Storytelling and Me
Why am I telling storytelling stories?
All theatre tells a story. Think of any show that you attended and recall how the story was told. Stories use the voice and intonations. It can also use costumes and other props if the actor wants to embellish the tale.
When I retired I started to self-publish my original children's stories. The next step to me was to develop the stories as performances for children with the purpose of storytelling as a teaching strategy. I created voices for the characters and I donned a costume. As I did performances, the show evolved and changed. It was a creative process that nurtured my desire to be a storyteller to provide effective storytelling for young children.
I have a passion for storytelling, ranging from listening to others tell stories to watching a storyteller performance. Storytelling helps me to suspend my reality and drift to another place. You don't have to be a child to wander in your imagination so to this end I developed my storytelling skills.
After I developed my children's stories, I also explored memoirs of my childhood. I wrote about my grandparents, really personal storytelling, and explored my heritage through stories. People who I loved came to life in storytelling. Memoirs evolved into performance tales and storytelling festivals.
Through my personal creative process, I connected to others through storytelling, writing and performances. Today, I am a storyteller, a children's author and a teacher of storytelling workshops.
Making storytelling happen is a major professional goal. Why? It makes people smile. It makes connections.
Maureen Barry,
(storyteller, a member of the national storytelling association
and national storytelling network.)