On September 19, 2017, the University of Alberta Department of Drama was proud to host A Story Evening from East Africa: Performances by Two Masterful Storytellers. To a packed theatre in the Timms Centre for the Arts, award-winning master storytellers Chunga Otiende and Tololwa Mollel delivered an energetic and unique style of theatrical story performance.
Afterwards, the audience had the rare opportunity to interact with some of the best storytellers in East Africa, learning how stories illuminate and support communities. Otiende and Mollel shared valuable lessons on effective storytelling, how to create social change through storytelling, and their experiences with story creation, sources and performance.
A distinguished visitor of the University of Alberta, Chunga Otiende will offering a workshop on September 30 to students and performing artists:
Chunga is part of an interdisciplinary and international research and artist team hosted by the U of A called Old Stories in New Ways, focused on tapping the powers of story and performance to contribute to community social intervention.