Tag: Seanchai Library

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this coming week, which will see the continuation of two of their serialisations, together with a lot of other goodies.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday November 25th

16:00 – Community Virtual Library FUNdraiser

Put on your cute burlesque outfits and get ready to have fun!  We’ll have the poles out for dancing as Gina treats us to fun tunes.  This is a fundraiser for CVL, so be sure to tuck a few lindens in your pocket – you never know if you might need to ‘encourage’ someone to dance by donating to the cause.

Plus…Derry and Bear will have some of their images up for sale – all proceeds going to CVL!

Dancing 16:00-17:00 SLT; art sale 16:00-midnight.

18:00 – Peter Pan, Part 5

Caledonia Skytower presents the fifth (of 6) readings of novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s most famous work.

While Peter Pan first appeared in another of Barrie’s works, The Little White Bird, written for adults in 1902, it was in the 1904 stage play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in which he first came to widespread public attention. The play was later expanded upon by Barrie to form the 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy, which later became Peter Pan and Wendy and, eventually, simply Peter Pan.

Both the stage play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

Caledonia will be reading this installment at Magiclands, commencing at 18:00 SLT.

Monday 26th November, 19:00

Caledonia Skytower starts the first part of a reading of All Seated on the Ground, Connie Willis’ 2007 science-fiction novella and winner of the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

The story follows Meg, a newspaper columnist who has joined a commission studying aliens that have landed on the Denver University campus. The aliens glare at everyone, and allow themselves to be led to various locations, but the commission has no idea how to communicate with them. Following an incident at a local mall during the Christmas shopping season, Meg and a school choir director team up to try to decipher the aliens’ actions before they leave Earth.

Tuesday 27th November, 19:00

Mr. R. Crap Mariner, wit, writer and all-round raconteur visits the Seanchai Library for some of his 100-word stories.

Wednesday 28th November, 19:00

Caledonia Skytower returns to Imagination Island for the final part of Peter Pan.

Thursday 29th November, 19:00

As we approach December and the run-up to Christmas, Shandon Loring hitches a ride on a sleigh drawn by a team of rangifer tarandus to Imagination Island to bring us the first part of The Santa Clause, a “novelisation” of the Leo Benvenuti / Steve Rudnick screenplay from the 1994 film starring Tim Allen.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this week, which will see the continuation of two of their serialisations, together with a lot of other goodies.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 18th November, 10:00 – To  the Moon!

Join Seanchai Library’s founder, Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade at the Fruit Islands Plantetarium for tales of space and time to spark the imagination.

Monday 19th November, 19:00 – Kite Fighters

Gina Pralou-Maven presents a riveting narrative set in the fifteenth-century.

Seoul, Korea, 1473. Lee Young-sup and his elder brother, Kee-sup share a bond through their love of kites, Young-sup flying them and Kee-sup in making them. However, their father, a rice merchant, has designs on the family’s fortunes by having Kee-sup become a court official, forcing him to study for the position when Kee-sup would rather be making kites for his brother…

Linda Sue Parks’ The Kite Fighters is a touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting mixed with the pressures of upholding family traditions, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life.

Tuesday 20th November, 19:00 – Food, Friends, Family, Lovers – and a Little Chocolate Now and Then

Stories with a flavour with Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade.

Wednesday 21st November, 19:00 – Peter Pan

Caledonia Skytower presents the fourth (of 6) readings of novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s most famous work.

While Peter Pan first appeared in another of Barrie’s works, The Little White Bird, written for adults in 1902, it was in the 1904 stage play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in which he first came to widespread public attention. The play was later expanded upon by Barrie to form the 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy, which later became Peter Pan and Wendy and, eventually, simply Peter Pan.

Both the stage play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

Sunday, November 25th

16:00 – Community Virtual Library Fundraiser

Seanchai Library hosts a special fundraiser for the CVL, featuring jazz and blues singer Gina Gracemount performing her popular burlesque show

18:00 – Peter Pan, Part 5

Caledonia Skytower continues the story of Peter’s adventures with Wendy and The Lost Boys as she returns to the Seanchai Library to read part three of this six-part retelling of J.M. Barrie’s classic, this time reading at Magicland.

Please note that as this is Thanksgiving week in the US, there are no Seanchai Library events scheduled for Thursday, November 22nd

The Seanchai Library will be presenting another round of stories and readings in Voice this week. I missed putting out an advanced notice last week as I was going around in ever decreasing circles at the start of the week, so missed being able to cover the first part of a couple of the presentations on offer.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 11th November, 18:00 – Peter Pan

Caledonia Skytower presents the second (of 6) readings of novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s most famous work.

While Peter Pan first appeared in another of Barrie’s works, The Little White Bird, written for adults in 1902, it was in the 1904 stage play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up in which he first came to widespread public attention. The play was later expanded upon by Barrie to form the 1911 novel, Peter and Wendy, which later became Peter Pan and Wendy and, eventually, simply Peter Pan.

Both the stage play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook.

This part of the tale will be told at Magicland.

Monday 12th November, 19:00 – Kite Fighters

Gina Pralou-Maven presents a riveting narrative set in fifteenth-century Korea.

Seoul, Korea, 1473. Lee Young-sup and his elder brother, Kee-sup share a bond through their love of kites, Young-sup flying them and Kee-sup in making them. However, their father, a rice merchant, has designs on the family’s fortunes by having Kee-sup become a court official, forcing him to study for the position when Kee-sup would rather be making kites for his brother…

Linda Sue Parks’ The Kite Fighters is a touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting mixed with the pressures of upholding family traditions, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life.

Tuesday 13th November, 19:00 – More Steampunk Stories

Stories with a distinctive Steampunk theme, brought to one and all by the Seanchai Ladies.

Wednesday 14th November, 19:00 – Peter Pan

Caledonia Skytower continues the story of Peter’s adventures with Wendy and The Lost Boys as she returns to the Seanchai Library to read part three of this six-part retelling of J.M. Barrie’s classic.

Thursday 15th November, 19:00 – Letters from Home

With Shandon Loring.

Sunday 18th November, 10:00 – To  the Moon!

Join Seanchai Library’s founder, Derry McMahon and her partner, Bear Silvershade at the Fruit Islands Plantetarium for tales of space and time to spark the imagination.

Update 31st October: The week’s offerings from Seanchai Library (SL) have been added to! At 19:00 SLT on the 31st October, Caledonia Skytower will presetna reading from Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and perhaps even an original tale based upon one of the five Irish Haunts within the Library’s grounds. See the Seanchai Library (SL) blog for more!

I’m a day behind myself, news-and-events-wise due to reasons I’ll not go into here. Instead, let me get straight into an overdue update on SL storytelling from the Seanchai Library SL. This week rounds-out the haunted month with a few more ghostly tales and haunting happenings.

Tuesday 30th October, 19:00

Bear Silvershade brings to life The Whistling Room by English author William Hope Hodgson, who wrote in a number of overlapping genres, including science-fiction, fantastic fiction and horror. Perhaps most widely known for the novel-length  The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, Hodgson also wrote numerous short stories, often revolving around a recurring central character. The Whistling Room is one of the latter, and the supernatural detective, Thomas Carnacki.

In all, Carnacki originally appeared in print in six tales by Hodgson, all published between 1910 and 1912, with The Whistling Room being the third in the series. Following their initial publication, all six stories were brought together to form the anthology Carnacki The Ghost-Finder, to which three further stories were added in 1948, one of which had never previously been published, and two had been published posthumously following Hodgson’s death in 1918 at the Battle of Ypres.

Carnacki himself is inspired by two other fictional characters, the Great Detective himself, Sherlock Holmes, and the supernaturally inclined scientists, Dr. Hesselius, created by fantasy writer Sheridan Le Fanu.

As with all the Carnacki tales, The Whistling Room is narrated by a friend of Carnacki – one Dodgson who is, like three other close friends, is often invited to Carnacki’s batchelor home to share dinner and hear of the detective’s latest case. As such, and unlike Holmes’ Watson, while Dodgson narrates, he generally plays a minimal role in Carnacki’s own tale.

On this occasion, Carnecki tells of a case wherein he is asked it investigate a room in a mansion which emits a loud,eerie whistling. After carrying out a very thorough search of the room and finding nothing, he is not altogether convinced of the supernatural nature of the sound. Not convinced, that is, until he takes a ladder to the side of the house, climbs it, and peers into the room from the outside…

Wednesday 31st October, 19:00

A Night in the Lonesome October reaches its long-awaited climax. Originally intended to be a tale in four parts, Seanchai Library has extended its adaptation of Roger Zelazy’s satirical novel so that reaches its thrilling climax on night in which all things come to a head in the novel itself.

Featuring the voice artistry of Shandon Loring, Gyro Muggins, Caledonia Skytower and special guests, the story once again focuses on the deadly Game and its mix of archetypal characters from Victorian Era gothic fiction, all with occult knowledge, seeking either to throw open the very doors of reality itself and allow the Great Old Ones into this world and bring about the destruction or enslavement of the human race – or to hold to doors closed in the face of calamity and protect life and civilisation here on Earth.

Through the eyes of the participant’s familiars, led by Jack the Ripper’s faithful dog Snuff, we’ve seen alliances formed and betrayals played out as the game moves inexorably towards its climax. And now the night itself is here. Who will prevail? Is the world to be saved for at least another few decades before the Players once more to resume their deadly Game, or is all to be forever lost?

Thursday November 1st, 19:00

Dark, daring, utterly haunting tales of lost lovers, predatory demons, and vengeful ghosts from the pen of John Connolly, as told by Shandon Loring.

All stories in voice and take place at Seanchai Libray on Imagination Island, unless otherwise noted.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl

Staring on Monday 22nd October, Seanchai Library (SL) launch a new project: One Work in One Week. Given the time of year, the chosen piece is Henry James’ classic tale The Turn of the Screw.

First published in 1898, Turn of the Screw is perhaps best described as a “psychological ghost story”. In it, an unnamed narrator listens to a friend reading a manuscript written by a deceased former governess. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young nephew and niece after the death of their parents. He lives mainly in London and is not interested in raising the children himself. Accepting the post, the governess finds herself drawn into a deepening mystery involving the children, strange spectres and perhaps dark secrets.

Or does she?

Turn of the Screw is not your typical ghost story, it is a complex weaving of narrative, with a certain deliberate ambiguity which suggests more than one meaning behind the tale. Are the apparitions (far from any stereotypical ghosts), actual manifestations or something else? Is the governess a somewhat innocent witness caught-up in matters, or is she perhaps more of a protagonist in the unfolding of the tragic events?

It is this ambiguity which has made The Turn of the Screw a classic tale, dividing critics and readers alike. It has led to it becoming an excellent subject for many adaptations over the years, with films, television programmes, graphic novels, radio plays – even an opera and a ballet – either being based upon it or inspired by it.

The richness of the story, its ambiguity and its many turns makes it an excellent subject for audio presentation by the Seanchai Players, so why not go along and share in the unfolding mystery?

The Turn of the Screw will be performed in Voice at Imagination Island at the following times:

• Monday 22nd through Thursday 25th October: 19:00 SLT
• Friday 26th October: 20:00 SLT

Updates will be posted on the Seanchai blog, should you miss an evening.

“Off campus” Seanchai Library Events for the Week

Also this week, the Seanchai players will be presenting two further popular pieces on Sunday 28th October*:

• 10:00: – Arsenic & Old Lace at Haunted Fruit Islands
• 18:00: – Dare to be Scared!! at Magicland with Caledonia Skytower.

*Updated to reflect latest information from Bear Silvershade of the Seanchai Players.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl