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Chennai Storytelling Festival 2019, at Loyola College Thurs 7 Feb 2019, for College Students and Fri 8 Feb 2019, for Adults -- 10am-12:30pm (on both days). "Introduction
to Storytelling": Storytelling for Organising One's Thoughts, Creativity,
Self-expression, and Fun. Possible Activies include: 1) Participants are invited: Tell a story (to a partner)
about something
interesting that happened in the last 24 hours. 2) The group leader tells a brief Grandmother story to the
group, and invites each participant to tell it to a partner. Two
forms of "Direct Speech" by characters are demonstrated and
practiced. 3) Vocal,
Physical, and Emotional/Acting Warm-ups -- all with Conscious and Deep
Breathing. 4) Participants are invited: Tell (a partner) about an
event in your life, A) that you learned a lot from, B) involved an important decision, and/or C) was a turning point in your life. 5) Participants are invited: Tell (a partner) a favorite
grandmother story, movie, or historical incident. 6) Creativity activity. Participants are invited: Think of an interesting event
you experienced in the last week or so.
First tell the story of this event (to a partner) approximately as it
happened. Then tell
it a second time, but this time with any changes,
"improvements", etc. 7) Story-compostion activity: 3
words. 8) Verbal Art Techniques
in Storytelling A) Elongation of vowels. B) Melody and rhythm. C) Lists (repetitions of phrases, with
substitutions). *** Examples are here. _____________________________________- 1 Participants are invited: Tell a story (to a partner)
about something interesting that happened in the last 24 hours. (Told in pairs, taking turns, with the person sitting next
to you.) *** After participants tell in pairs, the entire group is
reconvened. The group leader could
then ask for volunteers to tell (to the entire group) the following: *** a) The story one told to one's partner ("I did
...", that is, in 1st person). This gives one practice speaking to a large group. *** b) The story one told to one's partner -- as if it had
happened to an external character ("He/she did ...", that is, in
3rd person). This distances the teller from the material, giving the
teller a different perspective on what occurred. *** c) The story one heard from one's partner ("He/she
did ...", that is, in 3rd person). This tests one's listening abilities. *** d) The story one heard from one's partner, as if it had
happened to oneself ("I did ...", that is, in 1st person). This places one in someone else's position, giving one a
different perspective on what occurred. *** AIM and OBJECTIVE: This activity tends to raise awareness that we are always
making stories out of experience -- by selecting and framing material, and
expressing our feelings about what occurred. 2 The group leader tells a brief Grandmother story to the
group, and invites each participant to tell it to a partner. Two forms of "Direct Speech"
by characters are demonstrated and practiced. *** In this telling, 2 forms of Direct Speech by
characters are used: 1) A character speaks to another character. 2) A character speaks to him/herself, that is, says
his/her thoughts aloud *** The participants are invited to take turns re-telling this
story to each other, use the above-mentioned forms of Direct Speech, and
using special ways of speaking and moving for each character. *** The group leader points out how when one plays a character
who is addressing another character -- audience members are placed in the
position of the character being addressed.
This happens especially to an audience member one makes eye contact
with while one is playing a character.
This is a form of (passive) Audience Participation. *** AIM and OBJECTIVE: To raise awareness about 1) The emotional impact of Direct Speech by characters. 2) How a storyteller can alternate between being the
narrator, and playing a character. 3 Vocal, Physical, and Emotional Warm-ups -- all with
Conscious and Deep Breathing. *** A) Vocal Warm-up. There is a muscle called the diaphragm, above the stomach
and below the lungs. When one
contracts this muscle, air in the the lungs is pushed upward, towards one's
throat and mouth. In order to feel the
diaphragm contract: Please place your right hand in front of your diaphragm
(above one's stomach). The Workshop
Leader makes vowel sounds, with an "h" in front of them -- and the
participants repeat these sounds. The
sounds can be brief or extended. Do
not go for loud volume. Go for low
pitch, for deep sounds. For examples: Ho, ho, ho. Hay, hay, hay. Hi, hi, hi. Ha haaaaa. Ha
haaaaa. Huuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Huuuuuuuuuuuuu. If you like, you can add melody and rhythm to the sounds. *** B) Physical Warm-up The following movement (and breath) warm-up activities are
based on the idea that when one bends forward or twists to the side, one
breathes out, because then there is less space for air within the body. When one stands upright and faces forward,
one can breathe in, because then there is more space for air within the body. *** The workshop leader says, "Take a deep breath
in. Hold it. And breathe out. Breathe in again. Now, as you breathe out, slowly, starting with
your head, curl your spine and torso forward.
Keep going forward and down.
You can bend your knees. You do
not need to touch the ground with your fingers. Just let your torso hang. And now, gently bounce further down,
breathing out with each downward bounce.
Again. Again. Again. *** Now straighten up, and as you do, breathe in. Once you are fully upright: Slowly and gently twist (at the waist) to
the left. As you do so, breathe
out. And now, gently bounce further to
the left, breathing out each time.
That is, breath out with each leftward bounce. Again.
Again. Again. *** Face forward, and as you do so, breath in. Now, slowly and gently twist (at the waist)
to the right. As you do so, breathe
out. And now, gently bounce further to
the right, breathing out each time.
That is, breath out with each rightward bounce. Again.
Again. Again. *** Face forward, and as you do so, breath in. Now -- as you breathe out -- swing both of
your arms forward and upward. (If
standing in a circle, people may turn their bcks to the center of the circle,
for the sake of privacy.) Hold your
arms up there for a moment. Then,
stretch your left arm upward even further -- and let your right arm come down
to your side. Keep the heels of your
feet on the floor, but try to touch the ceiling with your left hand. Really extend the left side of your
rib-cage. Now let your left arm
stretch over your head, so that you bend slightly rightward, like a tree
swaying in the wind. Bend rightward
(as you breathe out). Again. Again.
Again. With an outward breath
each time. *** Let your left arm swing down, and swing your right arm
up. Now with your right arm, do the
same process you just did with your left arm. *** Swing your left arm up, so both are up. And let them both swing downward-backward,
and forward-upward. Do this a few
times. *** Keep this pulsing, repeating movement going -- but either
the group leader, or a group participant, could modify it a bit in some way
(add a leg movement, etc). All would
follow and imitate the new movement.
This is called, "Mirroring". *** Repeat each movement approx three times, and then go on to
another movement. You could go around
the circle -- or anyone in the group could introduce the next movement. *** C) Emotional/Acting Warm-up. In each case, a movement and sound could be done
together. Each sound-movement could be
done one, two, or three times. i) Animal
sounds/gestures are performed. ii) Emotion
sounds/gestures are performed. iii) Character
behaviors from particular stories (including dialogues between characters)
could be performed. For example:
"Can I go?" "Yes, please come". *** In the cases of ii) and iii) -- The group leader could
demonstrate one sound-movement after another.
The other members of the group could either repeat, or respond to,
each of these sound-movements. *** AIM and OBJECTIVE: To prepare participants to use their voices and bodies to
share stories with listeners. 4 Participants are invited: Tell (a partner) about an event in
your life, A) that you learned a lot from, B) involved an important decision, and/or C) was a turning point in your life. First tell this story in 1st person ("I did
..."). Then tell it in 3rd person
("He/she/it did ...", that is, replace yourself with external
character -- externalise that which was internal). AIM and OBJECTIVE: To be able to tell any story with the same sense of
reality that you and listeners experience when you tell about your own
real-life experiences. To get in the
habit of seeking to understand and dramatically communicate what is at risk,
what is at stake for a character -- be it yourself or other -- in any
situation. 5 Participants are invited: Tell (a partner) a favorite
grandmother story, movie, or historical incident. First tell this story in 3rd person ("He/she/it did
..."). Then tell it in 1st person ("I did ...", that is, put
yourself into the main character's position -- internalise that which was
exteral). AIM and OBJECTIVE: To be able to tell any story with the same sense of
reality that you and listeners experience when you tell about your own
real-life experiences. To get in the
habit of seeking to understand and communicate what is at risk, what is at
stake for a character -- be it yourself or other -- in any situation. 6 Creativity activity. Participants are invited: Think of an interesting event
you experienced in the last week or so.
First tell the story of this event (to a partner) approximately as it
happened. Then tell it a second
time, but this time with any changes, "improvements", such as 1) Exaggerations. 2) A different ending (characters behave differently than
they did in the original version). 3) Additional characters and episodes;. 4) What you hoped might happen. 5) What you feared might happen. 6) Replace actual characters and objects with symbolic,
metaphorical ones. AIM and OBJECTIVE: Enable participants to experience a popular form of creativity:
starting with reality and weaving fantasies based on that reality. This enables self- exploration and
expression. 7 Story-compostion activity: 3 words. The group leader and participants choose 3 words. The participants are placed into small
groups. Each group is invited to
compose a story that includes the 3 words (other words can be included also,
of course), approx 2 minutes. AIM and OBJECTIVE: This is a play exercise, for fun. It is change of pace. It also invites participants to explore and
express their thoughts, feelings, and associations with the chosen words (and
the things the words represent).
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