UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 22, Page 3
February 29, 1996
Storyteller to celebrate women in Bacchus March 13

     Your mother may have read you stories, but not the kind Annie
Hawkins will soon be telling.
     Hawkins, a local storyteller, writer and columnist, will present
"Stories Your Mama Never Told You," a special blend of traditional and
contemporary stories about women, from 12:10-1 p.m., Wednesday, March
13, at the Bacchus Theatre in the Perkins Student Center.
     Offered in conjunction with Women's History Month activities,
Hawkins will tell stories about women, both young and old, who, she
said, "might by their actions upset the status quo in their attempt to
rearrange the world.
     "These will be stories about resourceful, sturdy and wily women,"
Hawkins said. "Every part of a woman's journey has new limits and new
illuminations. The stories I select will reflect all the elements of
that journey."
     Hawkins, from Chadds Ford, Pa., performs regularly at
universities, schools and theatres throughout the country. She has
been a professional storyteller since 1988.
     She also authors a monthly column, "Renegade Poet," for the
Kennett Paper, in Kennett Square, Pa., and her short stories have
appeared in literary magazines.
     "In writing short stories, the words themselves need to carry the
story, and there is no immediate feedback," she said. "In
storytelling, it's an interchange between a live audience and myself,
told through my expressions, my face, my hands, in an attempt to lift
the words off the page." A good storyteller, Hawkins said, never reads
from a book and avoids memorization of the story, preferring instead
to improvise and rely on the gift of spontaneity.
     "I need to be totally present, to connect with an audience," she
said.
     "It is a luxury to be told a story, and a necessity," she said.
"A story is a living entity, and to be told a story is to celebrate
imagination through the power of breath."
     A discussion with Hawkins will immediately follow the program.
Those attending the performance are encouraged to bring lunch.
Beverages will be provided.
     For information, call 831-8063.
                                                          -Richard Gaw