become a storyteller

You know, my mother once told me that whenever I take the bus there will always be one weirdo on the bus. Strange, every time I have taken the bus I have never seen a weirdo.

I found an incredible source for storytellers : AugustHouse.com August House is a book publisherwhose work supports the storytelling tradition. I forsee many purchases from their catalog in the coming months.

There is such a rich storytelling tradition that is dying in America that perhaps this knight can save. American folklore like Paul Bunyon, folktales that originated in the slave quarters of the South, and the mythical stories of indigenous people from the American Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Native Hawaiians all need to be told and retold.

Research is needed, but I am sure that I can find the written stories somewhere. Perhaps I can commit some of these to memory and tell in Toastmasters. And perhaps with a new baby in the family I’ll have a built in audience as well!

With babies, especially newborns, it really doesn’t matter what you say, it’s all in the tone. I seized on the opportunity to practice tone and cadence with my nephew this weekend and was surprised at how babies respond to tone.

I had to do a story-telling of the Stinky Cheese Man and the True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Interestly, upon stopping, William would show signs of a little crankiness that immediately subsided once I started speaking again. As much as my sister and b-i-l enjoyed listening to the stories, they were more impressed with how I read the CNN crawl in a story-telling voice much to the amusement of the baby.

I need to find a way to unleash this gift on the world.

This summer I plan to re-do the Storytelling manual for Toastmasters.

In the past I have written speeches for that set of projects as they came along. My goal for this go-around is to have a cohesive theme for all of the stories. I still have not decided what the common element will be – but it will reflect a great deal of research and advanced planning.

One bright day,

In the middle of the night,

Two dead men got up to fight,

Back to back they faced each other,

Drew their swords and shot each other,

If you don’t believe this lie is true,

Ask the blind man,

He saw it too

(I remember this from second grade)

Things went quite well this evening !

I received a call yesterday with an opportunity to storytell this evening and of course I said “yes.”

Just not so sure what I want to do. Yet.

Maybe I’ll have to look at a few books for ideas.

This saturday one of my Toastmasters clubs is having their annual breakfast in which some people bring their families. I was asked to speak and will do some storytelling.

It’s really strange because I do not see the gift at all, but I have been told again and again that I have a gift for painting pictures with words.

I have a strange feeling that this is just one more example of the BIG lesson that I have to learn : I have so many gifts and just don’t recognize and appreciate them.

This is one of my favourite stories to tell.

You see, that wolf got a really bad rap. He wasn’t that bad of a guy after all. It’s just that the story was told over and over, things were embellished, and things just haven’t been the same for wolves ever since. Okay, that chick red riding hood did a whole lot to damage the reputations of wolves but that’s a whole other story and maybe we’ll get to that at some other time.

You see, with noses that big, wolves tend to get a lot of colds and suffer more than theire fair share of allergies. That whole thing about huffing and puffing – a lie. It was more like wheezing and coughing – and reaching for an inhaler.

But somehow, some stupid pig builds a rickety house out of straw – so rickety in fact that just a few sneezes blew it down – and WHAM, the wolf is suddenly a killer. Argh. And since wolves don’t keep Kosher, there was no reason why he’d pass up a chance for some fresh ham.

When told in person, there is a great deal more detail for each of the houses upon which the wolf comes across. I also vocalize the wolf with voice that sounds a lot like Abe Vigoda. (think heavy New York Jewish accent, then add in a smokers raspiness)

I read the book “The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs” years ago and saw it as a great chance to retell the story. I haven’t done storytelling in a few years and am looking forward to getting back into it. I will be doing this story on December 4.