for the ARTS record
Jill Ker Conway Jill Ker Conway, an Australian-American author, internationally renowned for her autobiographies and her first memoir, "The Road from Coorain," will be visiting the island to give a lecture on "Stories of Scientists Who are Women"- Thursday, August 9 at 5:30 p.m.

As a guest of the Egan Maritime Foundation, Conway will examine the similarities of the early lives of women and men who chose to become scientists. Along the way, she will comment on the differences in career paths for women and men in Maria Mitchell's era, because of gender stereotyping.

Conway is a graduate from the University of Sydney in History and English, and earned her Ph.D. in History from Harvard University. She served as Vice President for Internal Affairs at the University of Toronto from 1973 to 1975. In 1975, she became the first woman president of Smith College in Massachusetts and served 10 years in that post. Since 1985, she has been a Visiting Scholar and Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She holds 38 honorary degrees from North American and Australian colleges and universities.

A Boston resident, Conway was married to the late John J. Conway, a Canadian war hero and Professor of British History at Harvard.

She is also a director of many major American corporations, including Merrill Lynch & Co., Nike, Inc., and Colgate-Palmolive Co. Her success and personal definition are shaped by her childhood experiences and are detailed in her autobiography, "The Road from Coorain."

2007 Storytelling Festival: Jay Callahan The Nantucket Lighthouse School and Nantucket Atheneum are collaborating for the 2007 Storytelling Festival, which was started six years ago by the Lighthouse School.

In a departure from previous years when the Storytelling Festival was confined to a single week, this year's Festival events will take place throughout the year. "We are able to collaborate more fully with the Lighthouse School using this festival format," says Children's and Young Adult librarian Maggie Head. "Since storytelling has been an important component of our Family Night events, we can join efforts with the Lighthouse School this year for more storytelling events reaching a greater number of people. We especially want the children to hear from these master storytellers. Hearing, understanding and retelling stories is at the foundation of any literate society, and at the core of our shared cultural identity."

Lighthouse Director of Education Lizbet Carroll Fuller adds, "Stories speak to us on many different levels. While they are entertaining, they also teach us about the human experience in general and in specific. Stories provide an engaging and meaningful context for interesting ideas, ethical questions, human dilemmas, and practical information. Children love stories because the language of story is one that they understand intuitively. At Lighthouse School, storytelling is an important aspect of our curriculum as it provides a unique and valuable tool for educating and inspiring children."

The two groups will kick-off their 2007 Festival on Nantucket next month with a storytelling performance for families by internationally renowned storyteller Jay O'Callahan at the Mary P. Walker Auditorium at Nantucket Public High School on Fri., August 10, at 7 p.m. Jay is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades from around the globe, and won a fellowship from the NEA in the "Solo Performance" category. TIME magazine called him "a genius among storytellers." Suggested donation to the performance is $5, and tickets are available at the Atheneum Weezie Library until August 10.

The next day, O'Callahan will share his skills at a workshop for adults entitled "Creativity through Storytelling," on Saturday, August 11 from 9 a.m. - noon, at the Nantucket Atheneum Gallery. Admission to the workshop is $50, and those interested can register at the Atheneum Weezie Library for Children. "In an atmosphere of trust, this master storyteller will help participants explore their creativity to discover their own unique stories within," according to Lighthouse School organizers.

The next Festival event will take place in October, when award-winning performer Katie Latimer returns to Nantucket by popular demand for two free storytelling performances. The first will be a children's performance on Friday, October 26 at 7 p.m. at the Lighthouse School. The second is her re-telling of the seasonallyappropriate "Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allen Poe, for teens and adults at the Nantucket Atheneum's Great Hall on Saturday, October 27, at 7 p.m. Plans are also in the works for a third Festival performance for families to take place in early 2008.

For more information about Jay O'Callahan:, visit www.ocallahan.com.

Theatre: "Wake of the Essex" Written and directed by Lou Rodgers and starring Robert Manzari, "Wake of the Essex" centers around the a sea captain set adrift after his vessel is sunk by a whale.

Set in the Victorian 1820s on Nantucket, the play follows the captain's psychological journey after the wreck and his struggle with the guilt of survival and loss of religious faith. Based on the plight of the whaling ship Essex, this play "strives to convey the tragedy and ironies of one survivor's life."

The playwright and musician are both direct descendants of Captain Pollard. Rodgers, who grew up on India Street in Nantucket, will be in attendance for this performance.
When: Tuesday, August 14th, 8pm
Where: St Pauls Episcopal Church
20 Fair St. Nantucket, MA
Cost: $10 suggested donation
For more information, please call 228-0916
or go to www.stpaulschurchnantucket.org