Many thanks

Hi all,

David has kindly sent me an invitation to join your blog. I look forward to following the class and contributing in some way if possible.

As I returned to Nashville from an amazing week in Asheville, it occurred to me that not only is Asheville an incredibly beautiful place, but all the people I met there were so open and accepting. My reflection brought me back to your warm reception, attentiveness and amazingly thoughtful responses to my show last Tuesday evening. Thank you so much for that. Your feedback is so important as I work to make the show relevant and valuable to my future audiences.

From your comments, I will work to make a better transition between my own photography story and Julia Margaret Cameron's and re-evaluate the inclusion of technical detail. I will consider revealing additional back story in order to make the purpose of the show more clear. Further character development and finding ways to shorten the length will also be addressed. As I work through the show, your additional comments will be applied to the refinement.

You are certainly fortunate to be studying with such accomplished people as David and Gwenda. If I lived in Asheville I'd be in your class as well! Though most of you are probably not studying to be professional storytellers, the principles will help you tell your own story - as you choose to 'focus your lens' or 'develop' your life!

Thanks again,

Valerie Menard

Extras

Here are some images and links related to a few of the items on our mid-term.
Throughout history storytellers have attempted to use visual images to illustrate their stories.

Bankelsanger literally means "bench singer." These German storytellers would use a small bench as a stage from which to direct listeners to their story boards.

Similarly the art of Kamishibai in Japan is based on telling stories to images.

Kamishibai in Japan, 1959
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MahEbmc4CE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUAJIlJ4DOw




The modern use of storyboards in film-making is a direct descendant of these traditions. Storyboarding was first used as a cost effective way to pre-edit animated films by Walt Disney.

Tuesday, April 13

Welcome back from Spring Break! Now we will begin the telling of personal stories. To inspire us we will have a guest storyteller, Valerie Menard, sharing a new program of stories she is currently developing. Be sure to attend class and listen up!

March 16

Happy St. Patricks Day. here is a link to Eddie Lenihan, Irish Seanachie

As we approach working on personal stories, check out these popular personal story venues:

Story Corps
The Moth
2nd Story
This American Life

Tuesday, March 9

Mara, Diana, Gwen, and Chris were present. There may have been confusion because of the "Friday on Tuesday" schedule but we did indeed hold class.

Here is a mid-term quiz for all of you:

DRAMA 126, Basic Storytelling • Instructor: Novak

Name:__________________________________________Date:

You can submit this in class, 3/16, or via email to: novateller@aol.com

I.In her introduction, Sawyer quotes The Crock of Gold: “...what the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow.”
What does this mean to you?



How does the storyteller involve “the heart” of the listener?



II.Define the following terms:

Scald
Ollamh
Bard
Pinkerdd
Mabinog

III.Define these additional terms, not found in Sawyer:

Aoidos
Bankelsanger
Kamishibai

IV.Re: Origins of storytelling, we discussed the Seneca story of Grandfather Stone.

How might we “get stories from stones” or other aspects of the natural world?




Give an example of a pattern from the natural world that matches a familiar story.




V.After our hula lesson we discussed qualities from hula that we might invoke in telling stories.

What are some of these qualities and how can we use them in our storytelling?

Fables

For next week - you will be given a quiz on the first 127 pages of Ruth Sawyer "The Way of the Storyteller." Be ready!

Tonight we began a few notes related to the reading assignment comparing the 3 stories:

Eros & Psyche
Beauty & The Beast
East of the Sun and West of the Moon

I presented the ideas of "spelling" and "combinatorics." When we spell a word (example "art" "rat" "tar") we work with a limited set of letters to create a limitless set of ideas. The 3 words referenced above are created from the same 3 letters arranged into different combinations. The art of spelling is the art of making the right combination of elements to create the "spell." In this sense, spelling is a magical act. The right combination yields the right spell. In the same way that different words are spelled with the same letters, different stories can be "spelled" with the same motifs.

We then discussed the 4 fables:
The Tortoise & Hare
The Goose With Golden Eggs
The Fox & Grapes
The Man, Boy & Donkey

We did an exercise with Tim and Ali looking out the door and telling us what they saw in the hallway. the hallway was always the same, but the tellings were very different. The way the storyteller "sees" the stories results in different tellings.

Concepts from Kieran Egan ("Teaching As Storytelling")
Binary Organization: setting up opposites in the creation of the story: slow v. fast, old v. young, proud v. humble, etc.

Affective Hook: involve the emotions and feelings in order to involve the mind: create a feeling for the the pride of the Hare or the greed of the farmer, the thirst of the fox, etc.. (We had a strong example in discussing the free pancakes at IHOP as a motivation for the man with the golden eggs!)

We played the game of "What is it?" with a marking pen.

Discussion: Syntax of Surprise = Huh? Ah!

Hula Night

Last Tuesday we had class in Holly Library with Julie Alstchul, Hula Instructor.

We learned some of the basic steps and a portion of the hula dance that tells the creation story. We noticed how many of the gestures were similar to American Sign Language ("tree" for example) and otherwise were easy to understand: "earth" "fire" "stars" etc.

Some general qualities to look for as we invoke "the spirit of hula" in our storytelling:

Let the body have a voice.
Involve the entire body in the gesture, head-to-toe.
Use rhythm and continuity.
Be "rooted" to the earth.

For next week:

Read and learn the 4 fables in Coles:
The Hare & The Tortoise pg 177
The Fox & The Grapes pg 178
The Goose With The Godlen Eggs pg 178
The Man, The Boy and The Donkey pg 179