From June, 2004:
This past year, we were offered a PhD.'s worth of lessons in storytelling, gathered together as Storytelling 101. We did our homework, learned so much, and passed with honors.
What follows is the Cliff Notes™ version of the inspiring workshops which were offered during the 2003–2004 workshop year.
I had known of Laura's work for years, but I didn't get to hear her until she was at the Tribeca Film Festival's Family Day in 2003. As the storytelling consultant for the event, I knew that having Laura as one of the featured tellers would be a fine thing… and it was. She led the way for the twenty–five other tellers who told stories at the event.
So, as a new Board member, I jumped at the chance to take tickets for Laura's workshop. I looked forward to hearing stories told to her by the Roumanian women she worked with. I waited to hear those stories — but they were not what I heard.
I heard something more vital than a few stories. Laura invited us into her process – how she met these women with her own expectations, and how she had to put her plans aside to work with the reality of their lives.
The "old" stories were just not there for the asking. But there were other stories — lots of stories — and these women found the sound of their own voices through Laura's insightful work…
Bill Gordh.
In this workshop, Penninah Schram showed us why she is not only a master storyteller, but also a masterful teacher of storytelling.
She began with exercises designed to encourage concentration and listening — to ourselves as well as to the other tellers. Dividing us into small groups of four or five tellers, we were given short pieces from Arnold Lobel's Fables to work with. Peninnah then demostrated a technique for quickly and effectively learning a brief story.
Each of us read our fable to ourselves and then to our group. We then discussed the story. After another round–robin reading and discussion, we each drew a stick–figure storyboard recapping the story in about eight scenes, and examined what we had left out.
These exercises offered insights into the ways each of us learns best, as visual or oral learners. One of the delights of the evening was seeing the different emphases, meanings, and personalities different tellers brought to their stories. We all shared our new stories with each other.
Peninnah advised us to tell our new story to someone else within the next day or two, and to think about how the story had changed. She suggested that a story is not yours until the twentieth telling — and that on the twenty-first, you will still find something new. We left the workshop with gratitude for the experience and a new story to share.
Rita Auerbach.
'Twas a bitterly cold January night, a night not fit for man or beast. Lisa Lipkin emerged, dressed in a Yukon wool cap and a thick scarf. A dozen or so intrepid storytellers showed up, despite frozen fingers and toes, to explore the art and craft of personal storytelling.
Sitting in front of the frozen followers with a cup of hot tea, Lisa warmed us up with wit and wisdom. She didn't begin with a story, which is how many guest instructors begin. She got down to business by offering tips and techniques. Many of us have memories of events, or we remember things that were said to us, that we think would make interesting stories. These are called anecdotes. Lisa gave us tools for turning anecdotes into stories.
A scrap of a memory can be turned into a story, moving from the particular to the universal. We can expand our "scraps" and make them more interesting by using colorful language such as similies. "Don't forget the power of the pause. And know why you are telling the story." She also offered the ideas of vocal characterization, expanding on the original ideas, and tips on collecting and sharing family folklore. We had fun exploring the same story from different points of view — the hero's, the grandfather's, the table's, the chair's, the dog's, and so on.
One very important point was about not turning things into stories until enough time has passed — until you have processed the experience, have some perspective, and can offer the story with both feeling and clarity.
We carried the warmth from the workshop into the wintry night, and were delighted and enriched by the comfort Lisa gave us.
Regina Ress.
Julie Della Torre and Nicole Cooke gave a definitive workshop on the resources for finding the perfect story. Julie guided us through Margaret MacDonald's The Storyteller's Sourcebook and showed us how to look for stories by subject, motif, and title.
Nicole showed us how to find storytellers on the web, the various ways of how to "shop" for stories on the Web, and educated us about some sites we could visit that would help us solve permission and Copyright problems. She also demostrated how to use a Google search more effectively to find stories.
The evening concluded with Julie telling, in her inimitable way, "The Rooster's Horns," a Chinese tale which was used throughout the workshop as an example of how to search for story.
John Colligan.
Julie Pasqual — clown, stilt–walker, and storyteller extraordinaire, who works for such organizations as the Big Apple Circus — taught in her interactive workshop how we could use our physical selves more comfortably and naturally in our storytelling.
I've had the privilege of knowing and working with Julie for several years. She uses her marvelous talents to teach such subjects as drama, William Shakespeare, and storytelling to children and adults. It's amazing to watch non–interested junior high schoolers become interested and involved in her workshops, due to Julie's high level of energy and her unabashed cheerfulness and positive nature. (You go, girl!)
She had us from the beginning. She talked about her work a bit — using mime, character movement, and physical characterization — and then got us on our feet for warmup exercises. She encouraged us to be aware of our posture, how subtle changes in posture can affect one's feelings, and how we convey meaning by the way we occupy space.
"To be authentic," she suggested, "movement must come from within and be suitable to the context of the story. Simple movements are often the most effective. Mime is about creating illusion and belief, rather than about recreating actual actions."
Like so many of our workshop speakers this year, she spoke about living in the moment. "If you appear to put things down, remember where you put them. If you give the illusion of putting something on a table, be sure you know where the table is."
Julie suggested using movement to communicate the action of the story without relying on words, to describe pauses, and to create the illusion of objects with hand shapes. She also suggested ways to incorporate significant movements that solidify into memories of the stories the way catch phrases do. If you walk with a King's posture, the listeners know the King is now speaking.
She had us doing storytelling and creative drama exercises, such as the "Statue Game" and "The Magic Box" (where you remove an imaginary object and use it in an activity), and had us use movement in simple stories.
"Suite the action to the word, the word to the action… that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature" (William Shakespeare).
Rita Auerbach.
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket," is frequently hear from storytellers. That was a notion that celebrated storyteller and educator Heather Forest sought to dispel with her workshop. Heather is the recipient of numerous awards and has recorded many storytelling albums — as well as being the author of several books.
"Music is intristic to all human cultures," is what she said. "We are all musicians. You don't need external instruments to tell the story, although knowing how to play them certainly is nice. Our vocal chords are instuments we have with us all the time. They can do so many things."
Don't be afraid to sing. All of us have worthy voices. And songs and music can be very important in communicating the story. We can key into a repeating chorus line, and that gives the listeners something to identify with and invites them along on the journey of the story.
She taught us that our voices are our instruments and that there is music in speech just as in songs. She had us listening to ourselves and to the sounds of our own spoken words. Heather presented the musicality of language and speech — tempo, pitch, timbre, volume, syncopation, and fullness. Attention to these qualities in speech makes the words much more effective.
She also talked about what she called the "five languages" or avenues of communicating a story to listeners. These are through the text of the story, the sound made by the teller, the teller's body language, the use of gestures, and facial expressions.
Heather also shared her experiences as a teller and musician, and demostrated her principles by telling some of her own stories.
Eileen Palley.
Two former Center Board members — Lu Ann Adams and Thelma Ruffin Thomas — joined current Board member Bill Gordh for a fascinating and often moving discussion of the depth and power of storytelling at our May workshop.
The panel members began by relating their own personal stories of how they came to storytelling.
Thelma came to story with an agenda — survival, travel, and story for teens. She has made many accomplishments in these endeavors, and is a Biblical teller as well. LuAnn comes from a theatre background and uses puppets and props in her award–winning work in storytelling and children's programs. And Bill spoke of how he uses story to teach and promote literacy in the New York City school system. He is also a wonderful musician who uses music and songs to tell stories.
After sharing their experiences, they opened up the floor for questions and aptly fielded the inquiries and comments. They delighted us with stories — and with stories about telling stories in such diverse places as preschools, correctional facilities, and Shriner's hospitals. The evening's dialogue was fascinating, inspiring, and thoroughly enjoyable. What a fine way to end this season's workshop series!
Ruth Lesh.
Also in this section:
Remembering John Colligan
Greetings from Center Director Robin Bady
Fall Story Concert and Swap 2007
Remember Selma Wiener
Remembering Ruth Lesh
2004–5 Workshop Report
Tellabration! 2005 Report
Tellabration! 2004 Report
Tellabration! 2003 Report by Regina Ress
