Celebrate the Gift of
Story!
by Karl Hallsten
Once upon a time, a
very long time ago, there were no books or writers, there was no
alphabet, but there were stories and storytellers. People
gathered to share the collected wisdom and experience of their
village. They told and listened to stories that explained how
things came to be the way they are, stories about creation,
stories about the animals, stories about their friends and
enemies, stories about their heroes and villains.
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The oral tradition begins
They passed their wisdom, their
values, from one generation to another through the stories they told.
Some of the stories were common everyday stories. Others had special
significance, their sacred stories that sometimes were only told by
designated storyteller, in a designated place at a special time.
The passing of these stories
from one storyteller to another is called the oral tradition.
Fortunately, many of these stories are with us to this day. When people
learned to write and later print books, and then again with printing
presses and more recently electronic printing, people began to rely more
on the writers to record the stories than on the oral tradition to pass
them on. As movies, television, and videos came into common use we began
to rely on the new media to tell our stories, to teach our values to
formulate and pass on our traditions. And so the responsibility passed
from the village to the national media networks.
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America's Storytelling Revival begins
Thirty years ago, in 1972 in
the small town of Jonesborough, Tennessee, some storytellers gathered to
celebrate and honor the gift of story and especially the gift of
storytelling. That was the beginning of America's Storytelling Revival.
That annual gathering, known as the National Storytelling Festival and
held on the first weekend in October, is the largest such festival in
the world and it gives impetus to many more festivals and storytelling
events across the country and around the world.
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Story hours a forerunner of the revival
But over 70 years before that,
librarians in public libraries began telling stories, mostly to young
children as a way to introduce them to "story" and to prepare them for,
and encourage reading. Many credit the Children's Department of the
Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh as being the first library with a formal
storytelling program in 1899. By 1910 the idea had spread. That year
storytelling librarians in New York City's public libraries told stories
to over 30,000 children in 1008 story hours at 36 libraries. Staff
workshops were held for staff, and new librarians were trained in the
art of storytelling. Anna Cogswell Tyler wrote in a report that
testified to the value of storytelling to promote reading and to broaden
the scope and interest of readers to other materials.
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Tellabration! creates a common world
experience of storytelling
The tradition of Tellabration!
began in Connecticut in 1988 when J.G. Pinkerton, a storyteller shared
with his colleagues the idea of celebrating storytelling in all
communities on the same night. Six events were held that year across the
state. The idea of celebrating the gift of story and sharing it with
others for the benefit of the community on one common night took hold
and two years later had spread to over 40 states when the forerunner of
the National Storytelling Network assumed a responsibility for
coordinating the event. Now several other countries have joined in
making Tellabration! an International celebration of story.
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Storytelling Week extends the celebration to
other venues, age groups
Tellabrations are traditionally
held on the Saturday night before American Thanksgiving with adult
audiences. Soon after the establishment of Tellabrations, the week
ending on that Saturday began to be designated as Storytelling Week in
many states. In 1998, Myra Davis, who was administrator for the Florida
Storytelling Association, worked with her state representative to have
that week formally proclaimed Florida Storytelling Week. That
designation by the Florida House of Representatives has continued each
year.
Storytelling Week is to be
celebrated everywhere, and with all age groups. While schools and
libraries are the most common venues, churches, community centers,
senior centers, retirement centers, village squares, and parks are
increasingly scenes for storytelling celebrations.
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What is storytelling?
Storytelling brings three major
elements together in interaction. The element of story is traded back
and forth between the teller and the listeners. No one storytelling
session will be like another, each is unique, it is dynamic. The
listeners help to shape the nuances and subtitles of the story as the
teller responds to their faces, body language, and environment. It is
very different than watching a video, TV or listening to a tape. A
storyteller can never really tell the same story, the same way, twice.
All the elements are altered in the process of storytelling.
Many people confuse
storytelling and reading aloud. Both are valid, useful activities — but
different. When reading aloud, the book itself takes on an important
role and reduces the direct intimacy of teller and listener.
Storytelling is more direct and will impact people differently.
In its purer forms, the locus
of storytelling is in the imagination of the teller and the listeners.
The less the teller relies on "the words" and the more on the "images"
in their mind, the more powerful the transfer of image will be.
Pictures, props, and costumes can short-circuit the power of
imagination. The storyteller has in their "supply box" the story, their
voice, their body and facial expression and words to transfer the story
to the listener.
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Oral language is different from literary language
Oral language is the language
of storytelling. We all learn oral language before we learn to read or
write. By the time we learn to read and write, we are at least
bilingual. Regardless of the ethnic or national origin of our language,
different rules apply to oral or spoken language than to written or
literary language. Original folktales work better in oral presentation
than they do on written page, they follow a structure and pattern that
is different. The language is more condensed, sentences are usually
shorter, less complex. There are usually several forms of repetition,
very useful memory tool, sometimes this comes in the form of a chorus or
refrain that is repeated such as "not by the hair of my chinny chin
chin!" Sometimes the repetition is seen in the series of events that get
us from beginning to end. Each of the events is similar in form and
outcome. Most often, the repetition is in threes or sevens, as in the
Three Little Pigs. The three pigs each build a house of three different
materials, the wolf comes and says the same thing to all three. Each
responds the same, except the third pig's wisdom prevails. This rhythmic
repetition aids both teller and listener, It is like the drumbeat that
helps the dancers. Even if we haven't heard the story before we know
where we are in it. When we listen to a told story, if we miss
something, we cannot go back to see what it was as we can when we read.
We only get the one shot so it is important it be clear.
Storytellers use their face,
body and voice to develop and convey feeling and character, they don't
need to explain that the queen said angrily, they can use the voice of
the queen and say it as she would in anger. In oral language those
elements carry as much or more weight than the words. Literary language
lacks those elements, so more description is required. A skillful
storyteller can use his voice and the meter to create the wind storms
and needs far viewer words to convey the setting. Stories told in oral
language are condensed compared to their literary language variant.
It is possible to memorize and
tell a story in literary language but it is not necessary and is usually
less effective. It is more efficient and effective for the storyteller
to internalize the imagery of the story and "translate" it into oral
language, often expressed as telling in their own words. This frees the
teller to modify the story by embellishment or condensation in the
process of telling. They draw clues from the listeners and their own
engagement in the story.
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Where can I find a storyteller?
Some will say, we are all
storytellers and in a sense, we are. However, storytelling is like
singing. Some of us should only sing in the shower, while others are
well equipped to sing before the local club or congregation and a few
for the concert hall.
There are several
local
StoryGroups across Florida.
Also here on the website is a
performer directory. If you are in
need of a storyteller, you may also
contact FSA.
They can forward your interest to over 200 members of our state
organization, and someone will be able to help you locate an appropriate
storyteller for your situation.
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Hiring a storyteller
When hiring a storyteller,
begin by identifying what you want. What is the age group, the size of
your group, topic, length of program, setting, and what resources do you
have? Some storytellers will be very effective in a classroom and not do
as well in a large assembly. Some will be excellent with children and
not be able to make the shift to an adult audience. Some are adept at
working a crowd on the street in a festival situation, and others (who
may do very well in a more controlled environment) would not be as
effective. If you are getting references from others, be sure to
consider what the setting was they heard them in, and how that compares
to your need.
Storytellers are independent
contractors. Some are engaged full-time and make their living as
artists; others are engaged part-time and supplement their income; for
yet others, it is a hobby. There are very good tellers for most
community settings in all categories.
By assisting the storyteller in
finding other venues in your area so they can benefit from multiple
bookings, you may be able to negotiate price and secure a lower rate
than you would for a single or isolated booking.
Storytelling is a live,
interactive art. It cannot be successfully recorded. Don't rely very
heavily on audio or video tapes when making your selection. References
from knowledgeable, trusted observers that you know are far more
reliable.
Remember that because
storytelling is interactive, the composition of your audience is nearly
as important in the success of the event as the choice of teller. A few
people, who listen with their whole being, can change the flow of story
from the teller. One or two with an infectious laugh can completely
change an event from an interesting one to a hilarious side-splitter.
Same stories, same teller, different audience.
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