A Storytelling WorkshopCopyright © 2004 Karen McIntyre, email Kjmcinty@comcast.net. May not be used for profit, republished, or placed on a website. Published by The General Board of Discipleship, http://www.umcworship.org, telephone 877-899-2780, ext 7073.

“All wisdom is plagiarism; only stupidity is original.”

Hugh Kerr Theology Today 45:1 p.1

We are like a dying order…..

After this story, think of the possible messages of this one story.

This story can be found in Storytelling Imagination and Faith by Bauch, also in The Spirituality of Imperfection, Scott Peck’s Different Drum, and many other sources!

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.

Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final favor of love which is forgiveness."

Reinhold Niebuhr

“Jesus cannot change the shape of the past. However, Jesus can change the meaning of those events for the present and future.

They no longer need to pour poison into our psyches, but by the grace of his healing touch, they can become springs of grace andwonder as we shift from thinking how bad we were to how goodGod is in being willing to forgive!”

John Claypool – Stories Jesus Still Tells: the Parables

“The memory of things past is indeed a worm that does not die. Whether it continues to grow by gnawing away at our hearts or is changed into a brightly colored winged creature depends….on whether we can find a forgiveness we cannot bestow on ourselves.”

Dominic Maruca

“All stories are meant to be ‘theological.’ Humankind needs theological stories because human beings are fundamentally interpersonal and because if the Christian God’s promise is true, then humankind is fundamentally related to God as a person. Since story is the only means by which the interpersonal reality of humankind can be expressed in its cognitive and affective fullness and since our relationship to God is fundamentally interpersonal, it follows that storytelling and story listening provide the most appropriate means of enabling us to live in the relationship.”

» John Navarone --Tellers of the word

When disaster threatened…..

Scripture reading

Sermon

Sunday School

Covenant Groups

Board meetings

Counseling

Personal Growth

The Old Testament Prophets… John the Baptist is like them.

Jesus is a kinder gentler prophet….telling stories….

Parables…..

Parable and truth……

You all by yourself are a minyan!

To find your story ask;

Why am I telling this story?

Who is my audience?

Is it age-appropriate.

Match their interests.

How much time do I have?

Where will I find my story?Your public library, church library, bookstoreCollections of Folk and Fairy talesCollections from national or local Storytelling Events Other StorytellersNewspapers/NPRLife and people

What to look for in a story

Plot is fast paced

Characterization is clear and flat

Conflict develops early

Climax The story must call your name.

Occurs late in the story

To make it yours, you will have some dues to pay!

The next steps are not easy, but stay with it; the rewards are great!

Read or listen to the story over and over.

Outline the main points or sequence of events.

Make a copy and highlight or mark it for inflections.

Tell the story as if it were a memory!

Here’s how a story outline looksStory: The Rooster and the SultanTime: 7 min.Possible Lessons: Don’t be greedy; persistence pays; strength in weakness; justice triumphsAudience Reaction: Tell it again!!! Props: guitar and globe (to show where Turkey is

1. Poor rooster and old lady---together in poverty.2. Greedy Sultan steals penny from poor rooster’s beak.3. Rooster follows sultan to castle and sings:

“Cockadoodle doo, Cockadoodle doo, Give me back my penny.”4. Sultan orders slave to kill rooster by drowning5. Rooster orders his magic throat to suck up water and returns to Sultan’s window and sings his song again.6. Sultan orders slave to throw rooster into the fire (at the bakery)7. Rooster pours out the water and puts out the fire and returns to Sultan to sing the song

After you learn it….Infuse your story with vivid description --use your senses. Make it real!

Add imagination and interaction with the audience when appropriate.

Think of Rhythm--repeated phrases. – Hope is on the way

It’s not easy, but don’t give up!

Use your imagination and experience

Practice it in the car, in front of a mirror. Videotape or record your story.

Stage Presence! What’s that?Plan what to do with your body.

It’s in the EYES…

Silence is as important as sound.

Plan the use of your voice.

Learn to breathe like a cat! (from your diaphragm)

Once you learn your story…..you will use it in teaching.

Don’t shy away from repetition.

A story needs to be told and retold until we’ve been totally nourished by its complexity and depth.

When things fall apart

To begin with - use short stories with lots of action.

Incorporate audience participation.

Use a song or physical activity to get them back on track.

Condense the story!

Puppets, Props, & ParaphernaliaChalk Talks

Cut and Tell Stories

Puppets

Props

Felt Boards, Magnetic Boards

Audience participation

Using Music and creative movement

Overheads and PowerPoint

Favors

Reacting to the story...If possible, have a time after the story for reaction.

Younger children do this through art, cooking, music, movement, or some other creation.

In addition, older children may want to write, discuss, take some concrete action.

Consider Copyright earlyRemember if it is a performance, you must have permission to use copyrighted material.If you are using it educationally, it probably falls under fair use guidelines.

If you learned the story from another storyteller, always acknowledge him/her.

If you learned it at a workshop, the teller intends you to use the story.Don’t copy the storyteller’s style. Make the story yours!

A tale is not beautiful if nothing is added to it! A Tuscan proverb

Who does not remember the oldtales,

Fingers of firelight on the wall, lances of sleet on the

shutter.Whoever does not remember

the oldtales

Has lost the key that opens the doorof life.