Many Stories to Tell
Last year, a good friend introduced me to the storytelling scene, by way of a festival in Shropshire called Festival at the Edge (aka FATE). I've been to plenty of music festivals and this wasn't much different, except that each stage was populated by a storyteller instead of a musician.
It's an ancient tradition, and predates the printed word by a long way. People entertaining each other by gathering round a fire and telling each other tales. Not reading, not writing, just telling. Each story passed on by word of mouth and embellished a little as it goes. Personalised to fit the teller.
I did the "Ooh, I could do that" thing I tend to do. It took me a while to get round to climbing up on a stage, but as soon as I did I realised I was right. And that I never stop telling stories, anyway. They're normally anecdotes about things that have happened to me or people I know, or something I heard on the news or saw on the telly, but long before I came across the oral storytelling scene I've called them stories. "Have I told you the story of when I got run over by a bus?" I say, to a chorus of groans from my long-suffering friends.
I've always loved reading stories out loud too, which is another thing I inflict on drunken gatherings, particularly if it's Dr Seuss. I even wrote a novel after attending dozens of author events when my partner worked at Waterstone's, specifically because I liked the idea of reading sections from my own book on stage. When The Dying of Delight was published, me and Ally spent weeks creating a whole multimedia event around me performing sections from the book. And then there was the performance poetry, which I used to write and present. Being on a stage, using words, it's something I've always enjoyed, right back to when I was an amateur actress, or when I was in a band and writing and performing my own lyrics.
Storytelling doesn't involve the written word. It's not the same as story reading, because you don't memorise stories word for word. You learn the bones of a story, and then you improvise. You tailor the performance for the audience. You interact with them. You use your body.
And it's fucking great.
It fits in with tons of things I've always enjoyed. Writing stories, telling stories, using words, using my voice, performing on stage, interacting with an audience. And it complements the writing. Gives me a greater understanding of the bare bones of story, and instant feedback to go with it. Written stories and told stories are different in many ways, have different requirements, but a lot in common too.
And so the other week I found myself in a stable yard on Hallowe'en, standing on a wooden carriage festooned with cobwebs and performing a collection of stories (some written by me, some by Joseph Jacobs) to an audience of adults and children, with people milling about in the background and cheeky ten-year-olds sitting at my feet and heckling me. It wasn't easy, but it was fun. And very different to the upstairs room of a pub, a couple of days later, where I performed a story I'd written specially for the occasion called Butterfly Soul. It was very personal and I welled up towards the end. That was fine, even planned, but my voice was cracking as I left the stage, and I was worried I might have gone overboard. Except that the faces and the hush in the room told me, like no review ever could, that it was a success. It felt like an old classic, rather than written by me that afternoon.
I wrote this post because somebody asked for a report-back, and I wanted to try and explain storytelling. It's given me a creative boost, and it's got me writing again. There's a lot more where that came from.
So far I've created three stories for telling, two of which have been written down and are available for sale (including the one which made me cry). I've found it doesn't work if I write them first. I have to tell them first, then transfer them to the page afterwards - and one of them hasn't been transcribed yet. It's a lovely new way of doing things.
One of the jobs I have lined up for the next few weeks is to create various materials advertising my services. That'll include storytelling CDs for sale, and sample audio files on t'internet somewhere. But in the meantime, I may as well do some advance publicity: I'm available for weddings, children's birthday parties, schools and nurseries... anywhere you can think of where some stories might go down well. Modern, traditional, for kids, for adults, and I'll write tailor-made stories to fit the occasion. I got a request the other week for a housewarming party, so... well, anywhere really. I'm a storytelling tart. Currently the only audio available is this link here, which is a recording of me performing a story I wrote for Big Blogger. But anyway, you know. I'm available. Hire me.
___
It's an ancient tradition, and predates the printed word by a long way. People entertaining each other by gathering round a fire and telling each other tales. Not reading, not writing, just telling. Each story passed on by word of mouth and embellished a little as it goes. Personalised to fit the teller.
I did the "Ooh, I could do that" thing I tend to do. It took me a while to get round to climbing up on a stage, but as soon as I did I realised I was right. And that I never stop telling stories, anyway. They're normally anecdotes about things that have happened to me or people I know, or something I heard on the news or saw on the telly, but long before I came across the oral storytelling scene I've called them stories. "Have I told you the story of when I got run over by a bus?" I say, to a chorus of groans from my long-suffering friends.
I've always loved reading stories out loud too, which is another thing I inflict on drunken gatherings, particularly if it's Dr Seuss. I even wrote a novel after attending dozens of author events when my partner worked at Waterstone's, specifically because I liked the idea of reading sections from my own book on stage. When The Dying of Delight was published, me and Ally spent weeks creating a whole multimedia event around me performing sections from the book. And then there was the performance poetry, which I used to write and present. Being on a stage, using words, it's something I've always enjoyed, right back to when I was an amateur actress, or when I was in a band and writing and performing my own lyrics.
Storytelling doesn't involve the written word. It's not the same as story reading, because you don't memorise stories word for word. You learn the bones of a story, and then you improvise. You tailor the performance for the audience. You interact with them. You use your body.
And it's fucking great.
It fits in with tons of things I've always enjoyed. Writing stories, telling stories, using words, using my voice, performing on stage, interacting with an audience. And it complements the writing. Gives me a greater understanding of the bare bones of story, and instant feedback to go with it. Written stories and told stories are different in many ways, have different requirements, but a lot in common too.
And so the other week I found myself in a stable yard on Hallowe'en, standing on a wooden carriage festooned with cobwebs and performing a collection of stories (some written by me, some by Joseph Jacobs) to an audience of adults and children, with people milling about in the background and cheeky ten-year-olds sitting at my feet and heckling me. It wasn't easy, but it was fun. And very different to the upstairs room of a pub, a couple of days later, where I performed a story I'd written specially for the occasion called Butterfly Soul. It was very personal and I welled up towards the end. That was fine, even planned, but my voice was cracking as I left the stage, and I was worried I might have gone overboard. Except that the faces and the hush in the room told me, like no review ever could, that it was a success. It felt like an old classic, rather than written by me that afternoon.
I wrote this post because somebody asked for a report-back, and I wanted to try and explain storytelling. It's given me a creative boost, and it's got me writing again. There's a lot more where that came from.
So far I've created three stories for telling, two of which have been written down and are available for sale (including the one which made me cry). I've found it doesn't work if I write them first. I have to tell them first, then transfer them to the page afterwards - and one of them hasn't been transcribed yet. It's a lovely new way of doing things.
One of the jobs I have lined up for the next few weeks is to create various materials advertising my services. That'll include storytelling CDs for sale, and sample audio files on t'internet somewhere. But in the meantime, I may as well do some advance publicity: I'm available for weddings, children's birthday parties, schools and nurseries... anywhere you can think of where some stories might go down well. Modern, traditional, for kids, for adults, and I'll write tailor-made stories to fit the occasion. I got a request the other week for a housewarming party, so... well, anywhere really. I'm a storytelling tart. Currently the only audio available is this link here, which is a recording of me performing a story I wrote for Big Blogger. But anyway, you know. I'm available. Hire me.
___
Labels: Storytelling, Writing About Writing
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