CONTENTS:
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Storytelling
CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER:
- Storytelling is a folk art
- It is a form of expression that belongs to each of us
- Your contribution to a tale will be your special telling of it
- You should play with a story and make it your own
- You should develop a style you find comfortable
- You as the storyteller and the people to whom you tell a story form a folk group: You should develop a repertoire of stories tailored to your particular folk audience
- A storytelling event
- Storytelling is distinct from conversational speech; the teller enters a performing mode through body language, delivery, and attitude
- Storytelling is distinct from traditional theatrical performance: storytelling is more intimate and sense of comradery develops between teller and audience
- Storytelling is an audience shaped art form; it involves both audience and teller in an constant interplay of tension
- The interplay between audience and teller is the heart of the storytelling event
- Tales
- There is no one final tale text: There are only transcriptions of tales taken from single tellings by individual storytellers
- Each tale changes from telling to telling and from teller to teller
- Each storytelling event functions within its own cultural context and the meaning a tale takes is determined by the context in which it is told
- Permissions as storytellers
- We may practice the art of storytelling even if we are not master tellers
- It is all right to tell the tales of cultures other than our own
- We should learn as much as possible about the function and context of the tale in its own culture
- In retelling, a tale will change and reflect the new context in which it is told
- Finding a tale
- Browse through collections of folktales and short stories
- Mine specific areas--ethnic areas, tale genres--that particularly delight you
- Keep lists of tales that you might to learn one day
- Borrow from other tellers--storytelling is an oral art form and passes more easily form teller to teller than from teller-to-collector-to-author-to-book-to-teller
- Once you have identified a tale, shop around for the best possible variant
HINT: Check MacDonaldıs Storytellerıs Sourcebook to see if other variants of that tale are available
- Start with short tales with repetitive elements
- Language of the tale is important: start with tales which use direct language, possess a rhythm and cadence and reads aloud well (avoid tales with overly flowery or burdened with descriptive passages)
- Choose only tales that delight you (a tale must be so good that you canıt wait to tel it to someone)
- Preparing a tale text from a childrenıs short story
- Read the story through several times until you have a fell for the tale from beginning to end, including the constant forward movement of the plot and overall form of the tale
- Mark especially well-turned phrases, magical words, or chants that you want to retain in your own telling
- If the tale includes repetition, be sure your final version keeps the repeated elements parallel in their form (aesthetics of the folktale demand this)
- Examine the beginning and ending of the tale: these must be perfect; reword the authorıs phrasing if necessary
- Mark out phrases that are too long, too wordy, or too much of a side-track from the taleıs progress
vEach word of the tale must be necessary; constantly ask yourself: Is it necessary? Is it beautiful? Is it fun? If a sentence fulfills none of these functions, you should probably cut it
- Read through your edited version: Does it flow? Does the sound of it please you? Have you cut too much and lost some of the flavor of the piece?
- Learning a tale
- A five-minute tale can usually be learned in about an hour and a half
- Find a place where you will not be disturbed, where you can pace about, gesture, rant and rave as the tale dictates.
- Read through your tale
- Read the tale again, this time out loud. Listen to the sound of the language. Watch for pacing, cadences, the flow of the language
- Read it out loud again. This time, stop to memorize the beginning and the ending and any chants or key phrases. The first sentence must be absolutely perfect, a magical entré into the land of the imagination. Committing the final phrase to memory assures you a polished, confident flourish at the taleıs end.
- Now, put down the written tale and begin to tell the tale in your own words. The rest of the tale should not be memorized. Tell the tale as far as you can remember, then stop and check your progress with the written tale. Note any changes you want to make in your telling and begin again. Continue until you have gotten through the entire tale.
- Tell the whole tale out loud one more time
- Each teller will develop a unique learning style: some learn by making mental pictures of the taleıs scenes and seeing these as they tell; other rely on the flow of the language
- Between your first hour-long learning session and your second rehearsal, tell the tale to yourself two or three times--while at work, driving, silently while waiting for someone; sing it in the shower
- Just before performing a tale
- On the day of your first performance, plan for another half hour of complete concentration to rehearse your tale--find a place where you can pace about and talk out loud.
- Tell the tale out loud. Imagine the audience; face them and tell to them. Imagine yourself communicating with the audience as you tell.
- Take time to smooth out any problems in your telling. Practice a difficult phrase or two
- Perform the polished tale for your imaginary audience one last time
- Tell yourself that you are fantastic!
- Performing a tale
- Pause before you launch into your tale. Gather your audience together with your silence. Let you body language and your manner tell them that something extraordinary is about to begin
- Take special care with your opening phrase. This is the magical moment, the bridge between the ordinary and the fabulous. Make certain that the crossing is deliberate
- Throughout the telling be aware of your audience. Speak to them. Maintain eye contact and try to be aware of each personıs response to your story
- The ending, as the beginning, must be deliberate and perfect. Let the audience down gently, then stand quietly for a moment as the group returns to reality.
- Should the audience not respond, do not take this as a sign of failure. Some audiences clap, some exclaim, some sit quietly and think
>p>From: MacDonald, Margaret Read (1986). Twenty tellable tales: Audience participation folktales for the beginning storyteller, pp. 181-191. H. W. Wilson Co. Z675.S3.M16.
Why Tell Stories
- To help children learn to listen
- To enlarge the listenerıs vocabulary
- To extend a childıs knowledge of the worlds of fact and fantasy.
- To stimulate the listenerıs imagination.
- To create an appetite for words.
- To introduce the shard activity of storytelling--from author to teller to audience.
FROM: Bicknell and Trotman (1988). How to write and illustrate Childrenıs Books, p. 9. North Light Books.
Story Structuring and Mapping
Story structure:
- Story line:
- Beginning:
- sets the stage
- introduces the characters
- introduces the conflict
- Body:
- conflict builds to a climax
- Resolution:
- resolution of the conflict
Action:
- how the action starts
- how the action accelerates
- know absolutely the successive steps in the course of action
Transitions:
- how and where transitions occur
Sequences:
- sequences of names
- sequences of events
- Style:
- flavor and vigor of the story
- characteristic recurring phrases and rhymes
- unusual words and expressions
Book Talk
Book talks are frequently used by teachers and librarians to introduce books to children. Book talks can be also be adapted for use by parents, relatives, and caregivers to introduce books to a single child or to a small couple of children of various ages. The primary purpose of a book talk is to interest children in reading the book themselves.
Rather than reveal the whole story, the book talk tells just enough about the book to entice others to read it. A book talk may be about one title; it may be about several unrelated books that would have wide appeal; or it may revolve around several books with a similar theme, such as ³getting along in the family² or ³courage² or ³survival stories.²
Book talks usually have the following structure:
- begin with recounting an amusing episode or with telling about an exciting moment in the book
- you might want to assume the role of a character in a book and tell of that characterıs experience; you should stop before the crisis is over or the mystery solved
- details should be specific; it is better to let the story stand on its own than to characterize it as ³a terribly funny² or ³the most exciting² story
- enthusiasm for the book will convey your opinion of it; this is why book talks should be given only about stories you genuinely like. Children will then come to trust this evaluation
- it is best if the book is on hand as it is discussed, so that the child can begin reading it as soon as the book is finished
Adapted from: Huck, Hepler, Hickman, & Kiefer (1997). Childrenıs literature in the elementary school (6th ed.), p. 637. McGraw Hill.
Pre-storytelling Exercises
Tongue Exercises
- Stick out tongue and touch nose; point tongue.
- Stick out tongue and touch chin; point tongue.
- Stick out tongue from right side of mouth; point tongue.
- Stick out tongue from left side of mouth; point tongue.
- Rotate tongue--encircle lips first to right, then to left.
- Trill tongue.
- Repeat ³Around the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran² three times from the chest.
Lip Exercises:
- Pout, relax; pout, relax..
- Spread lips and say E (long E).
- Round lips and say OO.
Jaw Exercises
- Move jaw from side to side.
- Move jaw up and down.
- Rotate jaw first to left, then to right, then open and close mouth slowly.
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