DRAMA thoughts #4: Storytelling

Storytelling:

The Selkie Myth

In our lecture Victoria Campbell told us a story. It was a story about the Selkie myth, and it was captivating, haunting and beautifully told. What I noticed was that as Victoria told the story, my attention became completely captivated. As she described each part of the story, I could see images in my mind's eye, and felt strong emotions. I even got shivers.

It is clear that there is something innate within us that is drawn to stories. To use the method of oral storytelling in the classroom is therefore incredibly valuable as a tool for learning and stimulating students' thinking.

The Fisherman and the Syren by Frederic Leighton

I noticed some things about the way that Victoria told the story which contributed to making it so effective. Generally, in lectures, she switches in and out of a very gentle, soothing tone of voice, to a stronger, more commanding tone. The point at which she switches is the point that I always notice my attention is re-captivated. She did this in the story: changing tone, pitch and volume to reflect what was happening. When something suspenseful was happening, her tempo increased.

She used gesture very effectively: showing the Selkies dancing (and humming an eerie tune as she did so, with a frightening deadness in her eyes), and using her hands to embody the sailor beckoning the Selkie over, etc. At times she would pause her speech to do these gestures. Her facial expressions were similarly very successful in conveying the emotion of the story, and she used eye contact to communicate directly to the individuals in the class.

I can still remember the story vividly, and some of the gestures Victoria used to create that feeling. I think this alone is evidence of the power of storytelling for learning in the classroom.

This is a fairly different version to the one Victoria told,

but it illustrates the idea and is lovely itself:

Realising everyone can tell a Story...

The teacher as story-teller is obviously very powerful, but it is understandably an area where people may feel under-confident in their skills. I was not sure how I would go at first, but with some ideas and stories under my belt and having realised through practice that I can tell a pretty good story, I now feel confident to use the technique in the classroom. This is a guide for how to use storytelling:

1. Storytelling is personal
• tell the story in a way that is comfortable for you
• you do not have to memorise the story, simply be aware of the bones of the story i.e. the sequence of events and the characters within the narrative
2. Things to consider:
• Voice: tone, pitch, volume
• Pauses and silences
• Tempo and rhythm 
• Think about gesture, facial expression and emotions
• Think beyond the words (paralanguage, non verbal communication)
• Bringing characters to life in the telling
• Eye contact
• A storyteller brings the story to life for the listeners - the storyteller breathes life into words
• What are the images in the story?
• Tell stories that you enjoy, if you do the listener will
• Think about the first line and the last line, these lines might be the only ones you need to memorise
3. Bare bones of the Selkie Myth/Seal Wife
• A fisherman is lonely/looking for a wife
• One night he sees the seal women take off their skin and dance - women underneath
• He is told by a friend/mother/or knowledge he already is aware of - if you take the skin the woman cannot return to the sea
• He takes/steals the skin and locks it in the attic
• They are married; she forgets she once lived in the sea
• They have several children
• The young boy/child is playing in the attic one day and discovers the seal fur/skin in a chest
• She turns to the sea

Practicing the Selkie Story

In our workshop, we practiced telling our own versions of the Selkie Myth with a partner - one person began the story, and halfway through, the other person took over to finish it. My partner took a very different approach. The fisherman was a typical blokey fisherman who enjoyed kicking back with some VB's and who kept the selkie's skin in an esky! I then finished up in the same manner, but felt my natural style coming through as I told the story - which became more dramatic in comparison to his larrikin, joking manner.

As we did this, we were told by our partner either: detail in which case we would spend more time developing the story and giving greater description, or advance in which case we would pick up the pace of our story and continue to the next event.

This was very interesting, and I realised that everyone can tell a good story! The main fear of telling a story is that the audience may not listen, but I realised from the workshop that when someone starts telling a story, most people really enjoy listening.

Anecdote Activity

We were then asked to share an anecdote from our childhood with our partner. This turned into an activity where, after the pairs picking one anecdote, they would come up to the front and tell the story in turns to the class. The class then had to vote for who they thought the story actually belonged to. It was very interesting and a lot of fun - and it was great for developing use of voice, language skills, descriptive detail and performance skills. It has strong links to literacy as it was obvious that the more detail that was included, the more believable the story was.

An example of the kind of anecdote kids will love!