We’re stoked.

Amber and I have worked with with the Atlanta Opera staff over the past few months to develop the vision for the production.

Librettist and playwright Madeleine St. Romain will weave stories from Native American, African, and Cajun folklore. The score, written by composer Nicole Chamberlain, will reflect those traditions.

The premier of the show will kick off National Opera Week right here at the Wren’s Nest on October 29th.

Rabbit Tales will tour elementary schools throughout Georgia in October and November of 2011 and also in February and March of 2012. Schools will have the option of including a storytelling performance from one of the Wren’s Nest Ramblers to complement the four-person opera.

Want Rabbit Tales at your school? Contact opera genius and good person Emmalee Iden — 404-881-8883 or eiden@atlantaopera.org.

Once upon a time — like, in February — the Wren’s Nest partnered with StoryCorps to record the stories of our neighbors in West End.

Amber, our valiant new program director, was all like, “Let’s get StoryCorps here! They record 2 people talking for 40 minutes at a time to preserve the stories of every day people. IT IS NOT AT ALL UNLIKE HOW WE DO IN OUR MISSION. You’ve probably heard their stories on NPR.”

She even tried out StoryCorps with her mom Sharon to make sure they were legit. (Yep: 100% legit!)

So Amber invited StoryCorps to set up shop at the Wren’s Nest, and they were like, “Cool.” And, further:

“We’ve wanted to do something like this in your neighborhood as a part of the Griot Intiative! You know the one, where the voices, experiences, and life stories of African Americans will be preserved and presented with dignity. All interviews recorded as part of the Griot Initiative will be archived at the Smithsonian’s National Musuem of African American History & Culture in addition to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.”

Then, Amber and our good friends at WEND got together and duped some of our neighbors into recording their stories one day here at the Wren’s Nest.

Neighbors like  Al-Yasha Williams and Robert Thompson stopped by:

And so did the Jackson family:

In all we had six recording sessions during the day, each lasting 40 minutes.

We had such a good time with the Storycorps people that they were all like, “Here, keep this kit for a few weeks. Then have 8 kids in your KIPP Scribes program record their family stories with family members.”

And then we forgot the camera. But it happened! No really!

Either way, we’re indebted to the Atlanta StoryCorps office for their interest, flexibility, and mad skills. We’re also thankful for Brent Brewer, one of our most spectacular neighbors, for helping rope people into this little partnership.

StoryCorps has locations in Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco where you can sign yourself and a partner up to record your stories just about any time after breakfast.

Why, it’s just the book we — ahem, the Wren’s Nest and the Southern Literary Trail — have been waiting for.

Not since Brock Clarke’s An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England has there been a book so prominently featuring the words “writers” and “homes” or “houses” in the title.

It should come as no surprise then that we’re bringing Anne Trubek to the Decatur Library on Monday, March 28th at 7:15 pm for a rousing discussion of just how bizarre writers’ homes really are.

Big ups to the Georgia Center for the Book for co-hosting this event as a part of the Southern Literary Trail. Books will be available for purchase, you bet.

If you can’t stand the wait, amuse yourself with Ms. Trubek’s essay in the New York Times’ Sunday Book Review. Or think back fondly on our previous author events, like that time we brought Chimamanda Adichie here.

If so, you’d be a few days late. But if not, it should be! You remember Phoenix Flies — that sort of hard to pronounce annual event where the Atlanta Preservation Center orchestrates a few fantastic weeks of historic nerdery on the cheap.

Look no further than the Wren’s Nest this weekend and next. It’s free! It’s all free! Check out this easy-to-read schedule:

Saturday March 12: 10 – 2:30 pm. Storytelling: 11:30 and 1 pm.

Sunday, March 13: 1 – 4 pm. Storytelling: 1:30 and 3 pm.

Saturday, March 19: 10 – 2:30 pm. Storytelling: 11:30 and 1 pm.

Sunday, March 20: 1 – 4 pm. Storytelling: 1:30 and 3 pm.

Note the change in hours from Saturdays to Sunday.

And actually, do look a little further than the Wren’s Nest because there’s some crazy delightful stuff going down, like tours of the Wrecking Bar, Unseen Underground, the Castle, and so on.

The only downside: we were super busy throughout the festival, which meant less picture taking and more “Gah! Did I leave (insert necessary book/decoration/foodstuff) in the car?!” Oh well, doggone.

Thankfully, the children of Winona Park Elementary picked up our slack.

You see, a few days before the festival, our storyteller Curtis went to Winona Park to perform for the first graders. Clearly, they were quite taken — and we’ve got the thank you note showcase to prove it!

Curtis, enthralled audience, purple stage, thanks. Pretty standard and adorable.

It took me a while to decipher “uspe shle,” which was my bad. But y’all — “Remember t.”  I think.

This student really captured the candy corn of Curtis’ eyes.

It’s a shame Curtis caused Mazzy stress, but it looks like she had a good, loving time overall.

I really like how on the front cover here (right) the student captured the enormous bird haunting the proceedings. Curtis’s affinity for spinach (pictured, right) is particularly evident in the size of his forearms (also pictured, left).

Here’s the interior:

So, just to be clear, this student mentioned “love” not one, not two, but THREE enthusiastic times. Well done, Curtis.

Finally, I think it’s great that they’ve started giving the kids LSD to really “experience” the event.

Thanks, Winona Park! Great work, Curtis!

Part of the reason?  It’s festival season, which means we do things like go to the National Black Arts Festival for three days.  Go ahead, see for yourself (and enjoy some storytelling while you’re at it) –

That’s Curtis, storyteller extraordinaire, in our tent on the second day of the NBAF.  He was filmed by the wonderful Spenser Simrill, Jr., who also recorded Akbar here a few months ago.  Remember?

While being awesome all over town takes time, you can still get your fix if you follow us on Twitter, where the Wren’s Nest is consistently amusing.  In the meantime, don’t worry — more excuses posts coming soon!

The Kids Are Alright — “Rabbit Rabbit”
[Dear subscribers, please check out the actual post for the audio.]

The show features a smattering of songs with talking animals, storytelling by Akbar, and superb stuttering by our blatantly nervous executive director, Lain.  (Don’t worry — he starts to get comfortable somewhere in the last 3 minutes.)

My favorite part is the way the show’s host, Amy, put three versions of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” back-to-back for contrast. Johnny Mercer? Louis Armstrong? Jackson 5? Yes, please! Miley Cyrus? Not in this show.

Give the show a listen and just try not to narrate your day to the tune of the Huckleberry Hound’s “Uncle Remus.”  (Example: Amelia Trace! Amelia Trace! Amelia Trace is a blog-a-writin’ gal!”) What’s your favorite moment of Lain being awkward?

This is not because of the volunteers (hard-working and wonderful) –

nor the attractions (please — like miniature farm animals even know how to do anything besides be incredible) –

nor the entertainment (our clown also provides sno-cones and popcorn — it’s fool-proof).

Nope, this year was bonkers because we had a whopping 750 attendees.  You know how many that is?  A MILLION.

(Oh, you think that sentence didn’t make sense?  Try entertaining 750 people for 5 hours, including a woman who insists you bring in police to ensure no one cuts in line for lunch.  She is firmly holding your wrist the entire time.  Now you make your brain work.  I thought so.)

Each year, Wren’s Nest is this amazing combination of community support, gleeful small children, and fun times, with a healthy smattering of “you’re kidding me.”  In short, it earns one of the best naps of the year, period.  I might still be napping — I’m not sure.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out this year — we very literally could not do it without you.  Check out the pictures if you’ve got a minute.

This upcoming Saturday The Kids Are Alright program (AM 1690) will be featuring none other than esteemed executive director/voiceover enthusiast Lain Shakespeare.

Even better (unless you’re just into Lain’s sonorous voice — then there is nothing better), the show will have a theme: Brer Rabbit!  Well, Brer, other rabbits, and a touch of “wait a sec — animals can talk?”

The previously lauded Huckleberry Hound album is scheduled to make an appearance, as well as Wren’s Nest Staff Favorite Van Dyke Park’s “Jump!” and none other than “Little Bunny Foo Foo” (of course).

Even more excitingly, Akbar will tell a few stories on the air, which are bound to be excellent.  How do I know?  Because Akbar is always excellent.

AM1690  – The Voice of the Arts — is kindly featuring us to help promote Wren’s Nest Fest, which is next Friday, June 11th.  Please tune in and support not only Lain and the Nest, but the kind folks who were generous and thoughtful enough to include us.  Thanks!

ps- This isn’t Lain’s first rodeo.  Remember when he was talking about Song of the South‘s anniversary on WABE‘s City Cafe with John Lemley?

The story-line where Luke interviews Al Bundy (I suspect) totally mirrors the interview process of our KIPPsters and their respective Al Bundys.

Why, these are exactly the kind of stories we’re trying to preserve!

This old clip — my Dad’s favorite from That ’70s Show — may also provide a glimpse into the challenges of our KIPPsters’ interviews, especially the succinct way Kelso sums up his dad’s experiences.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Both clips serves as great lessons in Why We Have Adults Checking Things Over And, As A Result, Often Saying Things Like “This might be made up.” Hooray!