The Heart’s True Scale


Just what is “The Heart’s True Scale?”

“The Heart’s True Scale” is an original fairytale for adults written and performed by Denise Bennett. Using voice and harp, humor and drama, “The Heart’s True Scale” combines elements of traditional storytelling and theater. The running time is aproximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, usually performed with a brief intermission.

Past Performances

House Concert Balitmore Maryland – January 2007, Culpepper Library’s Adult Storytelling Series — March 2007, Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School — February 2007, Virginia Storytelling Alliance Showcase — March 2007, Richmond Premiere — The Firehouse Theater — April 2007 –Saint Mary’s Woods — February 2008 — The Henrico Theatre — February 2008 –The Hermitage –March 14, 2009

April 24, 2009 7:30 p.m. Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Glen Allen, VA  click here for more details  http://storiesbydenise.com/site/?page_id=4

Reactions

Denise Bennett is a storyteller and a musician of exceptional talent. Her work is timeless, and flawless. Her work reminds us of the love that dwells in the deep heart’s core.
-Elizabeth Ellis, master storyteller and author

“The Heart’s True Scale” is carries the listener into the realm of story-magic, traveling through deep and complex feeling, bringing us home to our own self-knowledge and inner wisdom. Denise Bennett guides us on the path with harp and song and a multiplicity of voices that may turn out to be all our own.
-Gail Rosen, storyteller and founder of the Healing Story Alliance

For anyone out there wondering about Denise’s “Heart’s True Scale,” I can tell you it’s magnificent. Deeply moving yet accessible, with big dabs of humor. It’s hard for me to imagine someone who wouldn’t enjoy it.
-Doug Lipman, master storyteller, author

“Denise Bennett’s story was the MOST powerful healing story I have ever heard. She used her harp to take it to a much deeper level. The story was heard on so many levels. Time stopped and I was in a different time and space. The visual images Denise gave were immensely powerful and have stayed with me.”
-Louisa Painter, LCSW (ret)

“First, if you missed Denise’s performance last night, you probably missed one of the most outstanding storytelling events this City, or most any place, has ever witnessed. She was incredible, deserving of every ounce of the standing ovation she received – along with arm loads of flowers and a houseful of huzzahs! What a treat and gift!
-Les Schaffer, LPC

“Dee and had to leave right after the show on Saturday or we would have told you this in person. Your story moved us deeply. We couldn’t stop talking about it all the way home. What a wonderful creation, what a gift to all of us that heard you. I was especially impressed by the way you reminded us of a familiar story (Beauty and the Beast), but at the same time gave us something truly original. Another piece of your artistry: even the hints at the familiar didn’t come for me til the second act. Until then, I wasn’t at all sure what route the story would take, and I was on the edge of my chair! Congratulations!”
-George Crafts, historian and storyteller

“Amazing” “Remarkable”, just a few of the comments we heard as we left the theater Saturday night. Denise…you were all that and more! You do have a remarkable talent and gift
-Judy Dyer

“The Heart’s True Scale”

Review by Nicole Peasely, on www.richmond.com
Denise Bennett is the quintessential weaver of stories. So when she invited me to a preview performance of “The Heart’s True Scale,” I was giddy with anticipation. Sitting in the Black Box Theater at the Governor’s School, I read the program description: “an original fairytale for adults.” ‘Hmm,’ I thought, a bit disappointed. Honestly, I was craving one of Bennett’s personal stories. I wanted to smell the flowers in her grandmother’s garden. I wanted to feel the warmth of her newborn sons. I didn’t want a story from her head; I wanted one from her heart… and that’s exactly what I got.

With the first breath of this story, I was keenly aware of the emotional journey upon which I was embarking. At once, I felt I was the only one in the theater, this story meant only for me, so spellbinding and warm was Bennett’s connection to her audience. With her harp as an extension of herself, she led the audience into an imaginary countryside where we met the red headed, green-eyed protagonist, Nate, a traveling musician and irresistibly charming playboy. Through Nate and the other characters we meet, Bennett used her musical talents to weave harp, voice, and story to create a theatrical experience that mixes humor with pathos and magic with earthiness.

As the story unfolded, I forgot that this was a one-woman show, so fluid were Bennett’s transitions from narrator to the hapless harp-player to horrid beast to exploited maiden. And the harp evolved into the core symbol of the transformative power of love, the story’s underlying theme. Bennett made use of the harp as both musical instrument and staging element. Switching from third person to first person narration, Bennett became the beautiful maiden, recounting her own story from behind the harp – the strings evoking the image of bars — expressing a grief and rage that brought tears to my eyes. I won’t give away the plot, but I will say that I was given the happy ending I so craved.

After 80 fleeting minutes of theatrical magic, I was not ready for this performance to be over. I realized that even a fairytale can be a personal story, if it is performed by an artist like Denise Bennett, whose talent is as great as her own heart’s true scale.

“The Heart’s True Scale” is part of “The Tell Tale Heart’s Storytellers Theater Spring Season” It will be presented at The Firehouse Theater on Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

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