What Does It Mean To Be A Successful Storyteller?

Storytellers tend to feel it when we hit it out of the park. When we leave a stage or a classroom after having been incredibly successful, we can feel it all through our body. There is the energy, the excitement, the lavish praise, the joyful expressions and the contentment 

Alas, not all events are that successful.

Sometimes we leave and we feel like we did a good job, but something was missing. Maybe things didn't land the way we hoped they would. Maybe we feel like it was good, but didn't rise to great.

Sometimes we leave and it seems we did an adequate job, but there was nothing that made the experience stand out.

Then, there are those shows where we feel like a train hit us on the way out the door. What happened? Why didn't the story or stories connect? What went wrong?

When I was at Northwestern, Jay O'Callahan came to visit. He is a remarkable man who danced and told his way through one of my all-time favorite original tales called The Herring Shed. When he was finished, I was exhausted and in love with the images dancing in my head. It was obviously magic. 



My first set watching Jackie Torrence perform Brer Rabbit tales was beyond amazing and I sat there watching Brer Snake tempt that possum while laughing my fool head off and drinking in the sound of her voice. I never could have imagined anything so breathtaking as being part of an audience with her at the helm. I could actually feel the magic. 

 



I wanted to hit the stage someday and be that magic or as close to it as I could get. I wanted my audience to be that spellbound and joyful when they left me. For a long time, I worked to achieve that. Only, in my eyes, when I became a magic person, would I be a successful storyteller.


Unfortunately, there are no manuals about how to create actual magic. There are no books that explain how to actually turn dross into gold or any other useful thing. I suspect that it is this underlying quest for the keys to magic that has forced me to spend so much of my adult life researching storytelling and the human brain.

Many years have passed since those early days of youth and ignorance, and I've seen many storytellers and told many tales. I've worked to refine and challenge myself as I learn and work with audiences. 

I've had magic moments and moments I hope to never relive. 

In the end, I've figured out what success really means to me.

source

Success for me means I look at each audience and give them what I have. I also strive to meet them where they are. I hope they have a good time. I hope they get something fun out of it. I hope I learn something about humans or literature or nature or how people think or how to time something in a story. I hope I get just an ounce better each year. If you are not growing, then you are either atrophying or dying. Learning is the only thing that makes us better.

Sometimes I miss the mark entirely and the stories don't sing. I dissect the choices I made and debate what I might have done differently. If I learn something that helps me in the future, I succeeded.



Sometimes I partially miss the mark, and the stories limp through. I look through the stories to see what worked, what didn't and what I could or didn't do to help. Sometimes the problem is I stand in the way of the story. If I work out some bit of business or figure out a way to make something transition more smoothly, I succeeded.

Sometimes I do a credible job of giving what I've got and we all have a good time, but not a transformational moment in any way shape or form. I look through those shows and see what can be learned from the interactions with the audience and the amount of animation or energy I threw off during the set. If I can find anything at all to work on, I succeeded.

Of course, every now and then, I manage the thing I always strive to do. Every now and then, I am able to apply all of those things, those hopes, those techniques I spent my life practicing, the audience is hungry for the stories, the situation is perfect and I float into that sweet spot and we make magic.

The magic happens, but I was wrong about where it occurs. I thought it came off the storyteller, but the truth is, it comes through the storyteller. We are brilliant when we are conduits. 

Jay O'Callahan is a magic person to me. Jackie Torrence's magic changed my life and instructs me as a storyteller even unto this day. 

As for me, I feel like I've got a handful of magic beans and every now and then, I manage to plant one. 

There are many ways to measure success as a storyteller. I have learned to settle for learning, striving, trying and never getting knocked down for good even when I am discouraged. 

I make my living as a storyteller. 

In that, I am succeeding.

“If you are a dreamer come in
If you are a dreamer a wisher a liar
A hoper a pray-er a magic-bean-buyer
If you're a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in!”

― Shel Silverstein

Happy Telling.

Teller In Residence - Thoughts from Day 3

Jackie Torrence

If you asked me which storyteller had the most influence on how I tell, I would definitely say it was Jackie Torrence.


Jackie's style of telling, the way she used expression, and hand gesture were my models.

It is always a joy to me when someone asks me if I knew her, because every now and then I do something that reminds them of her.


Walking around this tiny little town, I am reminded of Jackie's last performance. I stood right in the front of that tent with tears streaming down my face shouting for her at the top of my lungs.





My third day here in Jonesborough, TN has been lovely. The rain stopped, the temperature was pleasant, and I got to walk around downtown.

Today I told stores from my 'Relationships Gone Sideways' program. It is a great deal of fun.

Boone Street Market

Afterwards, I stopped at the Boone Street Market and got lovely gluten free cookies some excellent

cheese and some beautiful purple grapes.



The Corner Cup gave me a free latte seen' as I'm a teller and all, and I popped into a few other places.

Davey from Downtown Sweet! He makes the chocolate and such!

I bought truffles for The David (don't tell him) at a new chocolatier on Main Street called Downtown Sweet who makes some incredible pralines.

One of the audience members left me a lovely little bouquet of flowers.

Yesterday, after the telling, I asked if anyone had any questions they wanted to ask me.

One woman raised a hand. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but did you used to be a really big woman? you know, really big?" and she made a large gesture.

I grinned at her. You're thinking of Jackie Torrence. She snapped her fingers. "That's right! I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I said, "I'm honored that I called her to your mind. She was one of my favorite tellers. She was one of my mentors."













 I love being here in Jonesborough.

Happy Telling!

Storytelling: The Beauty and the Magic

Johnsonville Elementary 2015

I spend a great deal of time talking about the trials and tribulations of being a professional storyteller, but there is obviously another side to it or we wouldn't do it.

Storytelling is awesome.

When I use the word 'awesome' I don't mean it in the frivolous way that we toss that word around in our everyday vernacular.  'This shake is awesome.  That color is awesome.  The episode of that show was awesome'.

I mean it in the way Wesbster defined it; causing feelings of fear and wonder : causing feelings of awe.

I have wonderful experiences with audiences all the time that put a big grin on my face and make my heart soar.

Johnsonville Elementary March 2015

There are too many to list, and far too many to share, but I will endeavor to put forth the most common ones.

One of the fun things that happens is that I am lost in story when I tell.  I am surrounded by it and carried by it.  When I tell Sody Saluradus, I have a section where I sing the Saluradus Song with my eyes closed.  I can see the road, the morning sun filtering through the trees, and smell the fresh air.  When I open my eyes and see the audience, I am always a little surprised.  I know they are there, but I almost expect to see the country road I'm traveling.  I've been telling this story so long one would think I would get used to opening my eyes and being in an auditorium instead of in the woods, but I am always surprised!

It is not uncommon for the audience to want to reflect the story back at me.  I see them doing the hand movements, voicing the words, and watching their bodies and faces get as lost in the story as I am.  over the years I've watched people try desperately to sit on their hands during a storytelling set, so I have added more and more audience participation.  I know what it is like to want to move around in a story, and how hard it is to stop once you start!  I actively invite the audience to play.

It is always terrific when the audience members lose it during a story and surprise themselves.  it is equally cool when an audience figures something out at the same time and the share an 'aha!' moment.


I love watching lightbulbs go off across the audience in waves.


Having little voices, and adolescent voices demand to know when you will be returning is also fun.  They always want to know when I am coming back for more stories.  "Are you coming back on Monday?  Will you be here next week?  Are you coming back next year?"  Both kids and teachers will ask this question.

It is cool to connect with someone only to have them realize they've seen you on stage somewhere years ago.  It happens all over the place.  Apparently, when I am in my civilian clothes, it is hard to recognize me!


It is fun to have some giant, adult man who can look down at the top of my head realize I told him stories when he was in third grade, and he totally geeks out about it.

I actually attend services with a fellow who occasionally reminds me that he used to listen to my stories when he was in second grade back in Pennsylvania and it is still wild to him that he knows me in person.

It is fun to have teachers amazed that students would sit and listen to you for 45 minutes to an hour without stop, and still have a good time.

"You got fifth graders to give up PE and not care.  That's amazing!"


it is really wonderful to have people tell me that I remind them of Jackie Torrence, one of my heroes and an early mentor when I was just beginning.


It is cool to spend time talking to the kids and learning things from them.

It is neat to have someone decide that they absolutely love storytelling.


It is wonderful for kids to tell me that they know stories, or someone in their lives tells them stories.

The list of things that happens when you go into a school, the amazing things kids say, the joy people have at sharing stories, the bonds you build with an audience, the amount of joy and laughing you bring, the thought provoking stories you share, the times when the audience makes you laugh as much as you make them laugh, and the sharing of tales.

'My books circulate when you come to tell stories!' The media specialists tell me.

'Kids demanded to see the videos on Bookhive  and Youtube when we got back into the room!' Teachers tell me.

Do the monkey noise!  Talk like the mouse!  Do the owl!  Can we hear another tongue twister?





There are lots and lots of things that can be said about being a storyteller.  It is extremely fun, full of its own kind of magic, and it feeds your soul.  It is a roller coaster ride of laughter and surprise.

About a week ago, I found a site that catalogued all of the Let's Pretend records from my youth.  I was shocked.  The MP3s were free, and I downloaded all of them .  The song wasn't there, but the tales were just as I remembered them.

The magic of those Let's Pretend stories are with me still.  I love the fact that I get to share that kind of magic with children all over the world.

Storytelling is amazing....but don't be fooled, it really is hard work!

Happy Telling!