|  Karen-Eve
and Chloë met at the Unicorn School of Storytelling in 1998
- they arrived wearing the same style velvet patchwork coats and
knew they were destined to work together! The new millennium saw
the start of their bid to fulfil long-held dreams.
The Midnight Storytellers' first years exceeded expectations, with
sell-out shows and a steadily growing regular following. Performances
at Westonbirt Arboretum (Tetbury, Gloucestershire) are enthusiastically
received - summer concerts plus special shows for the floodlit Enchanted
Wood evenings are packed out.
Interviews and story spots on BBC Radio continue. Karen-Eve and
Chloë were thrilled to make their Cheltenham Festival debut with
a sizzling set on the theme of Envy for the Festival's Voices Off
programme on The 7 Deadly Sins.
In solo work, Karen-Eve draws on her transatlantic heritage to
entertain or instruct all kinds of audience from business executives
to senior citizens to C of E curates, from village halls to Bath
Abbey! In autumn 2001 she ran a 10-week interactive workshop programme
for Bristol Primary Schools after-school clubs, with a fascinating
range of material including Native American legends, Greek mythology
and the stories behind Shakespeare's plays. With clear learning
objectives and developmental opportunities for the children - plus
serious amounts of fun! - the workshops are hugely popular. She
has also developed and led story courses for single parents in South
Gloucestershire.
Chloë's 40-60 minute solo shows are much in demand for special
birthdays and wedding anniversaries, also for WI branches plus many
clubs and societies. She was transformed into a 17thC wench for
a glamorous evening of champagne and stories at a prestigious National
Trust property, and donned her cape of forest colours for a Hallowe'en
telling - in howling wind and rain! - of the Rollright Stones legend
at the ancient site near Chipping Norton.
Probably her most exciting challenge so far was a commission to
create a 21st Century Christmas Carol - a faithful parallel of Scrooge's
adventures, plunging into Dickensian darkness complete with transformation
scenes and terrifying ghosts!
Comment:
"Right from the start we wanted to take story, in powerful
performances, to new audiences," explained Chloë. "Karen-Eve and
I sensed that adults adore being told  stories.
And we were right. It's happening. We've entertained sophisticated,
educated adults as well as young people all over the UK, from Scotland
to the Isle of Wight. And people keep coming back to our shows."
"What's more, we're breaking new ground with the kind of story
we tell: because we believe performance storytelling is a living
artform that must develop and grow, not just depend on tradition.
It's the hardest and most satisfying work either of us has ever
taken on. 'Storytelling: the next generation' is here! It's our
continuing mission and our passion: to boldly take storytelling
where it's never gone before!"
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Karen-Eve
(lives near Berkeley, Gloucestershire) …grew up in the Appalachian
mountains of North Carolina, USA. Degrees in sociology and psychology
led to a high-powered corporate career in London, which included
managing the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Moved to Cotswold
borders in 1998 where she is a management consultant and recently
completed a degree in theology.