One of the things that I have to think about in designing my repertoire is what are the types of stories I want to learn and perform. Down the road I would like to have a number of themed programs that fits the needs of schools and libraries at any given time. This being my first attempt at making a career out of storytelling, I first need to get myself known. Rather than work at learning these thematic stories to create different programs, I need to create a program that shows off what I can do. As I get more positive exposure , I will be able to create the programs that are more versatile and encourage places to have multiple reasons to hire me. So what type of stories do I like to learn and perform from the repertoire I have now?<\/p>\n
The stories that I love to tell are ones that have twists in them. The outcome is not what you’d expect. I like to take traditional stories and character types that have been revised. A number of my stories come from Picture books. So you’ll see me tell stories like James Thurber’s “The Little Girl and the Wolf” or Jane Yolen’s “Sleeping Ugly”. Jack tales are famous for Jack, though he appears incompetent, always figuring out a way to outsmart someone. Those are perfect for the kinds of stories I like. In Richard Kennedy’s “Come Again in the Spring” Death is outwitted. In the folktale, “Wiley and the Hairyman” it’s the Hairyman that gets tricked three times.
\nI love stories that change the stereotypes of characters. Robert Munsch’s “Paperbag Princess” which deals with how a prince looks and treats women, is a fine example.<\/p>\n
Finding your true self is another set of stories I like to tell. Examples include, “Prince Amilec” by Tanith Lee, “Bunya the Witch” by Richard Kraus, “The Wind Cap” by Jane Yolen, “The Tale of Meshka the Kvetch” by Carol Chapman, to name a few.
\nI have a good repertoire of stories that I can perform that I feel comfortable with. That is the focus of my program, “Tell Me A Story”. All I need to do is find the venues that are willing to hire me to hear me perform and build from there.<\/p>\n
Next time maybe I’ll consider what stories I would like to learn as my tale telling days continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the things that I have to think about in designing my repertoire is what are the types of stories I want to learn and perform. Down the road I would like to have a number of themed programs … Continue reading