Eileen Egerton Q&A

In our next two concerts this May, titled Where will I be?, musicians from NW Live Arts collaborate with participants from Single Homeless Project to present a vividly imagined concert of classical, folk and world music interspersed with storytelling drawing on myth and legend.

Participants from Single Homeless Project have been taking part in storytelling workshops in the lead up to the concert, with facilitator Eileen Egerton and the musicians. They will showcase the creative results of these workshops exploring the human experience and personal meaning of being homeless and finding a pathway, not simply back but forward, to a new place of hope. We caught up with Eileen to find out a little bit more about her and what’s been happening in the workshops. 

Tell us about Where will I be? 

This project is a collaboration between professional musicians (from NW Arts Live), a storyteller facilitator (me) and participants who have experienced homelessness (Single Homeless Project) and staff from Single Homeless Project. We will be working together to find creative expression, exploring the question ‘where will I be?’ and reflecting on the journey into and out of homelessness and on what home means to us. We have been having weekly workshops in the run up to the performances on 14 May (Swiss Cottage Library) and 27 May (The Foundling Museum). The performances will include music from many genres including classical, folk and world, and will be interspersed with oral storytelling. The performance will be concluded with a specially commissioned piece of music by Misha Mullov-Abbado. The purpose is to explore the themes, provide connection and creative collaboration and opportunity for participants to work alongside professional musicians and to have their voice heard through story and performance. 

Musicians rehearse for ‘Where will I be?’ © Hugh Schulte

How did you get involved in storytelling?

I’ve always loved hearing a good story, and then I fell in love with storytelling after attending a mask making project at St Mungo’s Recovery College. I’d been working with people for many years (from project worker to job coach and various things in between) and had also completed a Textile Art Foundation course, but I couldn’t seem to find a way to bring it all together. What I loved about these Recovery College sessions was that it mixed everyone up – we were all students – whether we were ‘clients’ or ‘staff’ – it really didn’t matter. A guy called Will was running the sessions; he knew about the history and evolution of the mask in theatre, and he knew about stories. I then found myself on a journey seeking out storytellers, finding places to learn more and then performing myself. It isn’t my main job – I do other things as well. I ended up running a Recovery Project for 3 years and it was such a joy to help to create a little community. I’ve met a lot of people over the years and every one of them has had lots of stories to tell. I was thrilled to be asked to join this project as I believe passionately in the power of the arts to connect, heal, and energise. I have told stories to audiences in local art festivals and in collaboration with other storytellers. I have a diploma in the therapeutic uses of the arts in therapy and education. 

What do you do in the workshops?

We will be focussing on exploring the question ‘where will I be?’ through sharing personal stories and working with traditional/folk tales. We will be developing skills and techniques which will support participants to make sense of and express their experiences to an audience through the power of storytelling. We will look at the structure of stories, description, action, silence, visualisation, bodywork, the voice and how we use words. 

As the facilitator I will be there to keep us focussed on the task of preparing ultimately for a performance whilst also giving space and breadth to the journey of discovery along the way. There is a lot of creative freedom within this project – lots of possibilities and decisions to be made along the way. 

We will be meeting the musicians along the way. Every other week one or two of the musicians will attend the workshop, introduce themselves, their instrument and play. 

This is a chance to explore stories – our stories, folk and traditional stories, oral storytelling – in words and in music. Above all we will be playful. 

Where will I be? is coming to Swiss Cottage Library on 14 May and to the Foundling Museum on 27 May. Tickets are priced from just £12 and can be booked online now.