Watch for more storytelling tales and tidbits!

Storytelling 101 

Stories, we tell them everyday. You remember the time when your teacher . . . Let’s see, oh yes, the intrigue surrounding your homecoming date – or not . . . Those worth more than gold, concert tickets . . . And don’t forget that incredible play at the last game . . .

There was even the time the goat  made a savory snack  out of your literature homework (Yes true story, only believed when the tangible evidence of its soggy remains were presented). All the elements are there- humor, tragedy, suspense , adventure, romance, and more. While by nature we are all storytellers, telling tales performance style brings us into a different arena.

1. Choose a story, myth or tale that you love - if you don’t love it, don’t do it.
    

2. If it is a myth or a folktale, then look it up in other sources - visual and/or audio. Every storyteller adds his or her own unique style and flavor to a story. It might give you some additional ideas as you work up your own version. Try reading it out loud to yourself or to a friend.
    

3.  Make an outline of the key events. Know your story - never memorize it.
    

4. Practice by telling a friend or a family member. You might also practice by telling the story in the shower, in front of the mirror or into a tape recorder.
    

5. Become familiar with key elements in your story - main characters, geographic locations, plants, animals . . .
    

6. Review your original sources. It is important to keep the integrity of the storyline.
    
7. Remember the ending to your story.  That way you always know were you are going.
    
8. Have fun. If you are excited about telling your story, the audience will be too. You known, like the time you told . . . about . . . when . . .!

“The mythology of Greece survived for centuries before Gutenberg invented the printing press. To know the stories, one had only to listen to keepers of tales – the storytellers. Today, because we no longer need to rely upon the spoken work to know the stories, we forget that they were vividly entertaining vehicles of culture in a pre-reading ear. The best written versions, I believe, remind us once again of the oral power of the ancient myths.”

Barbara McBride-Smith in her book Greek Myths Western Style: Toga Tales with an Attitude.

Written by:  Storyteller: Grace Wolbrink