Thursday night Facciponti spoke about growing up in an Irish Italian American family and thinking of herself as a princess. She told stories of her adventures as Princess Rosebud in her neighborhood. Whether she was looking for her prince, sitting atop her flower planter throne, or putting on her special princess shoes, Facciponti was an imaginative, sensitive little girl. She spoke lovingly of her mother and her older sister. Facciponti’s stories gave the audience a strong sense of connection to a large Irish Italian American family.

Facciponti explained that as a princess she wished to rule a kingdom governed by love, mutual respect, and trust. With that notion, she beautifully told her own version of “The Bell of Atri”: a wonderful story of a town and its favorite bard. The story painted a beautiful folktale full of great characters and songs.

Friday night Schram shared a varied collection of Jewish stories. Schram was very interactive with her audience. She not only told stories but was more than happy to give her audience enough background information so they were able to fully appreciate the tale. She told of the differences between Jewish stories from Morocco, Portugal, and Eastern Europe. While proud of her background, Schram made sure her audience was well aware that the tales existed in slightly different forms around the world. She spoke of how the stories are individual but the ideas and themes are universal. She encouraged the audience to find their own worldly versions of their favorite tales. She pointed out that there are hundreds of versions of “Cinderella”; not every version is about a blonde mistreated noblewoman.

Schram took her concert as an opportunity to share the beauty of storytelling with her audience, through not only telling stories, but also holding conversation. She shared with her audience her wonderful sense of humor. Also, she explained that her stories change each time she tells them based on the feelings she receives from the audience. She elucidated the connections between the audience and the story, herself and the story, and herself and the audience.

The women had drastically different styles of sharing their stories. Schram opened with “Shalom” and an explanation of how a storyteller or bard would leave if the audience’s response to the teller’s greeting wasn’t strong enough. Her sense of humor echoed throughout her concert. She strutted around the stage and even asked for audience input about which kind of story they’d like to hear. Even her stories reflected her fun, witty personality. Facciponti knew exactly which two stories she’d tell. She even had a slide show to accompany her stories of growing up. Her audience also found her stories funny, especially her impersonations of her 5 year old self and her parents. The two complemented each other beautiful; Facciponti focused on personal narrative while Schram favored oral tradition stories.

Both storytellers deserved and received standing ovations. The concerts were greatly appreciated. Few people came expecting more than a few stories, but everyone left with a sense of self-importance and a feeling of connection with the tellers. The women made sure to encourage the audiences to pursue their own stories and it seemed that most people had an interest in doing so. If you’re interested in the stories told at the concerts, Schram has several anthologies published which are available at Amazon.com.

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