Hydock Does Battle with Medieval Text for 'Silence'
-- Mary Colurso, music and arts columnist, The Birmingham News

Ladybugs on the crown molding of Dolores Hydock's house in Irondale have heard the story of "Silence" many times. The pomegranate tree near her patio and the muscadine vines in the back yard have heard it, too.

Hydock, a writer, storyteller and actress, has been developing her new performance piece for about two years, adapting a little-known tale from the 13th century into a 90-minute evening of theater. "I'd write some, tell some. Write some, tell some," she says.

Audiences who watch her slip into the character of a grumpy crone, the plain-spoken and opinionated narrator, will very likely be caught up in the adventures of Silence, a brave and beautiful girl pretending to be a boy so she can one day claim her inheritance.

They'll hear of battling knights and jealous minstrels, lustful queens and elusive wizards. If all goes well, Hydock says, modernity will melt away as she relocates her listeners to a drafty castle in England, building the medieval world brick by brick, word by word. In that task, she'll be aided by PanHarmonium, a trio of players from Birmingham that specializes in recreating ancient music.

"The music adds so much to creating a context for the story, a setting for the story," Hydock says. "You hear the harp and recorder on the opening song, and those two minutes of music slowly begin to edge you back, century by century." But what seems nearly effortless on stage - the recitation of a lively and absorbing story, supported by period songs and instrumentals - actually has required much effort.

Those spotted red beetles on the walls of Hydock's place know, because they've watched her reading, editing and working at the computer. Also, while planting, pruning and otherwise tending the garden she loves, Hydock has shaped "Silence" by telling it to herself, out loud, over and over.

If the neighbors think she's crazy, talking animatedly into the air while wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat, Hydock doesn't mind. Art requires a few sacrifices, and she's willing to make them.

Hence, all those hours Hydock has spent pondering ways to turn a thick text - an academic translation of French poetry, no less - into something lighter, tighter, brighter and more theatrical. With the help of Gilbert Ritchie, Susan Marchant and David Cantrell of PanHarmonium, she believes she has succeeded.

But when Hydock discusses the evolution of "Silence," her sentences contain phrases like "struggling hard" and "sweating bullets." She is grateful, she says, for a fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts that allowed her to devote time to the project, and add "Silence" to other performance pieces in her repertoire. Professionally speaking, Hydock can mix, match and tell about 65 stories - and does so frequently at theaters, colleges, businesses, libraries, churches and community gatherings.

Typically, her tales are grouped into thematic programs with titles such as "Holidazed! A Story Tour of the Holiday Calendar," "Made From Scratch and Other Accidental Stories," "Momorabilia: Stories About Mothers" and "No, Really, My Dog Ate It: Stories for Teachers and Students of Life."

Hydock has recorded several of these stories on four spoken-word CDs she sells at shows and bookstores, as well as through her web site at www.storypower.org. She'll sign copies of "Silence," her latest disc, and present an excerpt from it, from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at The Alabama Booksmith in Homewood. Of necessity, that performance will be short, clocking in around 10 minutes. But even a full, in-concert telling of "Silence" zips along for her, Hydock says, despite the program's official length of 63:22, plus intermission. "It goes by in a minute," she says, "particularly if the audience is into it."

During a recent appearance at the UAB Honors House, for example, Hydock was delighted to hear a woman in the front row gasping at every twist and turn of "Silence." The building pleased her almost as much: a beautiful old church equipped with spotlights that cast giant shadows of Hydock in costume as the crone.

The crotchety character's attire includes a stout wooden staff with a ring of colored stones and a claw at the top, clutching a mysterious off-white globe. It's her story stick, Hydock says, designed for leaning, pointing and poking into other people's business.

"The woman who tells this story is so much fun to be," she says. "I imagine her as a person in the background, who sees all but isn't allowed an official voice at court. You might think: How does she know all this? Maybe she hung out in the kitchen in the palace."

Hydock and PanHarmonium have inserted themselves into a courtly setting before, teaming for adaptations of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "The Juggler of Notre Dame."

Teenagers - "Lord of the Rings" fans, no doubt - have been surprisingly enthusiastic about these stories, and some adults have no qualms about being transported into a realm of kings and queens, dragons and peasants. Hydock realizes she may never convince other folks to accept the idea that 600-year-old literature can sound fresh, exciting or relevant, but she's determined to give it a try.

"They get worried," she says, "thinking, 'I have to be good. I have to sit still and be quiet.' But there was danger and violence and sex in the medieval world. Life was severe. And these were very earthy people. They had to populate the 14th century somehow."

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dramatically different stories and shows

DOLORES HYDOCK

OCTOBER 2020

Thursday, October 29: Every Picture Tells a Story: The Storytelling of Norman Rockwell. 10:30 - 11:30 - 3 a.m. First Baptist Church of Trussville, 128 North Chalkville Road, Trussville, AL. Free. All are welcome to attend. (The event will be held in the church sanctuary, where there is plenty of room to spread out and social distance. Face coverings are required.)

Norman Rockwell didn't just paint pictures; every picture told a story. In this presentation, storyteller Dolores Hydock shares surprising stories from Rockwell's life and career, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how Rockwell created his one-image stories. Using slide images of his sketches, models, paintings-in-process, and finished work, this program follows the step-by-step creative process Rockwell used in becoming “America’s painter” – and storyteller on canvas.

NOVEMBER 2020

Thursday, November 5: Castles and Cathedrals. 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., Fayette Music Club, Fayette, AL. Event held at Fellowship Hall of the First Baptist Church of Fayette, 432 Temple Avenue North, Fayette, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation and the Fayette Music Club. (The event will be held in the church fellowship hall, where there is plenty of room to spread out and social distance. Face coverings are required.)

Vernon and Irene Castle were ballroom dancers of the Vaudeville era. In thefirst part of the 20th century, they revolutionized the idea ofsocial dancing by making it respectable for partners to dance – in public – to ragtime music. Their story has unexpected detours into theshadows of ragtime, the glittery world of fame and fortune, and thebattlefields of World War I. But the real hero of this intriguing tale is thepublic library system whose resources make their story come to life.

DECEMBER 2020 (tentative)

Saturday, December 5: The Unexpected Christmas. 10 a.m. - noon, holiday brunch sponsored by the Sheffield Public Library. Clarion Inn, 4900 Hatch Blvd., Sheffield, AL. Brunch at 10 a.m., with stories to follow. Tickets available starting in November. For more info, call the library at 256-386-5633.

2020 has been a year when perfect plans got turned upside-down. Why should Christmas be any different? Storyteller Dolores Hydock brings two stories of plans for "perfect" Christmases that turned out to be ... well, different than expected.

Tuesday, December 8: The Unexpected Christmas. 2 - 3 p.m., Anniston Public Library, 108 East 10th Street, Anniston, AL. Free. The event is in the library's auditorium, where there is rooms to spread out and social distance. For more info, call the library at 256-237-8501.

2020 has been a year when perfect plans got turned upside-down. Why should Christmas be any different? Storyteller Dolores Hydock brings two stories of plans for "perfect" Christmases that turned out to be ... well, different than expected.

Wednesday, December 9: It's Not the Food, It's the Fellowship. Alabama Homemakers Christmas Gathering. Private event.

Tuesday, December 15: Stubby Pringle's Christmas, with the music of Bobby Horton. Part of an "old-time Christmas" at the We Piddle Around Theatre, Brundidge, AL. More info coming soon!

2020 has been a year of perfect plans turned upside-down. So let's finish it off with a funny, charming story about a cowboy whose perfect plan for a foot-stompin' good time on Christmas Eve gets derailed by an unexpected detour.

Thursday, December 17: Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory and It's Not the Food, It's the Fellowship. Virtual storytelling performance of two Christmas stories, part of the Storytelling Online series of the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Tickets are $12; the online session is available for viewing by ticket holders from December 17th through December 20th. For tickets, visit www.storytellingcenter.net/storytelling-online

Writer Truman Capote spent part of his childhood in Monroeville, Alabama, living with some elderly cousins. One of those cousins, Miss Sook Faulk, became, as he said, "his first friend." A joyful Christmas from that simpler time and the enduring friendship of a 7-year-old child and his 60-something cousin became the subject of Capote’s beloved story A Christmas Memory. In this special presentation, Capote’s holiday classic is brought to vivid life by storyteller Dolores Hydock.

In the story, Miss Sook’s annual exclamation – It’s fruitcake weather! – sets in motion a ritual of holiday baking that was an essential part of that long-ago Alabama Christmas. Holiday baking steams up another, more modern Alabama kitchen in It’s Not the Food, It’s the Fellowship, the story that begins this two-part, hour-long program.

Both stories will remind you that other people’s relatives and rituals are crazy, too. But most of all, they’ll help you celebrate that spirit of comfort, joy, and connection that makes this such a memorable time of year.

Thursday, December 17: Christmas stories. Private event.

Sunday, December 20: Christmas stories. 10 - 10:45 a.m., Independent Presbyterian Church Highland Hall. Free.

JANUARY 2021 (tentative)

Sunday, January 31: Soup and Stories for the Soul. 12:15 - 2 p.m. Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church. Lunch and story program benefitting the church food pantry. Ticket info TBA.

FEBRUARY 2021 (tentative)

Tuesday, February 9: Valentine stories. Metro Dinner Club, Birmingham, AL.

Saturday, February 20: DKG State Conference, Huntsville, AL.

MARCH 2021 (tentative)

Friday - Saturday, March 19 - 20: Do Tell! Storytelling Festival, Madison, GA.

APRIL 2021

Friday - Saturday, April 16 - 17: Sounds of the Mountains Storytelling Festival, Bethel, VA.

MAY 2021

Friday - Saturday, May 20 - 21: Shoals Storytelling Festival, Florence, AL.

JUNE 2021

Tuesday, June 8: Private event, Birmingham, AL.

Thursday, June 10: Soldiers in Hoop Skirts. Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table, Huntsville, AL.

JULY 2021

AUGUST 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021

OCTOBER 2021

Friday - Sunday, October 1 - 3: National Storytelling Festival, Jonesborough, TN. Ticket info TBA.

NOVEMBER 2021

DECEMBER 2021

upcoming events

If you'd like to be on Dolores' e-mail list for a reminder about upcoming
story performances, send your e-mail address to doloreshydock@gmail.com

Items below in gold are open to the public.

JANUARY 2025

Tuesday, January 28: Shelf Life ~ A story ramble through the Dewey Decimal System. 11 a.m. to noon, Gulf Shores Adult Activity Center, 260 Clubhouse Drive, Gulf Shores, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Gulf Shores Public Library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

A story journey through the library stacks, accompanied by Melvil Dewey and Andrew Carnegie, two brilliant, ambitious men whose vision -- and names -- are forever connected with the modern public library.

Tuesday, January 28: Soldiers in Greasepaint ~ USO Camp Show Entertainers of WWII. 3 - 4 p.m., Westminster Village, 500 Spanish Fort Boulevard, Spanish Fort, AL. Free. Sponsored by Westminster Village and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

It was bigger than Bob Hope! From Utah Beach to the Philippines, USO Camp Shows during WWII were part of a diverse, hilarious, moving, and inspiring story of voluntarism and service. This program shares stories, pictures, and video excerpts of some of the 7000 famous and not-so-famous USO Camp Show performers who brought music, laughs, and a touch of the familiar to US service personnel far from home during World War II.

Wednesday, January 29: Every Picture Tells a Story ~ The storytelling of Norman Rockwell. 10 - 11 a.m., Foley Public Library, 319 East Laurel Avenue, Foley, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Norman Rockwell didn't just paint pictures; every picture told a story. In this presentation, storyteller Dolores Hydock shares surprising stories from Rockwell's life and career, and describes the creative process that Rockwell used to craft his one-image stories.

Wednesday, January 29: Soldiers in Greasepaint ~ USO Camp Show Entertainers of WWII. 2 - 3 p.m., Monroe County Historical Museum, 31 North Alabama Avenue, Monroeville, AL. Free. Sponsored by the museum and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

It was bigger than Bob Hope! From Utah Beach to the Philippines, USO Camp Shows during WWII were part of a diverse, hilarious, moving, and inspiring story of voluntarism and service. This program shares stories, pictures, and video excerpts of some of the 7000 famous and not-so-famous USO Camp Show performers who brought music, laughs, and a touch of the familiar to US service personnel far from home during World War II.

Friday, January 31: Castles and Cathedrals -- A story of social revolutionaries, ragtime music, and the magic of the public library. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., North Shelby County Library, 5521 Cahaba Valley Road, Hoover, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Vernon and Irene Castle were ballroom dancers of the Vaudeville era. Their story has unexpected detours into the glittery world of fame and fortune, and the battlefields of World War I. But the real hero of this intriguing tale is the public library system whose resources make their story come to life.

FEBRUARY 2025

Sunday, February 2: A Close Encounter with Dr. Ruth. 12:30 - 2 p.m., Vestavia Hills Methodist Church, 2061 Kentucky Avenue, Vestavia Hills, AL. Part of the annual "Soup & Stories for the Soul" series, a fund-raiser for the church's food pantry. Tickets for the soup-and-bread lunch are $20, plus a can of soup for the church's food pantry. Doors to the Fellowship Hall open at 12:30. Lunch is first, then the story program. Register through this link: vhmc.tpsdb.com/OnlineReg/644.

Most people know of Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer as a funny, brilliant, successful, and outspoken radio and TV sex therapist. Few people, though, know the incredible journey that led to her pioneering and inspiring career as a therapist and educator. Storyteller Dolores Hydock shares the true story of her unlikely encounter – and hair appointment! – with the one and only "Dr. Ruth."

Tuesday, February 4: Going the Extra Mile ~ The extraordinary journeys of Elizabeth Bisland and Nellie Bly. 3 - 4 p.m., Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 East Tuscaloosa Street, Florence, AL. Free. Part of the meeting of the Florence Study Club. Program sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland made headlines as they raced, solo, in opposite directions around the world in 1889. Though they never met in person, their stories overlap in a fascinating series of coincidences that had them racing against time, injustice, and each other. This is the little-known backstory of their life journeys before and after that famous trip.

Thursday, February 6: Fools for Love ~ Fads and fancies in Regency England. 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., Heflin Public Library, 541 Ross Street, Heflin, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Come enjoy true, tender and sometimes shocking stories of Cupid's mischief as we peek under the covers of a royal scandal and get a sideways glance at strange fads and hair-raising shenanigans among the love-struck fashionable set of 19th century England. These tales are part royal shocker, part True Romance, and part fun facts from history. There's no telling what people will do when Cupid's arrows fly!

Wednesday, February 19: Close Encounters of the Storytelling Kind. Noon - 1 p.m., Pell City Library Auditorium, 1000 Bruce Etheridge Parkway, Pell City, AL. Free. Part of the Library's "Wild and Wonderful Wednesdays" series.

Stories of glancing interactions with famous folks like singer Judy Collins and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and one long story about an afternoon -- and hair appointment! -- shared with the one-and-only Dr. Ruth.

Tuesday, February 25: Fools for Love -- Fads and Fancies in Regency England. 11 a.m. - noon, Double Oak Community Church Hall, 115 Olmstead Street, Mt. Laurel, AL (across the street from the Mt. Laurel Public Library). Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Come enjoy true, tender and sometimes shocking stories of Cupid's mischief as we peek under the covers of a royal scandal and get a sideways glance at strange fads and hair-raising shenanigans among the love-struck fashionable set of 19th century England. These tales are part royal shocker, part True Romance, and part fun facts from history. There's no telling what people will do when Cupid's arrows fly!

MARCH 2025

Wednesday, March 5: The Story Stork ~ Where stories come from. Noon to 1 p.m., B. B. Comer Library, 314 North Broadway Avenue, Sylacauga, AL. Free. Part of the Adult Brown Bag lecture series at the library.

This winter, the library's Brown Bag lecture series theme of "These are our Stories" features several stories from history. But stories come from lots of other places as well. Dolores Hydock follows the story stork to "deliver" a collection of stories from a variety of sources: from everyday life, traditional folklore, a random suggestion, and memory ... along with a story about the story that didn't show up!

Thursday, March 6: Soldiers in Greasepaint -- USO Camp Show Entertainers of WWII. 10 - 11 a.m., Foley Public Library, 319 East Laurel Avenue, Foley, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

It was bigger than Bob Hope! From Utah Beach to the Philippines, USO Camp Shows during WWII were part of a diverse, hilarious, moving, and inspiring story of voluntarism and service. This program shares stories, pictures, and video excerpts of some of the 7000 famous and not-so-famous USO Camp Show performers who brought music, laughs, and a touch of the familiar to US service personnel far from home during World War II.

Thursday, March 6: Soldiers in Hoop Skirts -- Nurses, spies, and other fighting women of the Civil War. 2 - 3 p.m., Gulf Shores Adult Activity Center, 260 Clubhouse Drive, Gulf Shores, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Gulf Shores Public Library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Women on both sides of the conflict did their part for the war effort – as spies, soldiers, nurses, and supporters from the home front. Explore the contributions of sisters, wives, mothers, and daughters who snooped, smuggled, sewed, nursed, and risked their lives, health, and fortunes for a cause they loved.

Tuesday, March 11: Starch in Their Petticoats -- True stories of strong women who settled the West. 10 - 11 a.m., Grace House Church, 389 Seville Street, Florence, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

They were tough, resourceful, and ready for anything -- women of guts and gusto who settled the American West. They were pioneers, homesteaders, pistol-packin' card sharks, entertainers, and "upstairs girls," but they all played a part in putting the shine in the Golden West of the 1800s. Photographs, diary excerpts, letters, and newspaper articles of the day help bring their stories to life.

Tuesday, March 18: Soldiers in Hoop Skirts -- Nurses, spies, and other fighting women of the Civil War. 2 - 3 p.m., Anniston Public Library, 108 East 10th Street, Anniston, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Women on both sides of the conflict did their part for the war effort – as spies, soldiers, nurses, and supporters from the home front. This program shares the true, sometimes funny, sometimes touching, stories of some of the sisters, wives, mothers, and daughters who snooped, smuggled, sewed, nursed, and risked their lives, health, and fortunes for a cause they loved.

Friday, March 21: Love Struck! Stories for the first day of Spring. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Homewood Public Library Auditorium, 1721 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL. Annual spring story concert. Ticket info TBA.

As springtime arrives and sets hearts a-flutter, this year's annual Spring Story Concert features true, tender, and sometimes shocking stories of Cupid's mischief from 20, 200, and even 2000 years ago, proving that people have been "love struck" as long as there have been people. Royal scandal (true), passionate artist (true), and human frailty (unfortunately, also true) meet in these stories of what can happen when Cupid's arrows fly.

Thursday, March 27: Starch in Their Petticoats ~ True stories of strong women who settled the West. Noon - 1 p.m. EASTERN time, H. Grady Bradshaw Library, 3419 20th Avenue, Valley, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

They were tough, resourceful, and ready for anything -- women of guts and gusto who settled the American West. They were pioneers, homesteaders, pistol-packin' card sharks, entertainers, and "upstairs girls," but they all played a part in putting the shine in the Golden West of the 1800s. Photographs, diary excerpts, letters, and newspaper articles of the day help bring their stories to life.

Thursday, March 27: Footprint on the Sky ~ Voices from Chandler Mountain. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m., Red Ridge UMC, 8091 County Road 34, Dadeville, AL. Free. Sponsored by the Dadeville Public Library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, tomato stakes, an old-timey cure for hiccups -- they're all part of this funny and affectionate portrait of an Alabama mountain community in the 1970s. The spirit and voices of special mountain friends come to life in this story of strong women and Southern hospitality.

APRIL 2025

Thursday, April 10: Soldiers in Hoop Skirts ~ Nurses, spies, and other fighting women of the Civil War. 6 - 7 p.m., Carl Elliott Regional Library, 98 18th Street East, Jasper, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Women on both sides of the conflict did their part for the war effort – as spies, soldiers, nurses, and supporters from the home front. Explore the contributions of sisters, wives, mothers, and daughters who snooped, smuggled, sewed, nursed, and risked their lives, health, and fortunes for a cause they loved.

MAY 2025

Friday, May 9: Story TBA. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Gardendale Civic Center, 857 Main Street, Gardendale, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Friday - Saturday, May 16-17: Shoals Storytelling Festival. Shoals Theater in downtown Florence, AL. Ticket info TBA.

JUNE 2025

Tuesday, June 3: Every Picture Tells a Story -- The storytelling of Norman Rockwell. 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Jacksonville Public Library, 200 Pelham Road South, Jacksonville, AL. Free. Sponsored by the library and the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Norman Rockwell didn't just paint pictures; every picture told a story. In this presentation, storyteller Dolores Hydock shares surprising stories from Rockwell's life and career, and describes the creative process that Rockwell used to craft his one-image stories.

Tuesday, June 24: Story Souvenirs. 2 - 3 p.m., Anniston Public Library, 108 East 10th Street, Anniston, AL. Free.

Sometimes the best souvenir you bring home from a trip is a story. Here's a collection of stories from the cobblestones of Prague, a winter day in Paris, a London bus stop, and some pre-trip advice.

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