To purchase on-line the award-winning recordings described below (on-line purchase is through PayPal), click here.
In the Birmingham area, the CDs are available atThe Alabama Booksmith (2626 19th Place South in Homewood, 870-4242), and at Prime Time Treasures, 1755 Oxmoor Road in Homewood, 870-5555.
Or contact Dolores at 205-951-7757 or dolores@storypower.org for other ordering options.
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In Her Own Fashion
2013 Storytelling World Magazine award winner
for Story Recordings!
Ninette Griffith was Fashion Coordinator of Loveman's Department Store in the 1950s and 1960s. She was also a sassy, ambitious, independent woman, born in 1913, who lived a life full of celebrity hi-jinks, career disasters, and reckless romance. At age 96, Ninette was ready to tell all. This is her funny, irreverent, true story.
Eglamore and Cristobel ~ A Medieval Love Story 2012 Storytelling World Magazine award winner for Story Recordings!
In the costume, voice, and spirit of a crafty old crone, Dolores tells this original adaptation of a passionate 14th-century love story. There's a brave and devoted knight, a strong and faithful lady, and a treacherous father, monstrous giants, and random winds of fate that conspire to keep them apart. Would you wait a lifetime for your one true love?
The story is told with the hauntingly beautiful music of medieval music trio PanHarmonium, playing harp, hurdy-gurdy, recorders, lute, and other curious instruments.
For a video excerpt from Eglamore and Cristobel, photos of the storytelling crone and PanHarmonium, or more information about this story, click on the Eglamore & Cristobel page of this website.
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In-Laws and Outlaws ~ Family Stories
2011 Storytelling World Magazine award winner for Story Recordings!
"I learned a lot about life at Mother's knee. The rest I learned at other joints."
It's an old joke, but true: Life lessons show up in unexpected places.
Where did you learn about True Love, for instance? What's the difference between the truth and The Truth? Why do we bother with holiday rituals, year after year? And what does a 14th-century philosopher have to do with homemade lasagna?
Find out in this lively collection of six stories:
- Most of What I Know About True Love - Independence - Back to School - Occam's Razor - It's Not the Food, It's the Fellowship - Different Versions
Click on the photo at left to hear an excerpt from Most of What I Know About True Love.
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Once in a Blue Moon
traditional tales of hard knocks, dumb luck, and the easy life... and the story of one family's journey through Ellis Island to a new world
Award winner for Story Recordings, Storytelling World Magazine
Many traditional tales – folktales of cleverness, courage, and hard-won life wisdom – came to this country through the immigrant families who brought those tales with them from other cultures, other lives. This collection of stories includes the real story of one immigrant family’s journey through Ellis Island into early-20th-century America, and a few of the traditional tales that came along from “the old country” at the same time.
In the title story, you’ll learn the truth about how blue moons came to be and why they don’t come around very often. Looking for His Luck reveals the surprising source of abundant good fortune, and The Golden Ball shows what it's really like to live the easy life. Then, in Putting Down New Roots, you’ll meet a green-thumbed grandmother with the secret to making things grow, and a family that takes a chance on finding a new life in the kind of adventure that only happens, well, every once in a blue moon.
Click on the photo above for an excerpt from the story Putting Down New Roots, one of the four stories on this CD.
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Perfect Match
Award winner, Stories for Adult Listeners, from Storytelling World Magazine
"...warm and winsome ... Who knew wilted kale could be so interesting?" -- Mary Colurso, The Birmingham News
Newfangled meets old-school in these light-hearted stories about technology and tendiness vs. time-honored tradition.
In the title story, Perfect Match, high school romance goes high tech in a combustible mixture of cupid, computers, and chemistry class. Fashionable food fads get fried in a sixty-year-old skillet in Sharing the Gold. And a casual question about conifers leads to an impromptu lesson in Western Civilization from a woman whose world is a work of art.
Click on the photo at left for an excerpt from the story Sharing the Gold.
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Silence: A medieval adventure in story and song
Award winner for Story Recordings, Storytelling World Magazine
This funny and fascinating tale from the 13th century is the story of a girl raised as a boy to protect her vast inheritance (since girls could not inherit property in the England of the story). She becomes a kind of 13th-century Annie Oakley -- anything the fellows can do, she can do better -- as she follows her heart into a life as a traveling minstrel, a valiant knight, a trusted advisor to the king. Then ... well, then things get complicated.
The story is told in the voice and spirit of a cranky old crone who freely expresses her opinions as she spins the tale. The story is interwoven with exuberant melodies and haunting harmonies of the time, as played by the musical trio PanHarmonium on reproductions of medieval instruments: harp, recorders, lute, viol, psaltery, and wonderful weird percussion.
This hour-long story invites you to leave behind the hassles of the 21st century world, and enter a world of greed, jealousy, seduction, trickery ... wait! That IS the 21st century world! Hmmm... maybe things haven't changed that much in 800 years, after all.
The CD of Silence is just the thing for people who spend a lot of time in the car. Its intriguing plot twists and array of strange characters will keep the driver awake, keep the kids quiet (well, maybe), and make an hour fly by. Great to keep the boredom at bay on treadmills, too!
Click on the photo above for an audio excerpt from the Silence CD.
Click here to visit the silence on stage page for more information about this wickedly funny, plot-twisting tale, and to see a video excerpt from a live performance of Silence.
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Holidazed! Stories of Holiday Disasters, Discoveries, and Delights
Award winner, Storytelling Recordings, from Storytelling World Magazine
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by all the shopping, baking, buying, wrapping, eating, celebrating, and having to be nice that the holidays require, take a break and treat yourself to stories about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and everyone's personal holiday -- birthdays. The stories will remind you that other people's relatives and rituals are crazy, too. They'll have you laughing and crying at the silliness and sweetness of life. And they'll help you celebrate the longing of the human heart for comfort, joy, and connection. Click on the photo at left for an excerpt from a Holidazed story.
3 1/2 stars (out of 4) from The Birmingham News.Click here for a review of the Holidazed! CD.
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Footprint on the Sky: Memories of a Chandler Mountain Spring Storytelling World Magazine Honors Award!
Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, poke salad, tomato stakes, and an old-timey cure for hiccups – they’re all part of this funny and touching portrait of an Alabama mountain community in the 1970's. Memories, family histories, and superstitions are brought to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality, and the generous spirit of a close-knit community. The story is blended with old-time tunes and songs from the fiddle, banjo, and guitar of old-time string musicians Flying Jenny.
"Dolores Hydock's CD, Footprint on the Sky, is like a quilt, the patches of which bring you into Alabama mountain country in the 1970s. You meet characters cooking, quilting, picking tomatoes, singing, and talking about remedies like putting buttermilk on poison ivy. When the CD is over, you've met people so real, you want to thank them for their hospitality. The Appalachian music by Flying Jenny is superb." -- Jay O'Callahan, Winter Olympics Bard and Master Storyteller
Click here for a review of a live performance of Footprint on the Sky.
Click here for an article about the story / music collaboration of Dolores and Flying Jenny to create this presentation.
Click on the photo above to hear an audio excerpt from Footprint on the Sky.
Click here, then scroll down on the "story programs" page for a video excerpt from a live performance of "Footprint on the Sky."
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Made from Scratch Storytelling World Magazine Award Winner!
A collection of original short, short stories about pennies, turnip greens, computerphobia, and other peculiarities of everyday life. Plus a story about the secret to making all your wishes come true!
Click on the photo at left for a sample story from this CD.
"Dolores tells in a style that draws you in to a 'round the kitchen table feel. Combining personal and family tales as well as a classic world tale, Dolores tells before a live and receptive audience. This is a great CD to remind you that storytelling is not just for children but for all of us." -- review from www.storyteller.net
