Arizona Storyteller: I Hate My Sister (Short Version)
Arizona Storyteller Sean Buvala shares a story of some cartoon violence when sibling fighting goes haywire. Originally recorded for the Arizona Storytellers Project for the AZ Centennial celebration.
I Hate My Sister – Well, I Used To. (Short Version) from Arizona Storyteller: Sean Buvala on Vimeo.
Arizona Storyteller: School Show Storytelling Tips
I just returned from presenting a fun storytelling show for a local elementary school, similar to the group in the photo to the left. They were a great audience considering it is so close to the end of the school year. School shows represent a unique opportunity for Arizona storytellers. After this show, I am thinking about three quick storytelling tips to help you be a better school storyteller.
1. Have more stories ready than you think you will need.
If you will be entertaining children with stories, be ready with many stories to tell. You will find that some stories do not keep the attention of any particular audience. For these stories, you will finish them quickly and move on to a new story. Experience will soon teach you that having a singular set program does not work for every audience. If you are booked to tell 30 minutes, be ready with at least 60-75 minutes worth of tales and activities.
2. Engage the audience with participatory stories.
It is a great compliment when a teacher says to me, “You were wonderful. The students were just mesmerized!” I enjoy watching children become immersed in the stories as they use their imaginations to create the scenes in their minds. Yet, young audiences have been raised with fast-moving and short-attention-span-producing media and games. As a good storyteller, you will have moments when the children might be captivated and silent. On the other hand, to fully engage media-trained children, have many stories with songs to sing and hands to move. Mix your program generously between sit-and-listen and let’s-move stories. Do not base your success on how “quiet” the kids were in your session.
3. Move your body.
I know that storytellers have their own style and you will tell in the way that is right for you. However, for the same reasons listed in number 2 above, you should keep your body moving and active. Use the whole stage area, even if that stage is just a few feet in front of the desks in a classroom. Let the space around you help you to create characters that act unique. While you want to avoid the “pacing tiger” wandering back and forth, plan how your stories will give the schoolchildren lots of visual stimulation and involvement. Vary these physical storytelling techniques with quieter, standing-still stories.
Along with these “on stage” techniques, be sure you plan to arrive early at your event, with all the equipment you need. When you are early, the teacher or event coordinator does not have to worry if the speaker is going to show up or not. When you are done with your event, send a hand-written thank-you note to the person who booked you. After all, they really have done you a service by choosing you among the dozens of entertainers seeking bookings at their school.
Enjoy your work with children. As a storyteller building up the lives of children, you are helping to make our world an even better place to live.
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K. Sean Buvala is an Arizona storyteller who tells stories to adult and children’s audiences throughout the United States and Canada. He is the author of, “DaddyTeller: How to Be a Hero to Your Kids and Teach Them What’s Really Important by Telling Them One Simple Story at a Time.” Learn more at http://www.daddyteller.com.
Arizona Storyteller: How to Win a Story Slam Contest
Welcome to the story slam! You are excited to share some of your life stories. However, maybe you have seen some great storytellers at these events and you are not sure if you have the skills to compete. To help you prepare your winning presentation, here are nine tips from an Arizona Storyteller to help you win the big prize at your next story slam.
1. Search Online for Videos of Other Winners and Losers.Many storytelling event organizers are finally realizing the power of the Internet to spread the message about their production. The online world is now loaded with hundreds of videos of folks who have told stories well at story slam events. You can also find videos of many folks who really weren’t ready to be in a storytelling contest. Study the winners and losers. What skills and styles do you think made the difference between getting the prize or being the gracious runner-up sitting in the audience?
2. Attend the Event Before You Participate.Unless the event you plan to attend is brand-new, try to attend a program at least once. Every slam and storytelling gathering is different from the others. Do they have a real stage, lighting and sound system, or will you be just telling in a dark corner trying to be heard? Does it allow folktales or only personal, true tales? Do the contestants speak their stories in poetic cadence and rhyme or is it only storytelling that is allowed? Is the audience encouraged to “talk back” to the teller or do the organizers only want respectful listening? If the event serves alcohol, how does this influence the flow of the evening? Because of that influence, will you need to be ready to tell to a “different” audience if you are picked last instead of first?
3. Clarify the Format: Is It a Story or a Spoken Word presentation?While storytelling is actually a very specific art form, the use of the word “storytelling” is used today to mean everything from sitting in a library with children to selling dishwashing detergent on television. Be sure you understand how the venue where you want to perform defines “storytelling” and how they want you to share your story.
4. Outline or Write Out Your Story.
It is best to use a systematic way to create your story. Write, outline or draw out your story, episode by episode. Then, mercilessly take out any parts that really do not have anything to do with moving your story forward. Share your story with a friend or coach. Video tape yourself speaking and review the video to see how you might improve. For more information about “how to tell a story,” please see my website at http://www.seantells.com/howtotellastory or download my affordable Eworkbook at http://www.storytelling101.com.
5. Respect the Theme.
Think more about your audience than yourself. If you have the need to share “My Torrid Relationship With My Parents” with a group, but the theme is “Pets In Our Lives,” you are going to lose the contest when your story only barely relates to how your mom loved your cat more than you.
6. Stay Within the Time Limit.
You will talk faster than you expect. Laughter from the audience will slow you down. If your time limit is five minutes practice for a 4.5-minute story. Going over the time limit in live performance will usually disqualify you. Do not condition yourself to rely on any grace period the venue provides.
7. Use Emotion Without Manipulating.
Your story should contain some emotion to help the audience connect with your story. You can show laughter, anger, fear and sadness or any content-correct emotion. However, do not use emotion to try to manipulate your audience to “like” your story more. They will not and the judges will take away points for these controlling tactics used against the audience.
8. Be a Good Audience Member.
Sit in the audience and listen to others tell stories. They may be your competition, but you might learn something from their performance. If you are in a location selling drinks or refreshments, buy something. In many cases, your purchase is a “vote” that tells the venue owner, “This is a worthwhile event.” Applaud when others finish their stories. Do not boo or hiss unless you are in a melodrama.
9. Be a Gracious Winner or Loser.
Someone is going to win. Most participants will lose. It may be your turn to win or you might have a losing streak. No matter what happens, know that the judges do not hate you. Yes, sometimes, an audience favorite might be the cute new “kid” or the young fair-haired person regardless of her or his storytelling skills. Be kind to everybody. They could be your official judges in the future.
Story slams, done well, are echoes of the heartbeats of our society as we share those situations that make us all laugh or sigh together. If you are ready to take on some competition, do it for fun and entertainment. Bring some friends and enjoy yourself.
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About the Author:
Arizona Storyteller, Sean Buvala, is a full-time storyteller who teaches the great art of storytelling in both the United States and Canada and has done so since 1986. He is the national director of the Storytelling Resource site of http://www.storyteller.net. This article is ©2011.