Once the story started, both of them took turns to take the story forward and in the end, the story ended up being nowhere near the original story. It contained all the new elements they had added on to it. That was the fun part while listening to an old story. Finally both would fall asleep, feeling good that they had played an active role in telling the story to me, rather than me telling them the story.
Talking about the new story they had helped create, then dominated the next day. In this case, they had a free hand at handling the story, the way they wanted to. This freehand at creating was the best part of the whole story telling activity for the kids. This is an interactive way of dealing with a story, which has been told multiple times to youngsters, where the listeners have a free hand and eventually the narrator becomes a listener. Though it sounds very mundane and simple, storytelling is a very difficult job. Not all who tell stories are good storyteller.
So what exactly is storytelling? It is an attempt at defining an art form: An art of using language, vocalization, often involving physical movement and gesture to help visualize the images of a story to a live audience. Effective storytelling is a fine and beautiful form of art. A well-developed and presented story cuts across age barriers and holds captive its listeners of all age. Though storytelling is as old as speech itself, it continues even today sporadically as we strive to communicate with children in our effort to entertain and pass information to them on various topics, all the time trying our level best to establish a bond between the children and the storyteller.
In a society where children’s entertainment is amazingly taken up by impersonal media such as television and films, load shedding has provided a window of opportunity for parents and children to strengthen their family ties. Storytelling can be an invaluable part of those dark candle lit nights. An experience shared among parents and children has no monetary value as it is quality time spent together that enriches both parties.
For children, it is an opportunity to develop their skills for listening and encourages them to visualize the story in their imagination, to relax and fantasize safely, and for parents it is the sharing of a special moment with their child that leads to relaxation and peace for the overworked brain after a busy day at work.
Now the question arises: ‘How do you tell a story? What kind of story do you choose that will bind the children together till the end of the storytelling session?’ The best option is to ask the children what they want to hear. If the choice is yours, choose a story that is appealing to both girls and boys alike. Avoid stories that give a message right away with the title of the story. Children believe in magic. They like to hear stories where a kiss can transform the ugly frog into a handsome prince.
At the same time they also recognize and differentiate between justice and injustice, crime and punishment. They also like a little mystery. They often like to draw the conclusion of the story themselves. Let the story start with an assumption that children are smart. Stories like ´The Wizard of Oz´ or ´Aladdin and his Magic Lamp´ are farfetched and are a good choice. At the same time the stories you choose to tell also need to have a sense of real life and fair play. If you are really imaginative, you might even be able to make the children listen to “lesson” stories disguised in fun and fantasy.
The main question here is: ‘How do you capture children’s attention?’
There are certain steps that you have to follow to be successful in this art. It starts with the choosing of a story. It should be appropriate for the occasion, cater to the interest of the children. Depending on the age group, for young children, choose stories that are short with repetitive phrases. For slightly older children, choose stories that build up a suspense and a good climax, preferably stories with dialogues than narrative. Try to make the story as dramatic as possible with different kind of voice for different characters. Smile and make eye contact with your listeners. Vary the pitch of your voice and use facial expressions along with your hands to catch the spirit of the story-just do it, don’t tell.
Impersonation and animation of characters is very important here while keeping in mind the time limit. About 20 minutes is the best option that will leave the children wanting for more. Although storytelling seems simple, the storyteller has to do some homework before telling a story. That includes choosing a story, reading it, memorizing it, visualizing it, and then estimating the time it would take to tell it. Once the homework is done, you are ready to test your skills. Just remember, storytelling is an interactive performance of an art form. It is by design a co-creative process and by nature it is personal, interpretive and uniquely human: A medium for sharing, interpreting, offering the content and meaning of a story to the children.
By the end of your story telling, if you get a response ‘can you tell us another story, please?’ consider yourself successful. Have a great time with your children and thank the electricity department for bringing the family together. For a change, consider the positive side of load shedding and be happy. After all, every cloud does have a silver lining.
The writer is an educationist and children’s writer
usha@pokharel.net
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