Storytelling: Going Back to the Basics
It began long before mass media or the printing press, back when the tribe sat around the fire in the caves and recounted the day's hunt, sometimes assisted by visual aids, painted on the cave walls with various organic pigments. Even before set languages developed, there were grunts, movements, and pictures that told a story.
Sometimes the stories recounted events of the day, or retold the lives of significant ancestors. Sometimes the stories helped explain to primitive humans the workings of nature, which later became many of the myths that still exist today. Sometimes the stories educated. Sometimes they merely entertained. Stories transcend cultures, ages, continents, and religions.
Historically, those who tell the stories have been deemed powerful. In ancient times, the shamans told stories. During the middle ages, storytellers earned their way around the countryside providing amusement from house to house in exchange for food or shelter. "Sing for your supper," was a way of living.
Recently, I met a pair of professional storytellers and was able to find in their craft many commonalities with playwriting in particular, and drama in general. Sondra Singer and Helen Trencher live in the Denver area, and are storytellers, who also play and sing music and perform on various percussion instruments. Both have stage acting experience, too.
Since having a good story is so key to a successful script, I thought it would be fun to explore this timeless skill in contrast to modern playwriting. Obviously, there are many differences, but I'd rather focus on the similarities.
First, is the basics of the storyline. There must be a beginning, middle, and end; a situation and protagonist, followed by some additional force, person, or presence that changes the situation or forces the protagonist to act, and finally, there is a conclusion where the protagonist is found to either have succeeded or lost.
Dramatically speaking, the storytelling also includes speaking skills (generally involving multiple characters), the portrayal of emotions, accompanying movements, and considerable thought given to the audience; usually with more direct contact than a play would allow.
What follows are discussions I had with Sondra and Helen. I posed some questions from a playwright's perspective and here's what they had to say.
Q: Why did you start telling stories?
Sondra: I started storytelling as I was getting divorced ten years ago. I went to a house concert performed by Susan Marie Frontczak and asked her if she taught. I was in her next class. I had a long-time theatre background, but knew nothing about storytelling. I asked Susan where to find stories. She told me to just walk into the library, find the section with folk tales, and open a book. Amazingly, when I did that, I opened a book of Jewish folktales to The Woman Who Was Almost Stoned to Death, which is still the only "feminist" Jewish folk tale I've ever encountered. It is intense and dramatic and fit my emotional state at the time to a "t." After that, Susan encouraged me to perform, as did others. I've been a professional storyteller ever since. Storytelling gives me the flexibility to schedule my own rehearsals and programs around my day job and my life.
Helen: I wanted another avenue/venue to express myself creatively. And, unlike stage acting, with storytelling a storyteller does connect, directly, with audience members.
Q: What are the key elements to good and successful storytelling?
Helen: Being in the moment -- for example, if the character I'm portraying is sad, express sad. If happy, express happy. Also, it pays to be excited about the topic I'm telling about. I've always chosen stories that touch me in some way, or that I am just compelled to share. For example, next week at a storytelling "extravaganza" sponsored by the Arapahoe Library District, I'm going to be retelling Shel Silverstein's classic, The Giving Tree. For me, the story just has so many layers (like an onion), and the more I practice and tell it, the more I understand about relationships and loss.
Sondra: I don't know that I can summarize in an article like this. There are several styles of telling. There is the old-timey method of sitting in a comfortable chair and "chatting" with the audience. Others are the volunteers who go to the library and read from a book to the children there. Some tellers think that those of us who use props or music aren't really "pure." For me, with my background, the most important elements are eye contact with the audience (unlike being a character in a play, it is important engage the audience in this way); character development (one story I tell has 14 characters, so this can be challenging); realism (if there is an action, whether common or historic, it should be portrayed accurately); pace; and having the right story or program for the audience.
Q: How much do acting and theatrics play in storytelling?
Sondra: It is a form of acting, certainly. As I mentioned, character development is important for believability. My version of theatrics comes most into play with children's storytelling or that which I do for families. For adults, my performances tend to be more toned down.
Helen: A good storyteller brings in the senses and a sense of "being in the moment" in his/her storytelling -- which is very much like theatrics. My experience with storytelling, though, is that it's a lot more intimate (because of the direct contact with the audience -- breaking through that imaginary barrier) than stage acting.
(Next month we'll conclude the interview with Helen and Sondra, including their sources of ideas, methods of writing and rehearsing, and how they prepare for performances. In the meantime, here are some other sources for information about storytelling: Origins of Storytelling; Reading is Fundamental: The History of Storytelling; The History of Storytelling (From The MIND of Mankind); and The History of Storytelling by Uncommon Knowledge. Enjoy.)
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