Wyoming Valley's Oratorio's `christmas' A Mixture Of Lush Sounds 
Standing-room-only Audience Got A Lift For The Holiday Season Through 
Saturday's Concert At St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Antoinette Pisano 
November 21, 1997 
Antoinette Marie Pisano Of Rock Street, Pittston Township, Died Friday At Her 
Home.

By CHRIS SCHNEIDMILLER; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, November 23, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





KINGSTON- The group gathered at Wyoming Valley Montessori School Saturday
night looked a little old for story time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All but two of the more than 30 audience members who came for two hours of
storytelling had long passed into adulthood. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But that was part of the point in Tellabration '97- telling stories that
appeal to adults, who otherwise might find themselves checking out the latest
Jean Claude Van Damme video on a weekend night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're trying to reach the adults, because that is the way people think,
that stories are for kids. But they're not just for children, they're for
everybody," said Mary Baker, a member of Voices of the Valley, a local
storytellers group that offered Saturday's performance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tellabration is an annual, international program bringing "the art of
storytelling" to communities. It is organized by the National Storytelling
Association of Jonesboro, Tenn. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There are more than 250 participating sites for the event's 10th
anniversary, from China to Scotland to Indonesia. Six of the sites were in
Pennsylvania, including the one in Kingston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a night of storytelling throughout the whole world," Baker said.
"Programs have been going on since 8 a.m." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Group members took turns speaking from a stage flanked by blankets, plants
and an acoustic guitar, telling six tales in all. Harry Sauers, the author of
one story, performed slight-of-hand tricks between tales. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stories ranged from old fables to tales written by Voice members. They were
alternately fanciful- Sauers' tale of a "wicked rajah" forced to change his
ways- and true-to-life- Gerry Hart and Leanne Grace's account of construction
of their Rainbow Hill day care and preschool, told in "Twelve Days of
Christmas" fashion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Audience member Joe Olejnick of Swoyersville said the storytelling gave him
and his wife, JoAnne, a chance "just to get entertained by something beyond an
electronic tube." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We really expected to be entertained," JoAnne Olejnick said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They were pleased with the experience and will continue attending
storytelling programs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pat Wiatrowski of Wilkes-Barre said she hoped to become involved with
Voices after seeing Saturday's performance. "It's great. Just the idea that
they're having it and it's for everyone. This is not something you hear very
often." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Audience members were asked for donations, which will be split between
Wyoming Valley Montessori and the Osterhout Free Library. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ancient Art Of Storytelling Finds Some New Devotees Audience Is Enraptured By A Worldwide Evening Of Telling Tales Even Adults Can Enjoy