Randel McGee of Hanford is no stranger to performing in front of crowds.

For 30 years he's been entertaining those of all ages with his trademarked character, Groark the Dragon, but this summer was the first time the pair were given the opportunity to perform on the Philippine Islands.

"I've been to Singapore once, but this was my first time to Manila," McGee said on Sept. 23 after returning from his visit to the capital of the Philippines.

His three-week journey back to China and the Philippines began on Aug. 24 when he boarded a plane that would touch down in Singapore more than 24 hours later.

McGee and Groark spent one night in China before boarding another flight to Manila, where he was scheduled to perform at the first International Storytelling Festival.

"The Filipino people were very friendly and very receptive to all the storytellers," he said. "They got all the jokes and laughed at the right times."

He performed along with other storytellers from throughout the world, including Mexico, France and the United Kingdom who all told stories mainly in English.

McGee said he always makes an effort to translate some of his skits and songs into the native language of wherever he is performing, and the festival in the Philippines was no exception.

With the help of a translator, he and Groark spoke and sang in Tagalog during their introduction, skits and even during a song about friendship.

McGee remembers one specific Filipino woman who watched in amazement as he performed with Groark.

"When I walked into the room with Groark, her jaw just dropped," he said. "She was just totally stunned and had never seen anything like it before."

He only spent a few days in the Philippines before returning to Singapore, but during that time one thing that struck him was the division between the rich and poor.

As he was driven from the airport to his hotel he remembers passing "slums," which were in stark contrast to a gated community where he performed a private show that same night.

"Of course we have that here in America, too, but we have a much larger middle class," he said.

When he returned to Singapore he had several more performances booked and workshops to teach. He taught others voice techniques and the art of paper cutting, which he uses when telling stories as the Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen.

During his trip he wasn't too busy to discover some interesting fruits and plants and write about them on his blog at www.mcgeeproductions.com.

He was particularly amused by a large, spiky fruit called durian, that smells so bad it is not allowed on some of the city buses in Manila.

Though it was McGee's first trip to the Philippines, he has performed to audiences throughout the world and later this month he will hit the road again, destined for Japan.

"I think it's pretty amazing that we come from all around the world, yet the art form of storytelling is still the same," he said. "It crosses all kinds of cultural barriers and I think we have a lot more similarities as humanity than we often realize."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2427.

(Oct. 3, 2009)