ENJOY OUR VIDEO STORIES!


Videos of some of our tellers are now available on our Tales and Tips blog!

Three videos have just been posted. The tellers are Rita, Angelica and Don...all members of Peterborough Storytellers. More videos of other tellers will follow in the days ahead.

These videos were made at our very successful World Storytelling Day 2013 event on March 20th held at the Public Library in Peterborough. In these videos you will see three unique styles of telling, story genres and in one instance, the use of harp and voice. The tale by Rita is unique in that she uses two character masks to tell her story.

The videos were made by our co-partner in the event, the New Canadians Centre of Peterborough, and we thank them for making these stories available to our blog. Our event, Fortune and Fate, was made possible by a grant from Storytellers of Canada.

Enjoy the three stories and watch for more to be posted shortly.

World Storytelling Day 2013 (playlist)

World Storytelling Day 2013 (playlist)

THE HEALER: FORTUNE OR FATE?

Note: This is one of nine stories told at Peterborough Storyteller's World Storytelling Day event on March 20th, 2013. The Healer was written and performed by Don Herald. Check back in a few days to this Tales and Tips blog to view video clips of some of the wonderful stories told that evening.

My story is based on true events that happened almost forty-five years ago.

It had been another hot, busy day in the surgery of the Christian mission hospital in north Central India. Dr. Tom, a British surgeon, had been operating all day long. Since his hospital was the only one for hundreds of miles in any direction, his surgery, outpatient and inpatient units were always filled to overflowing.

It was not uncommon for a person to travel on foot, or be pulled in a buffalo cart or sometimes carried on a stretcher for several days to reach his hospital. As would be the case here in Canada or in Britain, each patient also came with the expectation that Dr. Tom’s skill would fix them, perhaps even save their life or that of a loved one. But unfortunately not everyone could be fixed or saved.

At day’s end, we were relaxing with a cooling drink in his small living room. Dr. Tom was showing us some x-rays of a young child whose parents had carried him to his surgery many months ago. The child could not walk due to a severe congenital degeneration of the hip sockets. The x-rays clearly showed very little bone and cartilage in and around the joints. The boy was a cripple.

There was no surgery that Dr. Tom could do that would repair the bone structure enough to allow the boy to ever walk, even with the aid of a crutch. His parents were devastated that the famous Dr. Tom and his legendary healing powers could not help their son. This time, the famous Healer could not heal.

Putting down the x-rays, Dr. Tom sipped on his drink and for a moment seemed lost in thought. Then he resumed his story.

In the months after the child had been at his hospital, Dr. Tom began to hear stories from patients about a wandering preacher man who had mysteriously appeared in the more remote areas of the region. According to Dr. Tom’s patients, this bearded fellow dressed in flowing robes like a holy man and was always accompanied by a group of ten to twelve men who appeared to be friends of the Preacher and assisted him in his ministry.

But what most intrigued Dr. Tom about the growing reputation of the Preacher was that at his gatherings, villagers reported that the Preacher laid hands on some of the ill and suffering and apparently healed them. For these acts, he and his band demanded no money, but asked only for food and modest lodging to support them in their travels and ministry.

The Preacher’s reputation as a healer grew incredibly fast among the villagers. Soon his gatherings grew from at first dozens, then to hundreds of men, women and children who came to hear the Preacher’s words and hopefully for a fortunate few, to benefit from his healing work.

As a surgeon, Dr. Tom was understandably very skeptical of the growing number of reports from his patients about what were now often referred to as healing ‘miracles’ performed by the Preacher. Dr. Tom began writing down these miracle stories, curious to get to the bottom of what was really going on here. He showed us a notebook where he had meticulously recorded dozens of villagers’ reports about the healing acts of the Preacher.

Dr. Tom began to wonder if this man’s reputation was by clever design or perhaps by divine guidance.

One day, quite unexpectedly, the young boy and his parents returned to Dr. Tom’s outpatient clinic. Only this time, the boy was walking with the help of a cane. Dr. Tom couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He learned that the parents had heard of the Preacher and carried their son a great distance to a gathering. The boy had the good fortune to meet the Preacher who laid hands upon the boy’s hips and legs and prayed. The boy had risen slowly and awkwardly, and then walked unsteadily away supported by his thankful parents. Ever the scientific skeptic and after hearing this story, Dr. Tom again x-rayed the boy’s hips.

It was these x-rays that he now pulled out from a folder and held them up for us to examine. Dr. Tom pointed out how the sockets were now complete with bone and cartilage into which the boy’s leg bones fit snugly and properly.

Dr. Tom looked at us. ‘I have no real explanation for this. It would appear that the Preacher man has done the impossible and healed this child. If I had not seen this with my own eyes and did not have these x-rays as proof, I would never have believed this’.

So now, I leave it for you to decide. Was it Fortune? Or was it Fate? Or was it something else entirely?

WE DID IT! OUR FIRST ANNUAL WORLD STORYTELLING DAY EVENT

It was a wonderful evening of storytelling last night at our annual World Storytelling Day event, Fortune and Fate: Inspiring Tales From Around The World.

The nine tellers from Peterborough Storytellers and the Speaker's Bureau of the New Canadians Centre spun tales and music from across cultures that were greeted with considerable enthusiasm and praise from the nearly forty listeners who came and participated. We were delighted to welcome many new folks to the experience of storytelling here in Peterborough. Everyone agreed that it was truly a worthwhile evening of entertainment and learning.

Our thanks to all the tellers: Diana, Naser, Sharon, Don, Rita, Andrew, Betty, Kemi and Angelica. And of course to Yvonne and Safo from NCC, Don and Rita from Pb Storytellers who worked so hard on planning and coordinating the event. Also our thanks to the media who told the community of our event: the Peterborough Examiner and Trent Radio.

And we wish to acknowledge the continuing support of our local storytelling activities from our national organization, Storytellers of Canada, who so generously provided us with a grant to help meet the costs of hosting this event.

Check back to this blog in the coming days for videos of many of our tellers performing at Fortune and Fate 2013.

Let's do it all again next year!

A GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF STORYTELLING

Believe it or not, Wikipedia has an excellent summary of storytelling through the ages. Topics such as:

• The historical perspective
• Contemporary storytelling
• Oral traditions
• Storytelling in Indigenous Cultures
• In business and the workplace

There is an comprehensive section on References and Further Reading for articles, papers and books on storytelling. 

And a final section on internet links.

This article in Wiki will be a good introduction and overview for anyone beginning research on storytelling. 

We recommend you check it out.    dh

WHAT IS WORLD STORYTELLING DAY?

On March 20th in 1991 and again in 1992, a network of storytellers in Sweden held a national story telling day. Little did these passionate tellers realize that their dream of a nation-wide event would morph over the subsequent years into a world-wide celebration.

In 1997, Australian storytellers in Perth organized a five week event that was called the 'Celebration of Story' during which they designated March 20th as the International Day of Oral Narrators. At the same time, other countries such as Mexico and some South American countries were organizing a National Day of Storytellers.

In 2002, again pushed by the Swedish storytelling network, Ratatosk, World Storytelling Day spread to other Scandanavian countries. A year later, Canadian tellers adopted the practice as did tellers in other countries around the world. The national celebration of storytelling was spreading rapidly globally.

In 2013, over 30 countries on 5 continents now hold national World Storytelling Day celebrations on or about March 20th each year.

World Storytelling Day has adopted a symbolic logo created by Mats Rehnman of Stockholm. You will see Mats' logo now proudly displayed by many of the storytelling groups in your community during their annual celebrations. Here is the logo:

PETERBOROUGH STORYTELLERS CELEBRATES 

WORLD STORYTELLING DAY 2013

 On March 20^th we will be co-hosting an evening of story sharing that will explore this year’s theme of Fortune and Fate: Inspiring Tales From Around The World. Our partner will be Speaker’s Bureau the New Canadians Centre here in Peterborough.

If you will be in the Peterborough area on the 20^th, we would love to see you at the Auditorium of the Public Library on Aylmer Street. The stories start being told shortly after 7pm and will continue until just after 9pm. Admission is free and there will be munchies and other refreshments served.

We are grateful to the Storytellers of Canada for a World Storytelling Day grant to help meet the costs of hosting this event.

Here is the scheduled program of stories you will hear at Fortune and Fate.

The legend of Rozafa Castle as told by Naser

This is an Albanian folk tale about three brothers who set about building the Rozafa castle. They work all day, but the walls fall down at night. They meet a clever old man who advises them to sacrifice someone so that the walls would stand.

BIG MAN DRUM as told by Diana

"Big Man Drum" is a variation on a Chinese folk tale. Its theme of mistaken identity is also found in tales from other countries. An African djembe will be used during the performance, making this an international story experience. 

A creation StorY as told by Sharon

A Maori creation story from Aotearoa, New Zealand that depicts an indigenous telling of how the world came into being through the separation of Sky Father and Earth Mother.  

 THE HEALER told by Don

Based on a true story told to Don by a British missionary surgeon. In remote north-central India during the mid-60’s, a mysterious man draws thousands to his meetings where he preaches and heals. A life-long sceptic of such healing, the doctor investigates and is dismayed at what he discovers.

THE CURIOUS GIRL as told by Rita

The curious girl goes to see a witch. The witch turns her into a red bird and tells her that to be free she must find a story to tell the witch that she has not heard before. The bird/girl searches the world for such a story. Masks will be used.

THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION AND LAND OF MAGIC as told by Adli

Review of a personal life journey in the land of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, and how this ancient advanced civilization retreated leaving one of the richest countries by all means poor and very dangerous to be in.  

THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR as told by Betty

Among the oldest stories of fate and fortune in the Western literature are the Greek myths.  In the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, notice how character and the caprices of the gods, affect the fate of Theseus and Minos.

 A meeting of Chance as told by Kemi

She is from Sudan. He is from Edinborough. As fate would have it, they met at a restaurant and that meeting opened up a world of unexpected for them. 

THOMAS THE RHYMER as told by Angelica

‘Thomas the Rhymer’ chronicles the adventure of a Scottish bard, who went to fairyland and returned.  He was given a magic apple by the Fairies Queen, which gives him the gift of prophesy.  Some of his prophesies are still remembered.

If you would like to know more about any of the stories on our 2013 event program or more about our speakers, please email us at peterboroughstorytellers@cogeco.ca. 

MORE GOLDEN NUGGETS OF STORYTELLING WISDOM

A popular website for speakers and those newbies wanting to be speakers is www.mannerofspeaking.com. Edited by John Zimmel, there are many video links and synopses that are a treasure trove of ideas and quotes for an aspiring storyteller.

From a TEDTalk by Andrew Stanton, a director and screenwriter at Pixar and most notably the key guy for the movies Toy Story and Finding Nemo, Zimmel summarized a number of key takeaway points about storytelling from Stanton’s talk. Below, I have chosen a few that I think are particularly relevant for readers and browsers of Tales and Tips.

§  Storytelling is knowing that everything you’re saying, from your first sentence to your last, is leading to a single goal and ideally confirming some truth that deepens our understanding of who we are as humans.
§  We all want affirmation that our lives have meaning, and there is no stronger affirmation than when we connect through stories.
§  The greatest story commandment is to make the audience care –emotionally, intellectually, aesthetically.
§  A good story makes a promise that it will lead you somewhere worthwhile.
§  Don’t give the audience the answer ‘4’. Give them ‘2 + 2’ and let them work it out for themselves.
§  You need to craft your story so that it builds anticipation. Drama is anticipation mixed with uncertainty.
§  Storytelling has guidelines, not hard and fast rules.
§  Here’s the big question: Can you invoke wonder in your audience? Wonder is honest, innocent and can’t be artificially invoked.
§  The best stories infuse an audience with wonder.
§  The ability (of the storyteller) to instill wonder in others, to hold them for a brief moment and make them surrender to wonder, is one of the greatest gifts one person can give another.
§  When developing your stories, use what you know. It doesn’t always mean plot or fact. It means capturing a truth from your experience and expressing values you personally feel deep down to your core.

And…to finish this Golden Nuggets post with a quote adapted very liberally from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

‘All great storytellers were bad storytellers at first’

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN 2012! 

To everyone who has visited our Tales and Tips blog regularly in 2012, please know that the members of the Planning Group of Peterborough Storytellers are delighted at your continuing support. Your comments about the articles and stories that we post here are sincerely appreciated. 

Our commitment to you in 2013 is to continue to develop our Tales and Tips blog so that it will be one of your regular 'must visit' sites when you are looking on the web for helpful information, creative stories and ideas that will expand your interest and skills in storytelling.

From the 2012 Planning Group members of Peterborough Storytellers: Angelica, Betty, Diana, Rita, Hermione and myself.   

Best wishes in 2013 wherever in the cyber world you may be!   

Don