history - the book of Esther.
WINNING WITHOUT THE BIG GUNS How unlikely characters succeed against the odds. The story of young man called Gideon .
THE RELUCTANT PROPHET (The book of Jonah) How a city was saved by an unwilling prophet called Jonah.
JESUS’ TAKE AWAY - THE OTHER SUPPERS.... Food for all - fantasy, miracle or just another new TV Chef series Come and see what stories are cooking...
FIRE WALKERS IN THE CITY ( the book of Daniel) How a Jewish yuppie and vegetarian beat the system
FOR PETE’S SAKE!!!!! (Extracts from the New Testament) If the TUC had been formed then, he would have led it, some stories of success and failure and a letter of hard earned wisdom.
summary
A CHILDRENS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS
CREDO TOUR INTO THE COMMUNITY
CREDO SABBATICAL 2003 2004
CREDO RELAUNCH 2005
CAFE CREDO EVENTS for 3
and half years
A CHILDRENS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS
CREDO TOUR INTO THE COMMUNITY
CREDO SABBATICAL 2003 2004
CREDO RELAUNCH 2005
A CHILDRENS STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS
CREDO TOUR INTO THE COMMUNITY
CREDO SABBATICAL 2003 2004
CREDO RELAUNCH 2005