Hydock Does Battle with Medieval Text for 'Silence'
-- Mary Colurso, music and arts columnist, The Birmingham News

Ladybugs on the crown molding of Dolores Hydock's house in Irondale have heard the story of "Silence" many times. The pomegranate tree near her patio and the muscadine vines in the back yard have heard it, too.

Hydock, a writer, storyteller and actress, has been developing her new performance piece for about two years, adapting a little-known tale from the 13th century into a 90-minute evening of theater. "I'd write some, tell some. Write some, tell some," she says.

Audiences who watch her slip into the character of a grumpy crone, the plain-spoken and opinionated narrator, will very likely be caught up in the adventures of Silence, a brave and beautiful girl pretending to be a boy so she can one day claim her inheritance.

They'll hear of battling knights and jealous minstrels, lustful queens and elusive wizards. If all goes well, Hydock says, modernity will melt away as she relocates her listeners to a drafty castle in England, building the medieval world brick by brick, word by word. In that task, she'll be aided by PanHarmonium, a trio of players from Birmingham that specializes in recreating ancient music.

"The music adds so much to creating a context for the story, a setting for the story," Hydock says. "You hear the harp and recorder on the opening song, and those two minutes of music slowly begin to edge you back, century by century." But what seems nearly effortless on stage - the recitation of a lively and absorbing story, supported by period songs and instrumentals - actually has required much effort.

Those spotted red beetles on the walls of Hydock's place know, because they've watched her reading, editing and working at the computer. Also, while planting, pruning and otherwise tending the garden she loves, Hydock has shaped "Silence" by telling it to herself, out loud, over and over.

If the neighbors think she's crazy, talking animatedly into the air while wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat, Hydock doesn't mind. Art requires a few sacrifices, and she's willing to make them.

Hence, all those hours Hydock has spent pondering ways to turn a thick text - an academic translation of French poetry, no less - into something lighter, tighter, brighter and more theatrical. With the help of Gilbert Ritchie, Susan Marchant and David Cantrell of PanHarmonium, she believes she has succeeded.

But when Hydock discusses the evolution of "Silence," her sentences contain phrases like "struggling hard" and "sweating bullets." She is grateful, she says, for a fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts that allowed her to devote time to the project, and add "Silence" to other performance pieces in her repertoire. Professionally speaking, Hydock can mix, match and tell about 65 stories - and does so frequently at theaters, colleges, businesses, libraries, churches and community gatherings.

Typically, her tales are grouped into thematic programs with titles such as "Holidazed! A Story Tour of the Holiday Calendar," "Made From Scratch and Other Accidental Stories," "Momorabilia: Stories About Mothers" and "No, Really, My Dog Ate It: Stories for Teachers and Students of Life."

Hydock has recorded several of these stories on four spoken-word CDs she sells at shows and bookstores, as well as through her web site at www.storypower.org. She'll sign copies of "Silence," her latest disc, and present an excerpt from it, from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at The Alabama Booksmith in Homewood. Of necessity, that performance will be short, clocking in around 10 minutes. But even a full, in-concert telling of "Silence" zips along for her, Hydock says, despite the program's official length of 63:22, plus intermission. "It goes by in a minute," she says, "particularly if the audience is into it."

During a recent appearance at the UAB Honors House, for example, Hydock was delighted to hear a woman in the front row gasping at every twist and turn of "Silence." The building pleased her almost as much: a beautiful old church equipped with spotlights that cast giant shadows of Hydock in costume as the crone.

The crotchety character's attire includes a stout wooden staff with a ring of colored stones and a claw at the top, clutching a mysterious off-white globe. It's her story stick, Hydock says, designed for leaning, pointing and poking into other people's business.

"The woman who tells this story is so much fun to be," she says. "I imagine her as a person in the background, who sees all but isn't allowed an official voice at court. You might think: How does she know all this? Maybe she hung out in the kitchen in the palace."

Hydock and PanHarmonium have inserted themselves into a courtly setting before, teaming for adaptations of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "The Juggler of Notre Dame."

Teenagers - "Lord of the Rings" fans, no doubt - have been surprisingly enthusiastic about these stories, and some adults have no qualms about being transported into a realm of kings and queens, dragons and peasants. Hydock realizes she may never convince other folks to accept the idea that 600-year-old literature can sound fresh, exciting or relevant, but she's determined to give it a try.

"They get worried," she says, "thinking, 'I have to be good. I have to sit still and be quiet.' But there was danger and violence and sex in the medieval world. Life was severe. And these were very earthy people. They had to populate the 14th century somehow."

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dramatically different stories and shows

DOLORES HYDOCK

upcoming events

If you'd like to be on Dolores' e-mail list for a personal reminder about upcoming story and theatre performances, send your e-mail address to Dolores at dolores@storypower.org

The events listed in yellow below are open to the public.

SEPTEMBER 2019

Thursday - Saturday, September 26 - 28: Cave Run Storytelling Festival, Morehead, KY. For information, visit www.caverunstoryfest.org

OCTOBER 2019

Thursday, October 3: A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart ~ The Journals of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861 - 1887. Free. Sponsored by the General Lew Wallace Museum, Crawfordsville, Indiana. Performance at the Vanity Theatre, Crawfordsville, Indiana. 7 - 9 p.m. For information, visit ben-hur.com/events/

Sallie Independence Foster was 12 years old and living in Florence, Alabama in 1861 when the War Between the States began. She was keeping a diary at the time, and kept on keeping a diary for 26 years. In this performance, storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton interweave Sallie’s diary entries with camp songs, popular tunes of the times, and original melodies to tell a funny, touching, and uniquely personal true story of a world of innocence turned upside-down.
Saturday, October 5: Silence ~ The Adventure of a Medieval Warrior Woman. 7 - 8 p.m., St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, 3545 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham, AL. Part of the church's 5th Annual Arts Festival. Tickets for Saturday night's story and a reception afterwards are $20, available at the door or here. Tickets for the entire weekend-long festival are $30.

Greed, lust, abuse of power, dangerous secrets, treacherous friends.... An episode of Game of Thrones? The usual headlines from the daily news? No -- a modern-day adaptation of a 13th-century story that shows there's nothing new about deceit, revenge, or the search for an authentic self.

Silence is the wickedly funny, plot-twisting tale of a girl raised as a boy to protect her property rights. There's a clueless king, a lusty queen, conniving companions, and a clever young person faced with a choice of weapons with which to face the world: a jeweled sword or a sewing needle. Which would you choose? Storyteller Dolores Hydock, in the spirit, costume, and voice of a wily old crone, serves as the narrator who freely expresses her opinions as she spins the tale.

The story is part of the church's weekend-long celebration of the arts. Other events that weekend include film documentaries, a piano concert, children's crafts, a blessing of animals, and a cooking demonstration. Tickets for the entire weekend are $30 per individual, $50 for a family. Tickets for Saturday evening's story and a reception afterwards are $20. For complete information and tickets, click here.
Sunday, October 6: It's the Little Things ~ Five small objects that connect us to the Dutch Golden Age. 1:30 - 2:30 p.m., Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 East Tuscaloosa Street, Florence, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

You could hold them all in the palm of your hand: five little things from 400 years ago that helped shape the world we live in today. Think we invented wearable technology and the selfie in the 21st century? Think again! Those things -- and many other things we think we invented were part of life hundreds of years ago. Come take a journey from the Arctic Sea to Singapore through the story of five tiny things that changed history in a big way.

Thursday, October 11: Western Civilization. Shelby County Master Gardeners meeting and dinner.
Saturday, October 12: It Could Happen! Part of the Women's Conference, Asbury United Methodist Church, 6690 Cahaba Valley Road, Hoover, AL. Conference is from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. For information, call the church at 995-1700.
Saturday, October 12: Taking Sides: Another look at the life of Audrey Sheppard Williams. 6:30 - 9 p.m., We Piddle Around Theatre, Main Street, Brundidge, AL. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
Friday - Saturday, October 17 - 19: Forest Storytelling Festival, Port Angeles, WA. For information, visit www.clallamstorypeople.org
Tuesday, October 29: Footprint on the Sky ~ Voices from Chandler Mountain. 10:30 - 11:15 a.m., Bessemer Public Library, 400 19th Street North, Bessemer, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, tomato stakes, an old-timey cure for hiccups -- they're all part of this funny and affectionate Bicentennial portrait of an Alabama mountain community in the 1970s. The spirit and voices of special mountain friends come to life in this story of strong women and Southern hospitality.
Tuesday, October 29: A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart ~ The Journals of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861 - 1887. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., Fielder Auditorium, on the campus of Snead State Community College. Free and open to the public. For information, call the Boaz Public Library at 256-593-8056.

Sallie Independence Foster was 12 years old and living in Florence, Alabama when the War Between the States began. Her diaries, begun in June 1861, paint a powerful, humorous, and honest picture of a child’s innocent world colliding with the reality of war. The journals continue through the war and for another 22 years, as Sallie grows to be a young woman, marries, and begins a family of her own. In this dramatic performance, storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton interweave Sallie's writings, family letters, photographs, camp songs, and tunes of the time to create a uniquely personal portrait of a radically changing world.

This free Alabama Bicentennial event is sponsored by the Boaz Public Library and Snead State Community College.

NOVEMBER 2019

Monday, November 4: PEO Chapter B meeting, Birmingham, AL.
Monday, November 4: Footprint on the Sky ~ Voices from Chandler Mountain. 5 - 6 p.m., Leeds Theatre and Arts Center, 8140 Parkway Drive, Leeds, AL. Free. An Alabama Bicentennial event, sponsored by the Leeds Jane Culbreth Library and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, tomato stakes, the recipe for Scripture Cake, an old-timey cure for hiccups and other folk remedies, superstitions, and family stories are all part of this affectionate portrait of a close-knit Alabama mountain community in the 1970s, where modern-day life mixed with old-fashioned ways. The spirit and voices of special mountain friends come to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality, and the generous spirit of a close-knit community.
Wednesday, November 6: Alabama Holiday Memories. Noon - 1 p.m., B. B. Comer Memorial Library, 314 North Boradway Avenue, Sylacauga, AL. Free. Part of the library's Adult Brown Bag Series.

This free adult program celebrates two of Alabama's most beloved writers and storytellers: Kathryn Tucker Windham and Truman Capote. Begin the holiday season with stories of family, friendships, and holiday traditions in small Alabama towns long ago.
Thursday, November 7: Footprint on the Sky: Voices from Chandler Mountain. 7 - 7:45 p.m., North Shelby County Library, 5521 Cahaba Valley Road, Hoover, AL. Free. Part of the meeting of the Evening Star Quilt Guild. Greet and gather at 6:30; program begins at 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Quilt Guild and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, tomato stakes, the recipe for Scripture Cake, an old-timey cure for hiccups and other folk remedies, superstitions, and family stories are all part of this affectionate portrait of a close-knit Alabama mountain community in the 1970s, where modern-day life mixed with old-fashioned ways. The spirit and voices of special mountain friends come to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality, and the generous spirit of a close-knit community.
Sunday, November 10: Taking Sides: A new look at the life of Audrey Williams. 2 - 3:30 p.m., Shelby County Arts Council Black Box Theatre, 105 West College Street, Columbiana, AL. Tickets are $25 and $30 and are available online here.

Audrey Sheppard walked away from the red clay fields of Pike County and became half of one of the most famous couples in country music history when she married Hank Williams. Her life -- like her story -- is a controversial one. Are there really two sides to every story -- even hers? Can the two sides be opposite and still both be true? This new story lets you decide: Whose side are you on?
Wednesday, November 13: It's Not the Food, It's the Fellowship. Noon - 1 p.m., Fayette Public Library, 326 Temple Avenue North, Fayette, AL. Free. Light lunch starts at noon; the program follows, starting around 12:20. All are welcome!

Start off the holiday season with stories about, well, the food, the fellowship, and the crazy rituals that we somehow return to year after year when Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around. The folks at the Fayette Library make this a fun and festive time, with a casual lunch at noon.
Thursday, November 21: Abundant Blessings and The Magic Pan. New Era Club, Birmingham, AL.
Sunday, November 24: A Christmas Memory, 3 - 3:45 p.m., downtown Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL.

Truman Capote's bittersweet memory of a simpler time and an enduring friendship between a 7-year-old child and his 60-something cousin is brought to vivid life in this tender and touching presentation.

DECEMBER 2019

Tuesday, December 3: Christmas stories. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Shades Valley Presbyterian Church, 2305 Montevallo Road, Mountain Broook, AL.
Wednesday, December 4: Christmas stories. La Lumiere Club.
Thursday, December 5: Christmas stories. Savantes Club, Birmingham, AL.
Friday, December 6: Jingle All the Way ~ Songs, Stories, and Sing-alongs. With the music of Bobby Horton. 6:30 - 9 p.m. Homewood Public Library, 1721 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL. Ticket info TBA.

Storyteller Dolores Hydock and musical master Bobby Horton blend happy holiday stories, favorite Christmas songs, and jolly sing-alongs into a sparkling mix to jump-start your holiday season.
Saturday, December 7: It's Not the Food, It's the Fellowship. Christmas brunch sponsored by the Sheffield Public Library. Ticket info TBA.

Traditions make the holidays ... even if we sometimes forget why we're doing them or how they ever got started! Storyteller Dolores Hydock shares some funny, affectionate stories about the rituals and traditions that help even the Scrooge-iest among us locate that elusive Christmas spirit, year after year.
Sunday, December 8: Jingle All the Way ~ Songs, Stories, and Sing-alongs. With the music of Bobby Horton. 2 - 4 p.m. Shelby County Arts Council Theatre, Columbiana, AL. Ticket info TBA.

Storyteller Dolores Hydock and musical master Bobby Horton blend happy holiday stories, favorite Christmas songs, and jolly sing-alongs into a sparkling mix to jump-start your holiday season.
Monday, December 9: Christmas Stories. Vestavia Hills Seniors Christmas luncheon.
Tuesday, December 10: Alabama Holiday Memories. 2 - 3 p.m., Anniston - Calhoun County Library, 108 East 10th Street, Anniston, AL. Free and all are welcome.

Alabama's Bicentennial year comes to a close with Christmas stories from two of Alabama's most beloved, world-famous writers and storytellers: Kathryn Tucker Windham and Truman Capote. "It's Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" are not just stories about Christmas, they are stories that paint a loving portrait of the people, traditions, and daily life in small Alabama towns many years ago.Family, special friendships, and memories of generosity and love fill these heartwarming stories with the holiday spirit!
Saturday, December 14: A Christmas Memory. 3 - 4 p.m., Eastern Shore Art Center, 401 Oak Avenue, Fairhope, AL. Ticket info TBA.

Truman Capote's bittersweet memory of a simpler time and an enduring friendship between a 7-year-old child and his 60-something cousin is brought to vivid life in this tender and touching presentation.
Sunday, December 15: A Christmas Memory. 10 - 10:45 a.m., Independent Presbyterian Church, Highland Hall, 3116 Highland Avenue, Birmingham, AL. Free and all are welcome to attend.
Wednesday, December 18: Downtown Rotary Club.
Thursday, December 19: Private luncheon.
Saturday, December 21: Evergleam and The Night Before Christmas. Part of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra's SuperPOPS special event Home for the Holidays at the Alys Stephens Center. The evening's performance also includes a guest appearance from Three on a String. For ticket information, visit alabamasymphony.org

JANUARY 2020

Thursday, January 23: Castles and Cathedrals. 10:30 - 11:15 a.m., Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest. Sponsored by the Friends of the Vestavia Hills Library. Ticket info TBA.
Sunday, January 26: Soup and Stories for the Soul. 12:30 - 2 p.m. Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. Ticket info TBA.
Tuesday, Jamuary 28: Through the Back Door ~ The music that bridged the bayou. 11 a.m. to noon, Gulf Shores Visitor Center. Free. Sponsored by the Gulf Shores Public Library and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

They say in Southwest Louisiana that you can be a Cajun in one of three ways: by blood (being born to it), by the ring (marriage), or through the back door (by befriending the culture). This program tells the history of Cajun music in North America and its importance in the lives of Cajun musicians and their families. The program is based on funny and often moving true stories collected from Cajun and Creole musicians. The presentation includes historical photographs and samples of the music to show how it has evolved over 300 years from its early style to its modern-day sound.

FEBRUARY 2020

Thursday, February 6: Footprint on the Sky: Voices from Chandler Mountain. Monroe County Courthouse, Monroeville, AL. Free. Part of a quilt exhibit at the courthouse. Sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, tomato stakes, the recipe for Scripture Cake, an old-timey cure for hiccups and other folk remedies, superstitions, and family stories are all part of this affectionate portrait of a close-knit Alabama mountain community in the 1970s, where modern-day life mixed with old-fashioned ways. The spirit and voices of special mountain friends come to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality, and the generous spirit of a close-knit community.
Saturday, February 15: Private event.
Tuesday, February 25: Footprint on the Sky. Panorama Club, Birmingham.

MARCH 2020

Wednesday, March 4: Noon - 1 p.m. Brown Bag Adult Lecture Series at B. B. Comer Library, Sylacauga, AL.
Tuesday, March 10: Springtime stories. Riverchase UMC luncheon.
Thursday, March 19: Starch in their Petticoats: True stories of strong women who settled the West. 2 - 3 p.m., Rainwater Memorial Library, 124 9th Avenue SW, Childersburg, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Childersburg Book Club and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

They were tough, resourceful, and ready for anything! Storyteller Dolores Hydock brings to life true stories of women of guts and gusto who settled the American West. They were pioneers, homesteaders, pistol-packin' card sharks, entertainers, and "upstairs girls," but they all played a part in putting the shine in the Golden West of the 1800s. Photographs, diary excerpts, letters, and newspaper articles of the day help bring their stories to life.
Tuesday, March 31: Dishing the Dirt: Stories from the Garden. Alabama State Master Gardeners Conference, Mobile, AL.

APRIL 2020

Thursday, April 2: Castles and Cathedrals. 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., Fayette Music Club, Fayette, AL Free. Sponsored by the Fayette Music Club and the Alabama Humanities Foundation.
Friday, April 24: Spring story concert. 6:30 - 9 p.m., Homewood Library. Ticket info TBA.

MAY 2020

May 16 - 17: Shoals Storytelling Festival, Shoals Theatre, downtown Florence, AL. Ticket info TBA.

JUNE 2020

Saturday, June 6: Summertime stories. Private event.

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