Will Hornyak
EVENT:
“Erin’s Daughters: Ireland’s Hag’s, Heroines, Warriors, Saints & Sorceresses”
Celtic Storytelling with Will Hornyak & Music by Jan Peters and Dale Russ
March 14th 2023, 7pm
Tim Bruce Performance Center, 305 N 6th Street, LaConner, WA, 98257
Storytelling comes in many forms, but oral storytelling wears a different costume altogether. It’s intimate, visceral, and brings you sharply to the present moment by capturing your imagination right before your eyes and ears. An experience you cannot find by streaming Netflix, flipping through cable TV, or even reading your favorite book. It’s a true community experience – the oral storyteller lets the audience in on the secret for only the people in the room. An effective storyteller brings the audience on extraordinary journeys into worlds unknown – shaking up the senses. Seeing an oral storyteller live is a sensory voyage as the story erupts and pierces straight to the audience’s imagination – then overflows onto the stage alongside the storyteller. A reciprocal relationship between the orator and the people taking it all in.
Will Hornyak weaves a wide web of beautifully crafted stories from oral traditions around the world. From American tall tales and Native American myths to Mexican fables, Russian fairytales, and beyond. Hornyak performs with a love for the music and rhythm of language, and fully engages his audiences in bringing traditional and original stories to life. He often shares the stage with audience members with lively participatory stories.
Will teaches storytelling at Marylhurst University and performs at festivals, schools, theatres, pubs and churches throughout the United States. He has been a featured performer at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee and at numerous regional festivals. He was named Artist of the Year Young Audiences of Oregon and Southwest Washington. He lives in Oregon not far from the Willamette River where he loves to paddle a canoe.
For over 30 years, Hornyak has seen stories move others and watched stories help to heal, educate, and inspire – from churches to classrooms, courtrooms, board rooms, and beyond.
Hornyak explains, “Stories creep under and over the walls that divide us. Stories ground us in our common experiences and celebrate our unique styles as well. The more stories we have, the more ideas we have for meeting the twisting plots and myriad characters in our own lives.”
Stories help us understand the pains and joys of the human condition. Expert storytellers like Will Hornyak guide us in understanding how stories help us navigate our own life journey, and through the act of oral storytelling even bring us joy – which is the true art of the story.
Sample his storytelling by viewing this YouTube video.
You have a chance to join Will Hornyak on a storytelling journey on March 14th at 7pm at the Tim Bruce Performing Arts Center in LaConner. Hornyak will be sharing the Celtic story of “Erin’s Daughters: Ireland’s Hag’s, Heroines, Warriors, Saints & Sorceresses.” With Celtic musicians Jan Peters and Dale Russ at his side. Celebrate with us for a little St. Patrick’s Day fun. Presented by the Skagit River Poetry Foundation. Donations are appreciated at the door. The event is suggested for mature audiences age 14 and older.
Learn more about Will Hornyak by visiting his website: https://willhornyak.net
Jan Peters and Dale Russ https://jansongsproductions.com
For more information contact Molly McNulty, directorsrpp@gmail.com, 360-840-1452. Location: Tim Bruce Performance Center, 305 N 6th Street, LaConner, WA, 98257.
by Cora Thomas, Assistant to the Director, Skagit River Poetry Foundation