The Wege Center for the Arts at MIU in Fairfield presents a storytelling performance by Grammy-nominated spoken-word recording artist Milbre Burch on Saturday, January 17, at 2:30 p.m. in the Ross Theater. The event is the inaugural presentation of the David T. Hanson Artist Lecture Series, which brings accomplished artists, curators, and art historians to Fairfield.
Titled “What Happens When You Really Listen—Oral Storytelling in the 21st Century,” Burch’s hour-long storytelling performance will feature global folktales, original stories, and character monologues spanning her nearly 50-year career. Between stories, she will speak about the visual and co-creative aspects of oral storytelling and the phenomenon of the storytelling trance. A question and answer session will follow.
“I was a mime who grew tired of the quiet,” Burch says in her artist statement. “The crossroads of language and gesture is where I planted my roots as a kinetic storyteller back in the eighties.” In dedicating herself to spoken word traditions, she has recognized their value and power in a changing world. “An oral culture keeps its treasure on its tongue, and even a culture that relies on print and electronic media to tell its stories would be wise to remember how to listen deeply and to speak from the heart.”
Burch is a storyteller, writer, and playwright. Since 1978, she has performed and taught across the U.S., Europe, and Asia using storytelling to address social justice issues. She has worked in schools, libraries, and correctional settings. She is currently a guest lecturer in the American Studies Department of the University of North Carolina. In 2023, she made her ninth appearance at the National Storytelling Festival. Burch holds a Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of Missouri.
“If I were a story, I would want to be told by Milbre Burch.” —Beth Horner, storyteller