Paul “Walking Stick” Taylor is an Australian storyteller, didjeridoo player, singer, and cultural ambassador. He is a 2012 Finalist for Australian of the Year. Now based in Laramie, Wyoming, Paul Taylor has performed and taught for over 300,000 American children. He has been honored for his work with Arts in Education by being appointed Adjunct Professor in the University of Wyoming, College of Education. Paul’s family CD, “Cooee,” won six national awards including Parent’s Choice Gold and the Storytelling World Award.
Paul studied acting at the Royal Academy in London, touring for seven years before coming to the US over ten years ago. Paul began studying with the Aboriginal people of his homeland in the early 1980’s and returns each summer to study with his mentor Bill Harney, custodian of the Wardaman culture of the Northern Territory, including its 10,000 year old rock paintings. Paul presents a one hour multi-media performance of music, stories, and slides of these Aboriginal rock paintings in “Land of the Lightning Brothers.” Taylor’s family concert “Matilda and the Dreamtime” features music, poetry and stories offering a unique look at Australian culture.
susan@loydartists.com
http://loydartists.com/
16 Santo Lane, c/o Loyd Artists, Au Sable Forks, NY 12912
518-647-5916
Paul Taylor performs Wonders Down Under, Australian Music & Stories. Wonders Down Under is an interactive multifaceted performance. Students come away with a unique look at the wonderful Aussie character through an exciting mix of stories, songs, dance, painting, theater and didgeridoo – drawing comparisons in American history and culture. The performance honors both the Aboriginal and European roots of Australia. Students will be introduced to the Aboriginal spiritual worldview – Bush University, the Aboriginal creation story, teaching us to pay attention, care for our water, care for our land – to care for our place wherever we may be.
WORKSHOPS/RESIDENCIES; Paul Taylor offers one week Australian immersion residencies to model & teach students through an arts integrative, interactive, multi-disciplined experience of story, song, dance, painting & theater, with choices of 13 workshops. The residency is designed to immerse the students in various aspects of Australian Aboriginal & European culture, stories, history, music, instruments, art & dance. He also offers twelve workshops on Australian culture, music and stories.
Paul’s residencies with students are a blend of storytelling; theater; visual arts in the form of murals, traditional rock art, and craft such as didjeridoo painting; folk music of Australia including song, story songs and traditional instruments; folk dance; geography; history; and social studies.
The objectives achieved in Taylor’s presentations are:
– To introduce students to the European migration to Australia through storytelling theater.
– To present Australian culture as it was in the founding of the country and as it is today through interactive songs and stories.
– To draw parallels between US history and Australian history.
– To introduce students to the culture and traditional stories of both European and Aboriginal Australia.
– To introduce students to the Aboriginal music, instruments and art.
– To explain the physics found in the sounds of transitional instruments and in the workings of the boomerang.
Paul presents traditional instruments and song from both the European and Aboriginal cultures. The presentations include the context, language and story of several folk songs; traditional instruments such as the didjeridoo, boomerang, lagerphone and clap stick; the purpose of song and the songlines in the Aboriginal tradition.
Susan Lounsbury, Loyd Artists
518-647-5916
susan@loydartists.com
Available year-round
Flexible
Performance: 8′ x 10′ clean and clear staging area; Simple sound system with one vocal mic and one instrument mic.
Residency: Space adequate for workshop activities and performance area adequate for student performance; Simple sound system with one vocal mic and one instrument mic for performance
Schools, libraries, performing arts centers, theaters, community venues
$700 per performance when in area; $650 per multiple performance, same day, same site; Workshop $350 (Must be scheduled with performance): Call for details Community Programs: Call for details Call for one to five day residency fees
Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
1st – 2nd – Understand that history tells a story of how people and events changed society over time. 5th – Understand how increased diversity resulted from migration, settlement patterns and economic development in the United States. 6th – Understand geographic factors that influenced the emergence, expansion and decline of civilizations, societies and regions (i.e. Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas) over time./ Explain how the behaviors and practices of individuals and groups influenced societies, civilizations and regions.