Activated Stories

The Bamboo and the Stars is our first podcast story from the Philippines. Welcome to the family, Philippines! And it's yet another one of those celestial phenomenon stories that we seem to be uncovering quite a bit lately. (Story starts at 4:00.)

We're in Yuma, AZ, just a short hop from the Mexico border. While in town we visited The Camel Farm, where we were able to feed and pet camels, goats, sheep, a zebra, a zeedonk (half zebra and half donkey) and a hinny (half horse and half donkey). And we held a teeny baby goat, only a week old.

We've been driving from East Coast to West coast, taking as much time as we can to see some sights along the way. This has included Saguaro National Park near Tuscon, full of cacti/cactuses/cactus (all are acceptable) that look as if they belonged in a cowboy cartoon. And we saw the Odessa Meteor Crater in Texas, made by a meteor that struck at least 10,000 years ago. So let's call it an even million.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Aponitolau, Baby, Star) and Kimberly (Narrator, Wife, Star)

Wishing On The Moon is a sort of male Cinderella story from the Inuit (Eskimo) people of Alaska/Canada. We wanted to sneak in one more story about the moon before the end of this 50th anniversary year of the walk on the moon.

We're currently taking a holiday break in Atlanta, where we'll be for the end of 2019 before we start touring again in 2020.

In this story, we mention the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North by Robert J. Flaherty. You can watch it on Youtube but we should caution you to take it with a grain of salt. Flaherty took a great deal of poetic license, including making up the name Nanook for the main character, a man he falsely states died of starvation. He also staged scenes and had his subjects use antiquated tools rather than more modern things they normally used. Still, it's a fascinating cinematic and anthropological relic.

Happy watching, happy listening, happy holidays, and happy 2020.

Dennis (Nukilik, Man 1) and Kimberly (Narrator, Man 2, Man 3, Akna, Man in the Moon)

Just in time for Halloween, Ameen and the Ghoul from Persia (now known as Iran) tells of a brave man who defeats a terrible monster by using his brains rather than his brawn. It's a story in the tradition of Brave Little Tailor and Dragon of Krakow.

We come to you from Warwick, RI, where we are wrapping up our annual fall jaunt in New England by spending some time scaring people at a haunted attraction in Abington, MA. And soon we being migrating south for the winter.

Happy listening,
Dennis (Ameen) and Kimberly (Narrator, Friend, Wife, Ghoul)

The Wooden Tablet is a simple little story from China about the importance of keeping promises and honoring your elders.

We come to you from Seekonk, Massachusetts, having just returned from spending nearly a month touring Vermont for the first time. We were amazed and impressed by the state's unspoiled beauty -- there are no billboards anywhere! We took a train ride and a boat cruise, and did a lot of hiking (and photographing wild mushrooms) and even toured Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, and Cabot Cheese Factory.

Now we're getting ready for Halloween once again!

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Father, Narrator, Grandfather) and Kimberly (Narrator, Ming, Servant)

Rabbit Sells Corn is the first story we've presented from Canada. It originated among Native Americans up north (yes, we can call them Native Americans too, since they lived on this continent) and has undergone some modifications as it was transmitted to white settlers. And we, of course, have done some tweaking of our own. It stems from a tradition of animal stories that also seem to have much in common with African-American tales about tricky and deceptive and clever critters.

We come to you from Attleboro, Massachusetts, as we wind down our summer touring season. Recently we performed on Cape Cod, where we took advantage once again of the Cape Cod Rail Trail to do some biking. This time, we rode a tandem bike for the first time ever.

We also spent a day in Boston attending Wanderlust 108, an event that features a curious triathlon of running, yoga and meditation. And we took the “Bones and Bells” tour at King's Church, visiting a crypt in the basement of the church and then climbing up to the bell tower, which features a bell made by Paul Revere and sons.

Happy listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Farmer, Fox, Bear) and Kimberly (Rabbit, Duck)

Out Of Season is a Cinderella-type story, rather similar to the Russian Vasalisa , which is rather similar to the story of Hansel and Gretel . These stories just won't stay in their own boxes. This is a tale from what used to be called Yugoslavia, before it was chopped up into smaller nations with less humorous-sounding names.

We bring you this story from a country that no longer exists, from a town that didn't exist back then: Kill Devil Hills, NC. In fact, it didn't exist in 1903 when the Wright Brothers made history here. So the site of their experiments was recorded as Kitty Hawk, the closest town at the time.

We've been taking advantage of the great beaches in this part of this state. We've also said howdy to some wild horses on Shackleford Banks, and we spotted an even dozen wild bears at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. But we did not, alas, spot any alligators or any rare red wolves.

On the way here, we dug for diamonds (and didn't find any) at Crater Of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas and panned for gold (we found some!) at John Reed Gold Mine in North Carolina. In Atlanta we spent a day at the Center For Puppetry Arts, admiring the varied puppets, some vary old, from many cultures; marveling at the genius of Jim Henson; enjoying a thoroughly imaginative puppet theatre production of Beauty and the Beast; and (literally) making a couple of friends, whom we call Buford and Otis, to bring home with us. Watch all of the latest Act!vated Adventures on YouTube

And now, we're off again in search of strawberries, violets and apples. And maybe even some diamonds and gold.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Marta, December) and Kimberly (Anka, Gretchen, April, June, September)

The Prince and His Servant from Poland is one of those folk tales that sound like it actually could have happened -- or something like it. It's a tale about betrayal and trickery, with a little plug for literacy thrown in to boot.

We come to you from Heber Springs, AR., having just started our summer season of performing at libraries across the country. We drove out from Reno, where we always put together a new show. While we were there, we did a week residency at Acro Enso, a new facility that offers training in a variety of circus arts, including juggling, tumbling and handstands. We picked up some new skills that we plan to insert into our performances.

Happy listening,
Dennis (Henrik, King) and Kimberly (Narrator, Frederick, Servant)

Saving the Snake is a Middle Eastern fable about trickery and gratitude and learning from mistakes. It's similar to a story from the Arabian Nights, as well as to our earlier story Anansi and the Story Box; it even has some similarities to the “Brer Rabbit” stories.

We come to you from the Bay Area city of Fremont, CA., where we're in the middle of a busy April performing in several Northern California schools and libraries. While in the area, we paid a visit to our old stomping grounds in San Francisco, where we hiked across the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time.

Prior to that, we were in Southern California, where we visited some later stomping grounds in the Los Angeles area. We made this trip even more special by picking up Kimberly's birth mother and giving her a tour of La-La-Land; and we secretly arranged for our son Zephyr to fly in from the East Coast to meet his grandmother for the first time. There's only one way to celebrate such an occasion as this: we all spent a day at Disneyland.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Man, Tree) and Kimberly (Snake, Cow, Fox, Narrator)

The Drum and the Tree is a Nigerian fable featuring talking lions and tortoises about the dangers of keeping the wrong secrets from the wrong people, and the problems that curiosity can cause. It's thematically similar to Bluebeard, Lohengrin and Pandora.

This month finds us is Nipomo, CA., having just driven across half the country from Texas. Along the way, we stopped to explore the underground marvels of Carlsbad Caverns and the desert splendor of Joshua Tree. We also visited Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Arizona, where we were able to feed not only ostriches, but bunnies, goats, exotic birds, stingrays, and many other critters. (But no talking lions or tortoises.) If there's one thing funnier than feeling them lick food out of your hand, it's having a goat take food from your lips.

Now we're gearing up for our annual whirlwind tour of California and then getting another new show ready for our 32nd summer season. Hope to see you there!

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Lion King, Tortoise, Tortoise Son) and Kimberly (Narrator, Lion Queen, Cub, Mrs. Tortoise)

How The Tiger Got Its Stripes is an "origin" story, a fable about bullying, and a trickster tale all rolled into one.

We're bringing it to you from Texas, having just driven across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after having a great couple of weeks in Florida. We went snorkeling with manatees at Crystal River, took a a glass-bottom boat tour at Silver Springs State Park, and watched hundreds of thousands of bats take off at twilight in Gainesville.

Now we're heading west, and soon we'll be back at familiar haunts in California.

Happy Listening!
Dennis (Narrator, Tiger) and Kimberly (Narrator, Monkey, Goat, Rabbit)

Hina and the Moon is a nature origin myth from what is now called Hawaii. It is one of many stories about Hina, who in some cases is a goddess and in others an ordinary woman. Sometimes she is married to Maui, and others not. Sometimes she goes to the moon, and other times she doesn't. We decided to have her take a trip to the moon, because this year is the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing, and libraries will be celebrating it this summer. Accordingly, we'll be having Hina take a trip to the moon on stage when we perform.

We come to you from Charleston, SC, having just performed at the Charleston Museum, the oldest museum in the country, for its 246th birthday. We've also been touring Myrtle Beach, where we learned to do an old dance called the Carolina shag. And in the town of Bishopville, we visited the amazing topiary garden that has been maintained for nearly 4 decades by a man named Pearl Fryar.

Our 2019 is off to a great start. Hope yours is too.

Happy listening,

Dennis (Narrator, Man, Maui, Moon) and Kimberly (Hina, Woman, Narrator)

How a Bundle of Straw Became a Fortune is the Japanese take on the “exchange” type of story, which we could also call the “pay it forward” type. In it, an individual does a good deed by giving away something, and receives a gift in return; this gift is then given to someone else who needs it, and the hero then receives another “white elephant” in return, which is then passed on to someone else, etc. Finally, our hero receives his ultimate good fortune. We are currently performing a story of this type, The Boy Who Wanted a Drum (India) in our live stage production. It seems like a rather appropriate choice for a holiday season in which so many people give gifts and think about those less fortunate.

By the way, we named the character in our version of the story Keisuke, after a young man we know in Japan. And you may catch the subtle reference to the classic Japanese animated film, Kiki's Delivery Service.

We come to you from Simpsonville, SC, near Greenville. We are taking a bit of a holiday break between our stage performances and our offstage explorations that provide the fodder for our Act!vated Adventures videos. Have a peek at them!

Happy holidays and happy listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Charcoal Maker, Blacksmith, Samurai) and Kimberly (Keisuke, Narrator)

Tug Of War comes from the Island of Andros in The Bahamas, and continues the tradition of a clever trickster animal getting the best of bigger and brawnier bully beasts. Our monkey is named Timmy, thanks to a listener and Patreon named Caleb.

We come to you from Jamestown, Virginia, where we've just toured Jamestown Settlement, an amazing museum complex featuring meticulous recreations of a Powhatan Indian village, a colonial fort, and three ships that brought settlers over in 1607 -- among them Captain John Smith.

In recent days, we've also toured Thomas Edison's old laboratories in West Orange, NJ, with tools and equipment still almost as he left them. We took a beautiful helicopter tour over Newport, Rhode Island. And we tried our hand at throwing hatchets at targets at Bury the Hatchet in Cherry Hill, NJ. Just another typical month in the lives of touring thespians.

Follow all of the Activated Adventures on our new site for off stage shenanigans.

We hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

Happy listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Elephant) and Kimberly (Timmy, Whale)

Boots and the Troll is a tale that has many elements in common with other folk and fairy tales, including Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as countless others about siblings setting out to find their fortunes.

We come to you from Abington, MA., where we've been performing as ghouls and goblins and other fearsome creatures in a Halloween attraction, which is something we like to do every year about this time.

Happy listening,
Dennis (Michael, King, Troll) and Kimberly (Narrator, Boots, Lars)

Yes, The Chinese Mirror is indeed a Korean story, a tale about fools and about how the introduction of something new often leads to comical results.

We come to you from Scarsdale, NY, just north of New York City, which we just took a walking tour of. Since our last podcast, we've been to Maine, including Acadia National Park; we've been sailing and taking a high-speed "Eco Adventure Cruise" off the Maine coast; we've been challenging ourselves at Monkey C Monkey D obstacle course; we've been taking a nostalgic stroll (and train ride) at Boothbay Railway Village; we've attended the annual WaterFire event in Providence, RI; and we've even (ho-hum) worked in some skydiving in Connecticut.

Here's hoping your coming month will also be eventful.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Merchant, Mother-in-Law, Neighbor) and Kimberly (Narrator, Vendor, Wife, Daughter)

The Monkey Husband from Japan is one of those many stories about a girl from a poor family marrying a beast of some sort or other -- including, of course, one of the best known, Beauty and the Beast. This one also seems to be related to a legend that Shakespeare borrowed for King Lear : a father with three daughters, of whom the oldest two are selfish and ungrateful, and the youngest is loving and loyal. Our monkey husband's name, Misue, was supplied by Elizabeth McFarland, who is one of our patrons on Patreon .

We come to you from Mashpee, Massachusetts, on beautiful Cape Cod. Since we last spoke to you, we have traveled all the way from North Carolina, and had quite a few adventures along the way. We have documented these in our series of YouTube videos, Gozas on the Go; Act!vated Adventures . They include the Salty Pirate water park and the Wright Brothers flight site in North Carolina; the Virginia Aquarium , the Virginia Musical Museum , Warehouse 29 escape room and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Virginia; Gettysburg , Hershey Chocolate World and Lost River Caverns in Pennsylvania; and Purgatory Chasm State Park, Art's Dune Tours and Hyannis Whale Watching in Massachusetts. Phew!

And during all of that we managed to work in some performances. And we have more coming up. We hope to see you at one of them, if not on a whale watching boat.

Happy Listening,
Dennis (Narrator, Farmer, Middle Daughter) and Kimberly (Misue, Oldest Daughter, Youngest Daughter)