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scop (noun): Old English – bard, minstrel, storyteller

All-Star Night:
When Scops Come Out to Shine

Story Night Trophy  compressedscop

(skop)  — n

(in Anglo-Saxon England) a bard or minstrel

In addition to being an entertainer who composed and performed his own works, the scop served as a kind of historian and preserver of the oral tradition […].

 — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.

If Riley’s Pour House is steph compressedcontinuing the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon meed-hall by providing a public space to celebrate the art of story, then the storytellers who show up every month to share their tales are indeed following in the footsteps of the ancient scops.

Last night, some of the top scops of 2014 returned to Riley’s for a special All-Star event that culminated with the awarding of the first-ever Riley’s Storytelling Trophy, presented by acclimation to the top storyteller of the year.

It was a close decision, so tight that in the end the prize went to two storytellers: Owen Kilbane and Stephanie Wytovich.

owen with pantiesIn the coming days, I’d like to post of few highlights from last night’s event, starting today with a podcast of Owen Kilbane’s story about growing up in Cleveland and his discovery that being a musician comes with certain rewards.

As a special note, for those of you who missed the live performance, part way through the podcast Owen makes reference to “these.” He says, “It was these actually. These are the actual ones.” To see what he is referring to, please see the photo to the left.

Enjoy!

Image Credits:
– Jim Riley awards the Riley’s Trophy to Owen Kilbane and Stephanie Wytovich. 
– Stephanie Wytovich presents her award-winning story.
– Owen Kilbane holds up a pair of “these.”
– Owen plays his accordion, appropriately draped with one of his other trophies.
All photos copyright © 2014 by The 21st-Century Scop.


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3 responses to “All-Star Night:
When Scops Come Out to Shine

  1. Mimi Avatar
    Mimi

    Lawrence, thanks much for storytelling and links. Wish I could see or hear part of the episodes. I click on your links, I have my sound turned up, but nothing happens. Any tips?

    1. Lawrence C. Connolly Avatar
      Lawrence C. Connolly

      Hello, Mimi:

      Sorry you’re having trouble with the link. My podcast service provider is usually pretty reliable, and the embedded link above worked when I tested it just now. Here’s a direct download link that might work better for you. Please give it a try and let me know if it helps:

      http://traffic.libsyn.com/lawrencecconnolly/Owen_Kilbane_3.mp3

      If it works, I’ll post additional links to the other podcast as well.

      Thanks for the feedback . . . and for your support of Story Night @ Riley’s.

      1. Mimi Avatar
        Mimi

        Lawrence, Yes, it worked! I heard Owen’s hilarious coming of age story. THANK YOU! Mimi

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