We live in a multimedia world of sound and images moving across screens. It takes a lot to hold attention these days. Or so it seems? The first time that I unknowingly walked into a live performance of a twenty-minute story, I was surprised. One person, front of the room, one voice, no multimedia, no fancy props. It was simple, yet I was captivated. I can still remember the vivid images of that story.
I said to myself, “I want to be able to do that.” And I began on the journey to uncover the secrets of this ancient art of telling stories.
Soon after, a friend took me to the National Storytelling Festival for the first time, and a strange thing happened. I absorbed the stories! My mind opened up to the frame of story. Somehow after listening to stories for a whole weekend, I could easily remember stories (at least, the ones that I liked). My subconscious had absorbed the techniques of story, and my telling improved.
While my journey continues to consciously understand the art and techniques of storytelling, I honor a simple truth.
You cannot become a storyteller without becoming a story-listener.
Get a ticket. It starts today!
The 2020 National Storytelling Festival is online!
Fri Oct 2nd – Sun Oct 4th
Watch live online and catch the replay for one week only. For the first time in 48 years, the festival will not be in Jonesborough, Tennessee. But that means now it can be in your living room.
