Kati Waitzmann
Home address:
18 Maryborough Avenue, Prestwick, South Ayrshire, KA9 1SETelephone:
01292 477969 Mobile:
07867 985578Email:
katiwaitzmann@gmail.comBRAW network:
noLL funded:
yesBiography:
I come from Germany and have now lived in Scotland for ten years. My repertoire centres around Grimm’s tales, Glasgow’s old stories and myths and legends of Skye learned from the renowned Skye storyteller George Macpherson.
I believe passionately in the power of stories to change our attitudes and our awareness of our surroundings, and my enthusiasm for storytelling is fuelled by positive feedback from a wide range of audiences. I have recently taken part in a Glasgow North Regeneration Programme – ‘Get ready for Work’ working directly with young people aged 16 to 19 with self esteem, listening and concentration problems.
It is not surprising that the audiences with social difficulties draw strength from identification with the characters in the stories. Most of us suspect the next crisis is just around the corner when we just got over the last one, so it is comforting to hear that even Snow White was poisoned three times before she could live happily ever after.
About writer's work:
I am currently taking storytelling into Glasgow's secondary schools as part of a storytelling fellowship programme, and some of the projects I have recently been involved in include; Transeuropa Festival of Culture, Politics, and Art, Queerest Stories at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Eco School days, Glasgow Tour Guide training for Glasgow’s Doors Open Day as part of a programme to revive Glasgow stories, general storytelling sessions and training programmes for museum staff. I also run the SESH meetings at Provand’s Lordship in Glasgow and I am the secretary of the Highlands and Islands Storytellers which organises the yearly Skye Storytelling Festival.
About writer's events and projects:
I am a storyteller because, although stories are everywhere, in memory, in archives, libraries, tapes, books, it is only through telling them to a live audience that stories do come to life and live on, engaging the listener in the most unexpected or expected ways. The initial scepticism of the most difficult audiences invariably transforms into enjoyment and hunger for more stories. A well chosen story, well told, can grab the audience's imagination and transport them on a unique storytelling adventure.Language:
EnglishAge groups:
0-4, 5-8, 9-12, Teens