Judith Black

That Fading Scent, which employs cross cultural depictions facilitated through the Snow White motif, was well received by the 2006 Fringe audience, but breached the edges of the "mixed (i.e. family) audience" at the 2007 National Storytelling Network Conference, illustrating the subjective limits of what is, or is not, considered appropriate. As Niemi noted, Black's work broaches a philosophical aesthetic dilemma in the storytelling community: How willing are we as a community of storytellers and story listeners to give permission for the performance of different styles and levels of challenge and maturity? How willing are we to entertain performances that subvert the expectations of safe and humorous yarns that have become the norm of the last 20 years of concert telling, to allow storytellings that burst those boundaries and perhaps fail to please an audience in the process? (Niemi 2008, 53) In this sense, testing the subjective limits of normalcy serves up a rescue attempt on the field of storytelling by promoting its self-awareness as a discipline and profession. The uncomfortable perturbations of social breaching, as exemplified in Black's edgier work, contribute to the overall style and aesthetics of storytelling as a professional endeavour. As Mann (2009) noted, the development of storytelling's aesthetic forms is to some degree the result of a wide variety of approaches to how stories such as The Epic of Gilgamesh have been told. Black's "storytelling in character" is listed alongside Anna Deavere Smith and Cirque du Soleil as important in the history of story telling.

As previously noted, Black's work is multifaceted, embracing a wide array of topics, as well as cultural themes. Black often delves into issues surrounding the Jewish identity. Several of her works are listed in the Jewish Storytelling Coalition's annotated bibliography of important tales of Jewish culture. These stories carry on the traditions of "folktales, fairytales, legends, midrashim, and parables" found within the annals of Jewish cultural. Judaism boasts a strong tradition of interdependence between written text and spoken word; Black is listed in a selection of important works in this tradition. Black has also confronted the topic of ageing and death in America, telling stories in the context of medical and elder care settings. For example, her story Retiring the Champ has been credited in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias as providing a "poignant reminder of the humanity of the patient and the complexity of patient relationships to family and environment." Retiring the Champ was also noted in several medical publication sources as providing a valuable contribution to issues surrounding the medical community such as death, dying, suffering, and loss, while calling on the listener to evaluate ethical and moral implications of specific medical practices, such as doctor/patient/family relations and the hierarchy of medical institutions. Finally, Black's work has also been tailored to provide practical applications to professionals in an educational setting. Black herself earned a bachelor's degree in education; she often employs the techniques of classroom teaching to convey her message. Massachusetts Cable Educational Television commissioned Black to develop three separate television series for children. She was also commissioned to create a first person reenactment of the life of Lucy Stone. In December 2011 she was awarded a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services to create a three part educational series promoting healthier lifestyles for youth and adults. Finally, she has been commissioned to create works for historical associations, such as the U.S.S. Constitution Museum, which lists her as an important resource of historical stories concerning the War of 1812.

Judith Black is recorded with the occupation storyteller. Recorded as storyteller, actress and photographer. Established in RKDartists under 389273.