Becoming a Storyteller - telling tales
The day I told my first story, the sense of satisfaction and excitement was overwhelming. I realised that I had hit upon the very thing I'd been looking for. During these last 20 years I have built up a repertoire of stories, songs riddles and workshop techniques, performed, taught workshops, trained novice storytellers and designed storytelling and visual arts projects for KS1 and 2 and have gone on to become one of the best in my field at home and abroad. Being a storyteller demands that I be alert, in the moment and ready for anything. A storyteller needs to be a wordsmith, a master magician, a swift editor, a sharp-eyed director and a great performer. This means that not only must I rely entirely on my inner resources in order to create the best performance each time I tell, but also I have to be aware of, and care for, the audience's emotional state. Whether working with children or adults, I believe that after the story itself, this high level of respect and responsibility is the most important aspect of my work, and is something I demand equally from my students.
The idea that an individual can, just by the force of their own life, conjure whole new worlds from within themselves is very exciting, therefore, when I teach, I'm hoping to inspire others to realise and utilise their own inner resources, their own ability to create images, to use their voices, bodies and words to paint vivid pictures in the mind of the listener and to take the listener on a journey deep into their imagination. The storyteller's role is that of a guide - to take the audience into the landscape of the story. Even though we are all seated in the room where that story is being told we are also in the world of the story and all things can and will happen. The audience (through the storyteller): will wander through dense forests; meet death; fall in love with wild men and wise women; they will cry for their loved ones; feel deep hatred for those in the story who would bring evil and distress to the hero or heroine; even enter the belly of rogue elephants to see how the swallowed children will be saved. All of this is created by the rhythm of the storyteller's words and the movement of her body along with the unconditional trust that the audience brings to the experience.
The storyteller's role is therefore a responsible one. Whilst the whole story is communicated through performance, what is being communicated directly to the heart of the audience are the experiences of the characters. The storyteller is a conduit for these experiences, which some audience members may also share, another reason why a storyteller needs to be a person of compassion, honesty and integrity. Being a storyteller is not about being in the spotlight, rather it's about being in community with others, sharing hopes, dreams and disappointments. Storytelling is an inclusive art form, where everyone and everything about being a human being is recognised, without judgement, and, let's face it, there are little enough places where human beings are afforded that particular luxury.
Now, when I meet children and young from other regions of the world, wrestling with the same issues of identity that I recognise from my own childhood, I have a repertoire of stories, songs and games that I can use to remind them that they carry with them a rich heritage and heritage that links them to the whole of humanity and that it is essential to celebrate that heritage with joy. Long may it continue.
© Jan Blake
