Second Story Link

Here is a link to Second Story: Storytelling in Chicago. Their byline is:
"We tell our stories so you'll tell yours."

http://2ndstory.com/

2nd Story is a hybrid performance event combining storytelling, wine, and music. A typical 2nd Story evening goes something like this: you hang out with your friends and eat and drink and make merry. Three to five times during the night, the lights go down, a spotlight comes up on somebody - maybe the person sitting next to you!- and they tell you a story. It's a great time, and if we do our job right, you'll leave telling your own stories.

Stories on a Shoestring, etc

here is a link to a page of resources schools on my website. You will find "Stories on a Shoestring" among other articles and handouts here:

http://novateller.com/Downloads.html

Better Late Than Never

Class notes STOR 5230: Friday, July 15, 2011
After a brief review of performance strategies and techniques gleaned from the first week of class, we participated in an ensemble exercise in which each of us offered one line phrases from our stories in a spontaneous turn-taking that challenged us to consider each narrative out of its linear plot structure.
Next, David instructed us to find our own progression of stories by “listening” for our individual entrances, as we had done on the first day of class, and then after all five stories had been told, provided us with the following director’s notes.
Whole class: David began with the reassurance that each teller had accomplished his or her primary task with a successful first performance. He then reminded us to always bring awareness to our bodies in space as instrument, taking account of lighting, seating, wall decor, etc., before we begin to tell; identified the issues of stance, breath, voice and opening remarks as areas of emphasis to which we all need to pay attention during revised tellings of these pieces; and invited each of us to participate with him during his individual critiques, calling for our own self-assessments and encouraging us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our drafts. Lastly, he explained that the teller’s task is to “pay attention” to the problems identified during critique in order to devise one’s own solutions for revisions.
Rebecca: Watch issues of breath thinness; further exploit the rich sounds of the truly lovely sentences in the piece; and attempt an increased rootedness of stance, perhaps sitting down during a revised telling.
Patrick: Watch tension in hands; focus eye gaze onto audience; and provide greater clarity of orientation for the listener through simplification of plot. Wonderful vocal variety—great fullness and distinction of articulation.
Fynn: Watch dropped gaze and diminished voicing at the end of sentences. Better to end strongly so to combat any suggestion of nervousness. Great use of space and terrific delivery of effective language in a clean, straightforward telling of the tale.
Chris: Bring fullness of voice to emotionally powerful moments instead of breathy delivery. Improve pronunciation of Hawaiian words and move towards greater exploration of the percussion of gesture and movement in the telling.
Danielle: Work to neutralize the nervous energy contained in the legs. Great choice of literary story that compliments personal sense of humor and linguistic style. Nice condensing of original text.
As a closing recommendation, David encouraged us to discover ways to utilize the potentially unsettling rush of nervous tension at the beginning of a telling so that we may be “served” as opposed to “undone” by the effect.

The Storytellers' Compass

Download and read my short 2-page handout for The Storytellers' Compass. It will give you a succinct review of this weekend's activity with stories and cards.

Go to this link and download the last file on the list, Story Compass:

http://www.novateller.com/ETSU.html

Friday Review

On Friday, July 15th, the class presented, explored, and discussed the stories from the oral tradition.

We began the day with a discussion of nervousness and heightened space, followed by an exercise designed to help streamline the performances into Olio form by reciting vivid imagery from our prepared stories, taking turns and associatively building off of our classmates.

Rebecca began with a piece from Caterbury Tales, I told "The Brave Little Tailor", Fynn recounted the story of the elves and the shoemaker, Chris told a Hawaiian myth, and Danielle told a story entitled "The Light Princess," drawing on a literary source.

This was followed by a feedback session, where we were encouraged to own the space by deciding on stylistic elements such as choosing whether to sit or stand. We were encouraged to work on eye gaze, voice work (with an emphasis on the problem of "losing breath"), and orienteering. Professor Novak suggested we consider ourselves leaders on a journey and and emphasized the discovery of personal story, citing a blog post by author Neil Gaiman and advising the storytellers in the class, when receiving feedback, to "focus on the problem and discard the solution."

The suggestion was made that we as artists must discover the solutions to the issues that arise and should be wary of taking the solutions offered by other people. However, at the same time, a problem perceived by an audience member is a valid concern that must be addressed, although our method of addressing it remains a stylistic choice.

Professor Novak revisited the concept of losing voice as an example of a choice that can be utilized effectively to convey extreme sentiment and demonstrated the technique. He also focused on centers of tension in individual performers, encouraged us to watch for distracting habits, and guided us through a discussion of making deliberate choices, drawing illustrations from Delsarte and demonstrating ways of conveying emotional and intellectual ideas through gesture and posture.

On the subject of making choices, text selection was also discussed as a topic of importance. Novak cited Ed Stivender's work with Mark Twain as a solid pairing and complimented Danielle Bellone on her selection of George MacDonald. The class then attempted, through guided discussion, to determine which pieces of Danielle's story were her own invention and which pieces were MacDonald's.

We concluded with a brief discussion of analyzing, overcoming, and utilizing tension, physical, topical, and textual, before ending our class for the day.

Ah, Monday

We began with pre-class talk about Mr. Walt Disney, and how the notion of storyboards was at first dismissed, but was ultimately found to be incredibly helpful, and time-saving. It was observed that Snow White had heart, which Alice lacked, and that accounted for much of the difference in their receptions.
What stories we tell often says a lot about who we are or what we wish to believe in. Thanksgiving, for example, is a bit of "history," that is really a reflection of what we might wish had happened. "We tell the story we want to live into."

Next we spent some time with mime (in rhyme!) We played with the pointe fixe, lines, shapes, brick or glass (or straw to be blown in?) and even a ball or seven. We observed that force comes first from your connection with the earth--effort starts in your legs and must work its way up. However, in reacting to external pressures, we often start in the extremities and work our way inward. Any idea that is charismatic enough, which is to say, I think, wholly envisioned, will invite the body in.

We then workshopped on three tellers' stories from Friday. I think the common discovery from Rebecca's, Patrick's, and Finn's stories was that we (do and must) identify with the stories we tell. That the telling is telling of our selves. These are not merely the struggles of chickens, of tailors, of shoemakers. Challenges in relationships are always absurd. We all have felt wounded pride. We look for that moment of rescue, which must somehow be magic. These connections we make during the telling, the exploration and rehearsal, need not be made explicit to the audience, but they should live in the breath of the story because they will indubitably be felt.

So how do you suss out the emotional core from the fairytale trappings?

What is the heart's truth in your story?

(Danielle)

Gwenda LedBetter

Here is a link to a webpage with 2 of Gwenda LedBetter's traditional tales:

http://www.novateller.com/Gwenda%20LedBetter.html

Day 4

Day Four

Danielle began the class by taking us on a journey out the window. At first, she simply narrated the facts of what she could see outside. Then, as she was pushed to explore the subject in greater depth, we began to hear details about textures, feelings, and the unseen world beyond. David used this study to show us how taking the time to work beyond first impressions can enhance a story.

Next, we talked about memorization. David pulled up parts of two poems: “Eden in Winter” by Nicholas Vachel Lindsay and a section of Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” We were taught to memorize working from the bottom up, so that we are working from weakness to strength. Several students gave examples of this technique to the class. During this discussion we talked about the power of the sounds of words.

Jessica was chosen to share the gist of her story with the class. She did so beautifully, though she wasn’t finished writing it yet. She explained why this story was meaningful to her, and we got to hear a little about the selkie myth. Then, she presented a version of her story to the class. David talked with us about using our bodies. He shared ideas from drama theory, including what the placement of our hands (around our head, heart, groin) indicates. We also talked about choosing story elements (such as whether the Selkie’s child was an only daughter) to express meaning in a story.

(Becca)

Day Two

We started class with some BrainGym exercises to awaken both sides of our brain after lunch. There were some stretching, balancing, clapping, rhythm and contagion exercises that reminded us we are social and like to be 'together'. David demonstrated his catalogue of voiceless sounds of disgust and we contributed our own sounds of emotions, voice/less plosives plus continuant/extended sounds. The box/triangle 12-count exercise also challenged our mind/body connection. With Shakespearean examples we realized emotions are carried in vowels and data is delivered with consonants. We tried word games to give us the basis for a story and we added the five senses. Fynn demonstrated the different points of view that make storytelling more interesting/inviting. Discussing involvement strategies we explored 'set up expectations' and then 'broken expectations'. The syntax of surprise also connects, or hooks, the audience. Adding jokes, or surprise, will give our audience the 'light of recognition'. HA! A yardstick was introduced as a prop and we rotated creating roles for Mr. Stick. Then, we all (several times) introduced Mr. Stick into Patrick's story. As we prepare for Friday's assignment, we were challenged to practice telling the story with only dialogue. What characters or props do we need to 'get' all the information into the story without having Mr. Narrator be present? If we think of our story as the hub of the wheel, then add all the similar versions of our story as the spokes on the wheel, and again add our personal experiences into this diagram, we provide infrastructure that allows story to reveal what drew us into the story. Ahhhhhh.

Thus we learned to speak

A final stanza from "Eden In Winter" by Vachel Lindsay:

Whining like forest dogs,
Rustling like budding trees,
Bubbling like thawing springs,
Humming like little bees,
Crooning like Maytime tides,
Chattering parrot words,
Crying the panther's cry,
Chirping like mating birds —
Thus, thus, we learned to speak,
Who mid the snows were dumb,
Nor did we learn to kiss
Until the Spring had come.

From "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman:

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d;
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied—not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth.

Regarding The Muse

Ed Stivender risks improvisational moments in his storytelling style. During our discussion with him I introduced the question of faith that a storyteller brings to the moment of creation, that is, the moment of telling. Here is a relevent talk from author Elizabeth Gilbert at T.E.D.

Traditional Tales Retold

Here are three examples of traditional tales retold by me. Each is a result of "massaging" the story, yet each is told differently. The first two are familiar fairy tales: Little Red Riding Hood is arguably fractured. Snow White and Rose Red is a more straight-forward effort. The third, Sky Woman's Basket, is an African folktale. Each is given a theatrical treatment, yet the styling differs in each.

Day One

Thank you all for such a good beginning! Today after introductions we did a storyteller ear-training activity, matching initial, final, and internal sounds of words. Remember Gamble Roger's advice: "Use the language you possess."

We moved to W-P 403 for our story olio. We will use this room every day except Tuesday, July 19.

Our Stories:
Fynn - pepper spray and the laws of physics
Chris - the white elephant
Danielle - "stronger than elephants"
Patrick - the split coin (return from death)
Rebecca - the story of Moses
Jessica - 3 stories: the ocean friend, the 3 sheets, longing for rain and love
David - sterling

We discussed the combination of stories in a number of ways: shared themes, images, contrasting tempo, landscapes, etc. In consideration of combinatorics: the alphabet, cooking, and storytelling all involve the combining of set ingredients into unique forms. All the stories were unique. The storytelling session as a whole was unique. Yet we recognize many standard motifs and patterns in the mix. More ont his as we progress.