Telling Personal Stories; How Personal Can They Be

 

Settle Stories is working with some great guest bloggers. First up is a talented young writer – Gareth Yates.

 

Gareth is a writer of movie scripts, plays, poems, and articles and a fan of telling stories. He’s about to graduate from Salford University with a masters in Film Screenwriting, and is a member of the Out of Joint Writer’s Academy in Salisbury.

You might think personal storytelling refers to terrible childhood secrets or traumatising experiences. Whilst these are often examples, personal stories could be any experience that caused you to feel something, anything. It seems easier to recall pain and suffering than joy and success, and that’s what this article is about; the range of stories we might tell.

Trauma and Pain

It could be you’ve suffered from cancer, a painful loss, abuse. It could be how an accident or crime has affected a person’s life. They’re stories that tap into the dark stuff, often painful, incredibly personal experiences, and I’d imagine take a lot of bravery to tell.

Magic and Synchronicity

Can you think of a time in life when things just fell into place, where you were at a loss and suddenly had a sign, a message, a push to go on? I was once on a bus debating to quit my job and go volunteering in New Mexico, when the bus stopped, and I saw a parked car with a bumper-sticker advertising New Mexico. I went home, booked the trip, and made amazing friends. These stories give hope that in the darkness of life there can be joy, and magic.

Victories and Successes

The speed bumps on the way to success, a struggle against adversity and how you came out on top. These could be personal, perhaps overcoming trauma, or physical, such as a dream come true.

Connection to Nature or God

Have you ever felt connected to something bigger? These stories often come when we open our eyes and take a closer look at the world. It could be an animal came up to you when you needed it most, or how a place took you back to childhood, and became a safe haven.

How Another’s Story Has Affected You

Personal stories are powerful because of the emotion behind them, so it might be hard to tell another’s story. You could, however, talk about how it affected you, such as how someone else’s pain caused you distress, or how someone’s story inspired you to action.

This list is not exhaustive, but I hope gives an idea of the range of personal stories you could tell. They might not make the most interesting drama, but are interesting when told as your truth, and could give audiences wonderful insights, and possibly, their own story to tell.

Jamie Crawford is based near the South Downs in Sussex in England with this wife and three year old boy. He's been tellings stories for over a quarter of a century, and professionally for the last 10 years to anyone anywhere who wants to listen. He works as a primary school teacher and has tried his hand at many things including working on a farm and at a meditation retreat centre. I started by asking him why he became a storyteller.

I started telling by accident. It began with a request, ‘Tell us a story!’ at the end of long hot school day when I was teaching overseas. The teenagers in my class did not want Cinderella. After a moment’s desperation I began stumbling my way through a poorly remembered Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Twenty minutes later and long after the bell had gone, Gawain came home to Camelot and everyone was still listening.

What do you do to develop your storytelling skills?

In the past I’ve done courses here and there but the best thing is to learn by example and take in as much good storytelling as you can, as well as immersing yourself in other art forms and disciplines.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the why and how of telling a story and letting things cook, while I’m asleep for example. I do rehearse on my own, often while walking. Increasingly I sing to get the juices flowing even if there’s no singing in the story, though more and more these days there is!

Where do you get your stories from?
They are almost exclusively traditional stories that I’ve read or heard. The internet can be very helpful, usually for picking up parallel versions. I love the great British European wondertales, myth cycles and epics.

I also love little nut-like stories that you can spring on an unsuspecting listener in half a dozen sentences. I’ll be telling both kinds at Settle!

Though my repertoire is worldwide, I increasingly feel at home with stories that have some relationship to where I live.

Do you collect stories?
As a magpie revival storyteller I have very few of those. I think I’m more in the beg, borrow and steal make it up as you go along anti-tradition, really. Of course the pretenders and the tradition bearers have both always been there and have probably been much closer than some people make out. But I am just starting to value the handful of stories I’ve heard that are not widely known because they have come to me by word of mouth. I’m telling one of those at Settle. It was collected from a teenage girl by prof. Mike Wilson and has a modern ‘urban myth’ format but is based on a very old tale type known as the singing bones.

What makes a good story and why?
The element of surprise is what I first look for, and then, I suppose, some kind of emotional truth, simple or elusive, elegantly imagined.

What is your favourite story?
King Arthur is the story I’ve put most energy into over the years, and my one man show is the result of that. I love it because it’s the great British founding myth, our very own epic, a great rich, sprawling, confused forest of a story, and because it’s so problematic no-one tells it, so I decided to.

Who is your favourite storyteller?
Hugh Lupton once said there are no master storytellers in Britain today and for me he comes closest to being the exception to his own rule. Abbi Patrix is another wearer of the laurel wreath. There are also some curiously underrated performers around. June Peters is one of those and a favourite performer of mine.

Can you give us three tips for aspiring storytellers?
Practise the art of listening.
Ask yourself what is the story of the story?
Use your everyday voice as a starting point for your storytelling.

What are you reading at the moment?
I’ve just finished The Lost World of the Kalahari by Laurens Van Der Post, an incredible book about the last bushmen.

What did you learn last week?
To listen to what is most sacred to me.

What recent piece of news has inspired you?
They’ve just discovered new signs of water on Mars millions of years ago. I’m kidding but I do find science fascinating, partly as it’s a side of life so different to the one I normally inhabit! I couldn’t think of much other inspiring news, but that’s largely because of what the media deems to be ‘a good story’!

What's your favourite piece of music?
Well, a favourite piece is John Martin’s version of Spencer the Rover.

How do you relax?
With a glass of red wine, with friends, with books.

Finally, as you're coming up to the Settle Storytelling Festival how do you like you tea? And, would you like some Yorkshire Curd tart to go with it?
Strong enough for a mouse to dance across, milk, no sugar and yes please.

To find out more about Jamie go to www.jamiecrawford.co.uk

Interviews with Storytellers - Kirill P Gopius

Kirill started the first Russian Storytelling Festival. This interview comes with thanks to Katherine Vorotkova who helped with the English translation.

Kirill begins by telling us something about his background.
I was born in Moscow in the old house, with the family of the deputy director Tarkovsky and our family all lived together. To tell the truth, I didn’t live in this period. A small yard, which was fenced about with brick wall, belonged to my home. It had been MY own territory until we moved into a new flat.

When I was ten years old, my mother and I were going past our new house by bus. And she said to me: “In time there will be a plaque on this house… Kirill Pavlovich Gopius lived and worked here!” Of course Mom said it just for fun. It is where I am from, the place, where I was born to my mother.

Now I am the founder of the Centre of Applied Knowledge for Prime Life Education and I am the organiser of the First Russian Storytelling Festival. I am a storyteller, blogger, explorer, author of books including Blueberry Pie and An Introduction to Power

Where in the world are you? How long have you been telling stories and where do you perform?

Russia is my native land, but I have traveled all over the world to Cuba, Kuwait, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and China. I have seen a lot of different thing and I know that no matter my geographical position, I we are all the same the world over.

From the age when we are all playing with toy soldiers or dolls, we create stories. Later we begin to write them down on the paper (or in the computer - more often now). That’s how I started to create stories and I am still doing so now.

When I became an adult, I noticed that I was told stories wherever I was - at home, at work, with friends. It was then that I realized, I am Storyteller, and started telling stories in special places, on a stage or in a lecture-hall.

What is special about storytelling? Why did you become a storyteller?

Whatever the activity of an individual or group you can't avoid two processes: the promotion of self or a projecct and the need for resources (financial, material etc.) Both these processes require self-confidence and are based on gaining confidence. Storytelling shows us where we can find our confidence, how to trust people, how to communicate and stories provide us with an understanding of ourselves.

What do you think makes a good storyteller? And why do you think that?

First of all a storyteller should answer the question: Who am I? He should connect with his roots and connect with the heavens, because then his stories will be right and beautiful. And of course he should investigate Storytelling and Story as a science.

What do you do to develop your storytelling skills?

Firstly, my “Storyteller`s code” is - Be able to listen! Be able to listen when everybody is silent. Then God is speaking. Be able to listen when only you are silent. Then Stories come to life. Be able to listen even when you are telling something. Then the wedding of Heaven and Earth takes place – you and the listener become one.  

Secondly, tell stories! The more you tell the better you get.  Each new telling polishes the Story, creates new contexts and makes atmosphere more appropriate, develops the characters. After that a meaning and sense appears. When the Storytelling becomes as usual as breathing, the Stories will come. That which is hidden from the external world, will appear and become a remedy for Storyteller and his audience. Tell stories!
But the main Storyteller`s commandment is – respect a Story!

Show your respect to the story, it is like an accomplished divine act. It is a child of the cooperative moment.  It can seem to us that story is boring, that it`s style is not perfect, that it is full of grammatical and factual mistakes, but it exists, so it is allowed to be - Respect the Story! The STORY is God`s word.

I am sure that our first international festival of Storytelling in Russia will be also be a concentration of Storytelling here.

Where do you get your stories from? What kind of stories do you like to tell?

I get my stories from my life, my environment, my meetings, books and films. All Stories in essence come from God. 

What makes a good story and why?

The same as what makes a good storyteller. Story is connected to the Storyteller. For me, a good story explores Myth, Ritual and Sacrifice. A myth (a plot of a Hero and his overcoming) reaches the audience mind through the ritual of its presentation. And mainly thing in this ritual is that the Sacrifice place for listener is included. The listener should leave something very important from himself in this Story. So he has overcome himself in such way with a Hero of Myth. The union of a Storyteller and an audience through sharing overcomes with each other – is the BEAUTIFUL AND RIGHT STORY!

What is your favourite story? And why do you like it?

I like real life stories.  Nowadays, my favourite Story is about black blues-man Robert Johnson, who recorded only 29 songs in white America of 30s. After forty years his songs were rehashed by all rock-stars of America and England. The blues opened an industry.

Who is your favourite storyteller?

The number one Russian Storyteller is Evgeny Grishkovetz (but he doesn`t want to be called so). His solo show  is one of the best example of storytelling.

Interviews with storytellers - Sophie Snell

Sophie Snell is a member of the Flying Donkeys Storytelling Club. Growing up surrounded by books and stories, Sophie has always known the power of story. She starts by telling us about her early influences

I grew up surrounded by books, stories and poetry – Dad was an academic and mum a teacher and words were the means to improve your lot in life. I graduated with an MA in mediaeval history and a smattering of Anglo Saxon, but what had fascinated me were the personal stories, the chronicles, letters, church records and early “books” like Beowulf and Chaucer.  In early history, where the sources are less statistical, the people really come alive – strong individuals who shape the politics and the struggle of ordinary people to survive and find pleasure where they can.

I had read and wrote a lot from very young, but it is a struggle to make a living from writing on your own, so I turned to a corporate career, qualifying as a chartered accountant and working in finance / consultancy.   For several years I worked internationally – Europe, Korea, Taiwan and the US – it was absolutely fascinating, but very hectic.  When I met and married Rob, it wasn’t long before we started a family.  There was another life changing moment, I gave up work to become a full-time mum, had 3 boys and was very busy as a mum and doing some voluntary arts work.

Then Cat Weatheril came to our village for an event I organized as part of the Derbyshire Literature Festival 2005, and I “discovered” storytelling.  Wow!  I then sought out the local storytelling clubs, saw so many wonderful tellers and as the boys in turn grew from babies to toddlers and started school, I began to attend workshops to learn to tell myself - and loved every moment of it.  It was a challenge, and definitely out of my comfort zone, but full of wonder, rediscovering old stories, and the lyricism of words.

Where in the world are you? How long have you been telling stories?  Where do you perform?

I live in a village just outside Derby.  I started telling as a keen amateur in 2006 / 7 and by late 2008 my youngest had started school, and I had more time to develop, attending courses, practising, building repertoire and performance pieces.  I started to get offered little bits of paid work which just about paid for the courses, and as my confidence grew took the decision to turn “professional”, register as self employed and see where all this might lead.

I am still based in Derby, but travel all over the place – in the last year Oxford, Cambridge, Devon, all over the Midlands, Yorkshire, Cheshire – last year I even ended up in Ireland touring County Wexford for 2 weeks for the library service.  I tell for all ages and in all places – I have become a regular teller for the National Trust locally, do other “big” houses, tourist attractions, arts centres, small theatres, arts and outdoor festivals, clubs, village halls, and of course schools and libraries.  I have even been invited to perform in a mental health hospital and last week found myself telling to prisoners on day release from an open prison.

Besides performing, I lead workshops for both children and adults, give talks and speeches – not just about storytelling but communication and performance skills generally.  I do conferences and a bit of university work, research and writing commissions and corporate consultancy, blending some of my old experience with all that I have learnt from storytelling. It has surprised me just how varied and interesting the work enquiries have been.  Half the pleasure of telling stories is meeting people and finding that common ground of a story shared, and it has lead myself - and my family - to places and people we would never have seen otherwise.

Why did you become a storyteller?

Just enjoyment of the stories – like many I think I was seduced by the stories I heard as well as the manner in which they were told.  There are tellers who can make any story sound great, infusing their passion, style and humour into the most simple of tales.  Every teller has their own personality which is integral to the telling.  But the same goes for a good story – they have a way of floating off into the air – with a life of their own, and there is a real buzz from discovering a story that you know you can make really work.  Watching people’s faces as they listen is a delight.  A teller flies or falls by their last story, so it is high adrenalin stuff – scary, but so sweet when you know people are there right with you in the heart of the story.

Where do you get your stories from? What kind of stories do you like to tell?

I spend a lot of time hunting out stories, in all places – books, the internet, snippets of half remembered tales from when I was a child come back to me as I read, and of course listening to other tellers wherever I get the chance.  Though I do like to find a story other people are not telling, partly so as to bring people something new and partly because otherwise it is hard to separate the telling from the tale itself!

Not all stories jump out at you at first, some need a bit of figuring out.  Initially I told mainly folk tales, especially from the British Isles, where I felt more familiar with the setting and culture.  But now I am exploring epics and wonder tales from much further afield.  I love finding tales that have traveled, a Scottish tale echoed in an older Indian or Chinese tale, giving clues as to what people remembered, what caught and held their imaginations. 


What kind of stories do you tell? What’s a good story?

All my stories are traditional - it is very hard to tell stories you have written yourself – though I do tell a couple - every word and line matters and it would end up a script - you have to let go of the words to find the story, the images beneath.

So I look for a traditional tale that leaps from the page – a story with a good heart to it.  I don’t mean a moral or a message, but an emotional core that lends itself to twists and turns you can carry people along with.  I scan the page or a book or the screen, looking for the bigger picture, the sense of the thing – stripping out any colouring from the writer or teller as much as I can.  What is left – how does it turn, what did I enjoy about the story and why?  How would it translate into spoken word?  Once a story catches my ear, I research it, find the original, any variations, relevant background material.  That might sound a lot of effort, but it always yields results, and hopefully a version of my own that has integrity, and a fresh take.

I look for a good story line, an interesting setting or character, or something quirky or intriguing – that you can get your teeth into and play with.  But also something I can tell with commitment, because I know it works for me, and gets a good response from the audience.

Then I look for a hook in the tale and things can build up from there.  You might play with the structure, perspective and setting; reinvent the story by turning it on its head – what if, why, how would the audience react if…  trying out different ideas until that one works.  Speaking out loud the story is the acid test – what seems good in theory in your head can be naff or painful when spoken!  So the process of developing a story has to start with the telling, retelling and repeated telling – preferably in front of an audience – their response is so informative – it is not about indulging myself!  I start with the cats, move onto the kids, friends, husband, then maybe a story circle or club, and retell in different settings as often as I can and watch the listeners very carefully.  If I have it right, it will grow into something to fall in love with – and that generally shows, for every teller.

Do you have a favourite story? And why do you like it?

OOhh – that is very hard to choose – I tell a version of Hairy Toe (aka The Teeny Weeny Old Lady) that always goes down a storm whatever the audience – it was one of the first stories I really learnt to play with, adding a new (and what was for me) stronger ending and some little mischievous twists, so has a special place in my repertoire.  But every new story is a new love affair – so whatever I am currently working on could be described as my favourite! 

I am currently working with Blodeuwedd (The Lady of the Flowers – from the Welsh mediaeval epic, The Mabinogion) – it is a cracking tale of betrayal and confused, even distorted love – a sort of Lady Macbeth meets Desperate Housewives meets Camelot…  And so much to go at in terms of imagery – the whole idea of a woman conjured out of flowers for a specific purpose yields all sorts of possibilities – throw in a bit of courtly love underpinned by simmering passions, incest, denial, neglect, a father’s love for his child born out of shame, strange riddles, a wild Welsh setting and hugely graceful birds – definitely one to play with.

Who is your favourite storyteller?

Now that is really hard to answer!  I admire so many different tellers for different things:  Cat Weatheril (for her vivacity and vivid, unusual imagery); Mats Rehman (hugely visual and really in tune with his audience); Xanthe Gresham (such a wonderful voice “like lemon drops”); Michael Harvey (a warm wit and gentle deft touch); Ben Haggarty (stage presence and intellectual honesty); Daniel Morden (dramatic, statuesque and precise, beautiful language); Jan Blake (charismatic, and commitment to the story);  and …  But some of the best stories I have heard have been one off gems told in a club open night, tucked away in some village hall, where the moment just blossoms and the teller inhabits the story in a very personal, intimate and engaging way – no artiface, no staging, no obvious technique, just pure story and the audience leaning in…

What are your three tips for aspiring storytellers?

1.    Listen and watch lots and lots of tellers.  Travel all over and watch and learn.
2.    Tell only those stories you fall in love with – it’s a nightmare trying to tell a story you don’t really like just because you are asked to!  It shows when you tell something you love!
3.    Tell, tell, tell – wherever and whenever you can.  It is like exercising a mental muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets.  Seek out new venues to experience the response of different audiences and learn what works and why.  You learn the painful way, but it works!  Every audience is different and working the audience is as important as knowing and loving the story you tell.  Having said that - don’t plan which story too much – go with alternatives and judge which one to tell when you get there.  Work to the audience, not yourself!

What are you reading at the moment?

I have a stack of books I dip into – I picked up a second-hand copy of The Pentamerone by Basile recently so that is top of the pile, along with Alan Garner’s latest collection of folk tales.  Beyond “work” (though it never feels like work) I am reading Roald Dahl’s “BFG” with my youngest, “Assassin’s Creed” (based on the computer game) with my eldest, and the last novel I read was Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” – a grim read but gripping and so beautifully written – elegaic – couldn’t put it down.  I have a copy of “Eldest” by Christopher Paolini which I am hoping to read over Christmas.

What's your favourite piece of music?

“Silver Waters” by Howdenjones – they are a Lancashire acoustic music duo – they have been to our village three times now for concerts and I never tire of listening to them.  This particular song they very kindly let me put on an audio book of my own stories I recorded in 2006 – it was a perfect follow-on from the first story on the CD and I love it still – it makes me think of growing up by the sea, my children and the landscapes of Britain that I love.

Music attaches to memory and mood – I listen to a lot of folk / acoustic music these days – Bellowhead, Show of Hands, Horse’s Brawl, but still love most types of music, rock, pop, 80’s stuff!  I was brought up on a diet of Mozart piano concertos, Beethoven, Schubert and opera, so my other favourite is Verdi’s Rigoletto – my Dad used to play it when I was young – along with arias from La Traviatta, the choruses from Aida, the Marriage of Figaro, Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne…  They take me back.

How do you relax?

Well apart from listening to stories, and music…  at home I love a good TV series, the odd documentary, the cinema is wonderful escapism with the boys and my husband or a friend (and it is great to see the parallels with traditional storytelling).  The boys are great company going out or staying in and with a park out the back of the house we often go for walks down to the lake or through the woods.  There’s little to beat an evening with a good friend or two, eating and chatting, mulling over the wider world.  And talking to our cats - we have three adorable, intelligent, gentle cats, with another kitten arriving later this week as I write…   

But when I have free time on my own, which seems rare these days, I love to paint – usually something impressionistic with acrylics layered one colour over another or with pastels you can shade and smudge – it is very satisfying when something half decent emerges and the colours on soft pastel sticks are brilliant – vibrant and beautiful. 

To find out more about sophie please go to  www.sophiesnell.co.uk

Interviews with Storytellers - Shonaleigh Cumbers

 

Shonaleigh’s grandmother was a Yiddish oral storyteller, a drut'syla,   and Shonaleigh is probably one of the last drut'sylas to have been trained in the traditional family style. She begins by telling us about her traditional storytelling background.
   
My grandmother was a drut'syla, that is, a Yiddish oral storyteller in a tradition passed down through the female line. She spent the war telling stories in the camps and believed that this was one of the things that saved her life. From the age of four I was trained in creative thinking and storytelling in the Jewish traditional style,  which is to literally walk though a story. By the age of 14 I had to know the Rabbinical cycles, the Babylonian cycles, early Israeli and Palestinian oral tradition. I thought this was quite normal and that all storytellers had this background ... It was quite normal for me to fall asleep at night listening to songs and stories in English, Yiddish, Hebrew, Dutch and Turkish - a wonderful colourful mix. I didn't think anything of it. I thought everyone had this background. I told stories within Jewish circles, and it was only in my early twenties that I realised - via Simon Heywood and another storyteller called Alison Ross - that people actually told stories in the non-Jewish world. I was introduced to it via a storytelling club in Sheffield. I genuinely thought that people would already know my stories, and would have no interest in hearing them, but I quickly realised that these stories were just not told in the non-Jewish world - and on the few occasions they were told, it was with little understanding of the reasons, the occasions, and the backgrounds.

Where in the world are you and where do you perform?

I'm now based in a market town called Dronfield on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire. I've been telling stories since I was ten, but as a storyteller that the non-Jewish world would be aware of, I've been telling since 1998, when I first formed the band Tashbain. I perform globally - America, Europe, Scandinavia. I perform in venues as diverse as the National Theatre, schools, community projects, festivals, and tonight, as I'm filling this in, it's the first night of Chanukah I have just told the Chanukah night story to my family - which is equally as important to me as any large venue.

Why did you become a storyteller?

With the background I have had, the bubba (grandmother) that I had ... how could I not have? It was infectious - magical and wonderful. It never occurred to me to become a storyteller - I just told stories. It's still strange to get paid - although I'm not complaining! Bubba would have been paid with food, an interesting stone, a piece of cloth. It was a place I held within my community. I suppose if I was going to be very analytical about it, being dyslexic has probably played its part, as I have a memory my son would die for - and is very irritating to my partner! Maybe I would have been a writer but walking through a story is the most wonderful thing in the world. I recently discovered that I am probably one of the last drut'sylas to have been trained in the traditional family style, and so I feel I'm holding a tradition. And that is something that I don't take lightly. Anymore.

Where do you get your stories from?

I suppose, to begin with, the bulk of my stories were from the traditional Rabbinical cycles. There was a time when these were only available through Talmudic and Midrashic texts, oral Hebrew narratives, Rabbinical study, and word of mouth, but with the help of a wonderful man called Dov Noy who founded the Israel Folktale Archives, many of these are available in English. I talk a lot with rebbis (rebbis being historians and teachers rather than rabbis), but, also, as I have lived in England since I was seven, and English is my primary language these days, I have become interested in European and English folktales. I suppose the stories that I like to tell are the ones that tell themselves - that don't need to be performed with bells and whistles, swirling silks and dancing light shows, but simply are what they are, with a purity, simplicity and honesty that cuts to the heart, that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, that are full of humour, and the warmth of the human spirit - the sort of stories that, when you have heard them, live on like old friends.

How do collect stories?

If I was going to define it any further than I have already, I have talked to a lot of the generation for whom Yiddish was a first language. Sadly those opportunities are becoming fewer, so I grasp every one. I recently missed out on funding to study with Dov Noy and a whole generation of storytellers that sadly won't be with us forever. It's a shame.

What makes a good story and why?

It's not about the length but the depth. A good joke can be a good story. It's about whether the audience can relate to it, and whether you, the storyteller, can be a good bridge for it. But I think a good story for me doesn't moralise, doesn't thump its point home; it's a subtle thing that entertains on one level, but if people have the ears to hear it, goes so much deeper - but even if they can't see it at that deeper level, still the story loses none of its entertainment value. There are stories that I have learnt as a drut'syla that I needed to learn to hone my craft, that I would never tell in public, because they're teaching stories. They're stories for workshops, for classrooms, for pupils. But I value them nonetheless.

  

What is your favourite story?

My favourite story is Solomon and Ashmedai, for two reasons. Firstly, it poses the question What is the difference between truth and illusion? and answers it quite beautifully. Secondly, it's timeless.  While sitting with my son one day watching an epsiode of (I'm ashamed to admit) Star Trek, he turned to me and said, "Isn't that that Solomon and Ashmedai story?" And, do you know, it was.

  

Who is your favourite storyteller?

I would have to say my grandmother. These days the storytellers I would dig through snow to hear are Sef Townsend, Pete Chand, and (although I'm biased!) Simon Heywood.

What are your three tips for aspiring storytellers?

First, want to tell the story. Performance should be the last thing on your mind. It's the thing we often end up doing, but it should be a by-product of loving the stories. Secondly, learn your craft. The day you think you know everything is the day you should be worried. Thirdly: often, less is more. See, and tell what you see.

  

What are you reading at the moment?

  

I've started a book that really scared me called Dark Matter. It's a ghost story set in the Arctic and it scared me so much last night I had to sleep with the light on. It's a very good piece of storytelling. But also I am being read to of an evening round the fire! We've just finished Nicholas Nickleby and I had forgotten how amazing a storyteller Dickens is.

  

What's your favourite piece of music?

Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. And anything by Linkin Park! Also the theme for Assassin's Creed that my son is continually playing. I really love the chord changes on it.

  

How do you relax?

As I spend so much time on the road I love spending an evening at home with my family. We have a lovely large garden full of twinkly lights and it's lovely to sit there with a glass of wine, several good storytellers, and some music. The other ways I relax are not really printable!

You can find out more about Shonaleigh at www.shonaleigh.com

Interviews with Storytellers - Priscilla Howe

Priscilla Howe is from Kansas City, Kansas, near the geographic center of the continental US. She has been calling herself a storyteller since 1988, when she was a librarian in Connecticut. In 1993 she moved to Kansas to be a full-time storyteller. She tells stories in schools, libraries, festivals, house concerts, juvenile detention centers and at special events. She has worked all over the US, as well as in Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Mexico, Brazil and Peru.

How did you start storytelling?

When I was 13, I didn’t know I was a storyteller. I just thought I was a babysitter. I liked hanging around with kids, making stuff up. Many years later, first as a children’s librarian and then as a full-time storyteller, I realized I was still doing what I liked: hanging around with kids, making stuff up.

Why did you become a storyteller?
I couldn’t help it. I got a job at a library where all the children’s librarians told stories. They invited me to join them at a school and asked if I would tell a story. I told two, one by Philippa Pearce and one I made up when I was thirteen. I was hooked from that very first session.

Where do you get your stories from? What kind of stories do you like to tell?  I get stories from books, from my own life and from other tellers. With younger kids I use puppets in between the stories. I tell folktales, literary tales and my own stories. I like to say that all my stories start with the seed of truth. Where they go from there is anybody’s guess!

How do you find the stories you tell?

I’m always looking for new stories to tell. I haunt the public library and websites with full texts of traditional tales. I read French, Bulgarian and Russian (and can bluff some related languages), so often I search in books in those languages. I’m looking for that ineffable spark, that feeling of “Oooh, this is the story for me!” When I find it, I look for other versions of the same story. Often, I do a bit of research on the culture of the story. I try to look at the story from as many angles as possible so I can understand both the story and the backstory. What does the main character dream of? What does the kitchen in the castle look like? Who else is in the garden? If I know all of this, the story will have depth. I tell the story to myself as I pace around my house or as I walk down the street. I’m a kinesthetic learner, so I do this to get the story into my body, into my bones, into my breath.

What makes a good story ?

That’s a hard question. The story must in some way leave the both teller and listener satisfied. The listener must not walk away saying, “So what?”

What is your favourite story? And why do you like it?

My favourite story is the one I’m telling at the moment. I believe there’s only one big rule in storytelling (along with lots of suggestions): only tell stories you love. I love every story I tell. If I don’t, the listeners won’t like it either.

Who is your favourite storyteller?

Another tough question. Here are my current top five (subject to change, of course): Willy Claflin, Claire Murphy, Dolores Hydock, Joel Smets and Bill Harley.

1. My friend Papa Joe says, “If you want to be a storyteller, tell stories. If you want to be a better storyteller, tell more stories.” He’s right.

2. Listen. The best storytellers are deep listeners.

3. Find your own style. In the beginning, many of us imitate storytellers we like. Then we move through that stage to our own way of telling.

What are you reading at the moment?

I just picked up Our Secret Territory: The Essence of Storytelling by Laura Simms.

What's your favourite piece of music?

Just one? Depends on my mood. I’ve always loved Schubert’s Trout Quintet, but you might as easily find me listening to Bonnie Raitt or Tom Petty or Zydeco music or bluegrass or swing or crooners from the 40s and 50s.

How do you relax?

Daydreaming, reading novels, swimming, hanging out with friends, playing games (not all of these at once).

To find out more about Priscilla Howe, go to http://priscillahowe.com/