Storytelling: at Tufts ExCollege FALL 2013

 First in a series of unpublished blog posts from this insanely busy past few months...

An open letter to my Tufts ExCollege Students:

Thank you, all. Last night was an absolutely fabulous final-project-end-of-term, slam. I can honestly say it was the best ever, being the first. Levity aside, and despite interruptions from my overreaching desire to document, facilitate and generally futz around with technology, your slam was every bit as amazing as you may have felt it.

Didn't everyone bring their A game? Were we regaled with hilarity and depth, personal growth and deep insight? Yes. From the very first story, (which set a high bar) to the very last, we experienced real life, beautifully crafted into narrative. Through each story the art of storytelling shone.

Before I get even more cringe-worthy gushy, I am posting a few sloppily snapped photos which do not do the performers or performances justice. Then, I am getting to work on my critique of your performances, collating all your comments and finding a way to get them to you and creating grades for you all. Once that is set I will be editing the audio podcast and video clips and posting same. It may take me a while so when you are in the throes of finals look for an email with links to this amazing night of stories to buoy your spirits. Again, thank you all for working to bring such great stories and making my "first time" teaching a college level storytelling course truly rewarding.

Storytelling: Woolgathering 1.5- Begin again

-->Woolgathering: 1. 5 Begin again

by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

Starting our story from a different perspective can help us see new aspects of our experience or a story's structure or it's deeper meaning. We want our story to get better and better with repeated telling. And usually a story will, if we listen to ourselves as we tell. And revise our work.  A fun way to accelerate the process of refining a story through retelling is to try some new beginnings.

Exercises 1.5: Begin Again

Beginnings: start again Try a new beginning for your story:

1.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the place

2.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes a character

3.    Start with a sound, a sight, a smell or a taste that describes the time

4.    Start describing some action – major or minor – that shows setting

5.    Start a dialogue between 2 main characters.

6.    Write the inner monologue (thoughts) of a main character.

7.    Make —a statement … you might begin with a sentence that starts with—“Usually...” or “They say... “ All X are Y or so I thought but/and...” or “She always believed that...” you get the idea?

8.    Ask a question – rhetorical, of your self - of the audience -

Storytelling: Woolgathering1.4 - Play With it!

Storytelling: Woolgathering 1.4 - Play With it!

When you listen to a storyteller, you are helping create the story while you listen. After you hear a story it is yours. To play with…to learn from…to imagine with. Here are a few ideas that I share with the students who listen and create stories with me at Read Boston.

Playing is a powerful way to learn. And it is now scientifically proven to be important to our health and well being. From the TEDx site "Dr. Stuart Brown came to research play through research on murderers -- unlikely as that seems -- after he found a stunning common thread in killers' stories: lack of play in childhood. Since then, he's interviewed thousands of people to catalog their relationships with play, noting a strong correlation between success and playful activity. His book  Play  describes the positive impact play can have on one's life." Dr. Brown says that play and story are closely related. "Three dimensional play lights up the cerebellum"

So when your are having fun with your own version of a story you heard, you are creating and bein as you mix up what you heard with your own rich imagination. 

Exercises: Woolgathering 1.4 - Play With it!

1. Imagine a new ending.
A story with a completely or even slightly new ending is, a different story. It is fun to think of different ways the same things could end or different things the same events could lead to. It is like yoga for the mind. It stretches your thinking and strengthens your problem solving ability.

2. Draw some pictures.
What’s is your picture of the main characters in the story ? Make masks of your favorite characters. Or each one can draw a favorite part of the story. Put these all together and arrange in order, from beginning to end. Add any parts that were missing. Show these as a story line or tape drawings together to make a kind of story “quilt .

3. Tell the story through action.
Instead of telling the story with words see if you can tell it with your gesture, your posture and your facial expressions. 

4. Pretend.
Pick a character from the story that interests you.  Then speak, act, walk and breathe like that character for the rest of the day.

5. Post your idea in the comments below:

Storytelling:Woolgathering 1.2 Exaggerate!

Storytelling: Woolgather & Exercise

by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

(Yeah, I just was not "feeling" the Think&Do title.  And Theory and Practice is too dry, just not me. So I have new title. Woolgathering; it is what I do best! Exercise; it is what I need most.)

Storytelling: Woolgather & Exercise 1.2  Exaggerate!

Those who listen to my bombast know me as the Empress of Hyperbole. I play fast and loose with size, quantity and quality in my storytelling.  I try not to do so when I write but in the heat of speaking moments, 'once'  may become become 4xs  and big becomes giant and salt should be liberally applied. Really no point in checking my facts if I am telling a story - I shade, stretch and distort with the best of them. I know I am employing hyperbole "exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.  And people, g_d help 'em, do listen so I know it works.  Here is wool and wisdom gathered on the subject of exaggeration.

  In his post FOUR rules I practice in storytelling: Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor + Blogger says

Creative Whack Pack

“I cannot tell you how many people have asked me, "Was that story you told yesterday actually true?" I guess it was so outrageous that it was pretty hard to believe. The answer is: Yes. It's true. And I thought it would provide a good opportunity for me to talk a little about storytelling as illustration in any kind of public speaking - whether it's a sermon or a lecture or a speech…

1) Exaggeration is ok. Most of the time, I look for ways to insert an absurdity. Strategically placed, these accomplish 2 things: 1- they make the story fun and funny, 2- absurdities tell the listener, "that part is an embellishment." In this particular story, I said something like, "I was so mad, I pumped iron like the old Arnold..." Well, that's clearly not true. But it's also clearly an embellishment. It's so absurd that it cannot possibly be true.

Where Pastor Hughes is very careful about his exaggeration, I think that in a short story like a 5 minute slam story it is sometimes necessary to distort story elements to get your meaning across. Is this alright? I say, yes. Is it truthful?  Well, no. But is it dishonest - to you intend to deceive and make people think particular details are true for some ego gratifying purpose? I think this is crucial. Since storytelling is an art - not journalism, we need to have room to create.  Exaggeration as a brainstorming tool can lead amazing results. 

Exercise:  1.2  Exaggerate!

1. In any story you want to tell try adding an exaggerated detail at the beginning and end of your story. Tell your whole story with and without the detail (to a live listener or record it) Ask for specific feed back. Does the new detail distract from your intended meaning or heighten it? Does it add some panache to your performance or does it call too much attention to itself?

Storytelling: Woolgathering 1.1 - Listen first

Storytelling: Woolgathering 

by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

Think&Do 1.1 Listen first

Storytelling is as common as rain and often almost as invisible. It is not like reading or film or theater or song yet all these art forms require story and can  tell stories. For our study, storytelling is a live performance of a narrative by one or more performers who work without scripts, illusions, costume, makeup or props. There is no “fourth wall”. The storyteller and the listeners create images and emotions, together. The audience is a active participant and without the audience – the story is not alive. The adoption of radio, television, and video almost eclipsed storytelling BUT people yearn for more personal contact, and realizing that television and other media cannot take the place of a storyteller sharing a story in person.

Listening to our friends experiences as they create stories, informally or otherwise is a gift to them and to you as a listener. A great blog post on Active Listening here says we retain about 25% -50% of what we hear. Listening is about awareness and feeds our wells.

Exercise: Think&Do 1.1  Active listening  

1. Listen to a story - live is best but recorded is fine - just listen however you can. Remember (in silence) how you pictured an image or several images. Verbally share images with one or more listening partners. You may also wish to write about the image after telling.

2. Listen in the dark or with your eyes closed. Make up images an story to make sense of the sounds.Verbally share the sounds and images with one or more listening partners. You may also wish to write about the image after telling.

NEW Feature- Storytelling: Think&Do 1.0

Storytelling: Think&Do

by  Norah Dooley

Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

I intend to make my reflections on the art of storytelling and an exercise a weekly feature here.  And I welcome comments and lively discussion. Please join in!

Think&Do 1.0  "Time+tragedy=comedy. Or does it?

I  loved this bromide since I first heard it from Laura Love, a singer-songwriter in her introduction to Voices, a beautiful song about her mother's mental illness. Time+tragedy = comedy. Is this more cliché than true? Or is comedy the surest indicator that we are on the other side of tragedy? I just finished a workshop for a nonprofit group that wants to work with victims of domestic violence. This workshop naturally raised the issue that often comes up at our story slams. Can I tell a sad story?  Can I tell my sad story? Yes! Does my story need to be funny? No. Do you need to have distance from your pain? Yes.  And, have  you gained something from the experience that you choose to share that makes it worth listening to? Oh, yes. 

In many situations it is wonderful and healing to work through our stories together but as an art or as paid entertainment it is a huge no-no. In fact anywhere your listener has not agreed to the role of a caring and patient listener, this kind of storytelling is discouraged.

In a story slam situation I ask the storyteller ‘Do you bring something to the audience or are you asking them for something?’  People get paid big bucks to listen to you ramble – they are trained therapists. But an audience expects a work of art and should never be asked to try to make sense out of your life.  That is your job. As human beings we make sense of our experience through story. An artist/storyteller does this work BEFORE they take the stage. Often, with each telling our own understanding and insight into our experience deepens. This is the beauty of any true art for…the practitioner gains as well as the recipient.

Writer Judith Barrington acknowledges this experience in the quote below. Judith teaches memoir writing and her Lifesaving: A Memoir, is an award wining book. In it she reflects on the accidental death of both her parents when she was 19 years old and how as a young woman she dealt with sudden loss and coming of age. When asked how she worked through difficult emotions on the page Judith Barrington said:

“ I didn’t work through the emotions on the page; I worked through them before I started to write the book. It took years for me to be ready. I don’t believe that writing in any genre is a substitute for therapy (or deep thought or journaling or however you deal with life’s blows)—even though you may get new insights into your experience in the process of writing the memoir.”

For her readers and for Judith the resulting work of art was worth the wait.

Exercise: Think&Do 1.0  The 5 Whys  

State what your story is about in one or two sentences. Ask yourself or have a friend ask you why (are you telling me this?) The WHYS should come in rapid succession – speak your thoughts. You will answer with the 1st thing that comes into to your head, 5 times.  You may also try this as a writing exercise. Once you have done this a few times, it will be easier to know if you are ready to tell your story.

Adapted from from The Five Whys Technique by Olivier Serrat “ three key elements to effective use of the Five Whys technique: (i) accurate and complete statements of problems,5 (ii) complete honesty in answering the questions, (iii) the determination to get to the bottom of problems and resolve them. The technique was developed by Sakichi Toyoda for the Toyota Industries Corporation.”  www.adb.org/publications/five-whys-technique

Great  50 minute live set of Laura Love Band here: http://youtu.be/BxroVyOi5eQ

Thanks to  Annette’s Paper Trail blog at www.annettefix.com for the Judith Barrington material

"what to say "- coaching dilemmas

Just a nice picture, not a weak performance at Royalston Shakespeare Co.

Just another day online, at the office. The research errand I was on was serious - time sensitive tax information for our nonprofit corporation. Not exactly my fave topic. And somehow I had wandered into the ArtsEdge site. Delightful. Not what I needed to be doing but what a rich resource for arts educators. Warning: DO NOT go there if you are in a hurry.

So after spending an hour online browsing at the excellent  Kennedy Center for the Arts blog, I had to move on. Before I left,  I skimmed an article about "what to say" when directing students in theater.   I started thinking about how to adapt these ideas for use in my storytelling coaching.  I copied and pasted the list into an email and sent it to myself.  Sometimes the material presented by a performer is astoundingly bad. Did I just say that? Phew, no. I just wrote that. We all know that we think that sometimes. But that is not what we want to say.  We know the work or performance is just unformed, not ready, in process, etc, etc... The writer/educator at ArtsEdge and I think it good to have a few set phrases you can rely on while you gather thoughts about how to be helpful. Below is my first stab at riffing on that list to help story coaches say positive things to help move into a conversation and critique.  Do you you have any favorites? Add yours in the comments below.

Things for a teacher/coach to say after a flawed performance or weak story:

1. “You are really improving.  What would happen if you tried... ( give a specific exercise or direction for student to try.)

 2. “Good"  Or "Thank you.  How can we help you make your story stronger...”  ( if obvious to you what might help, name it, if not just say "stronger").

This was "bad", even the other actors thought so.

3. “Project your voice as if the whole audience was outside, down the hall and in the restroom”

 4. “Good. Keep what you are doing. Please try or see how you feel about adding…”  ( when someone is really tentative - then give some specific exercise or direction to try)

 5. “Interesting. Help us help you by telling us what you care about most in this story...( when you don't even know where to begin - or some specific questions from what is given to tease out where the story is)

 6. “Good. Now what are some ways you want to challenge yourself ?” ( for someone who is almost there but kind of missing the mark)

 7. “Stories happen people to people, or people and animals, people and environment - Show us one thing ( each) so we can "hear" "see" what you see? Show us verbally - or   Show us non verbally ( facial, sound effect,movement etc.)

 8. “What is most important to you? What do you really want us to take away from your story?”

 9. “Breathe. "Anxiety is excitement without breath, " said my first storytelling teacher and great storyteller,  Jennifer Justice (now the Artistic Director of Durham Family Theater). Don’t rush - find at least two places to pause for a full 3 count.”

 10. “What felt good to you in this story? How can you build on that ?”


Ah - finally found the the original article and you may read it here: What Do I Say?   Ten ways a drama teacher can respond constructively and sensitively to student work