I grew up in a storytelling family. My parents told stories. My mother recounted tales to share knowledge, share values, and shape how we behave. My father told us stories to point out how our behaviour impacted others around us. Their stories got us coming and going. My grandparents shared stories to grow our roots. I could compare my later history lessons to the stories my grandparents had related. Their stories told me who I was in this confusing world. It was natural, expected that I would tell stories. My stories tell the world who I am and the values I hold dear.
I grew into stories. I learned that few are as fortunate as I am.
I was in the audience at a Youth Storytelling workshop led by Janet LeRoy and Elaine O’Reilly when one of the participants declared from the stage: “I saw storytelling for the first time at the Ottawa Storytelling Festival last year, and I knew: that’s what I want to be part of. I loved it. I wanted to be a storyteller, and you have shown me how.”
At the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival 2021 Youth Tellers’ concert, one of the young tellers avowed: “I want to be part of anything that is storytelling! How do I sign up for more workshops?”
Every sport and art form knows that if you engage children while they are young, they will become comfortable with the art, perhaps future artists, and most assuredly, future audience.
OST has been here for 30 years, and if OST is to be here for 30 more years, we need to engage the next generation; motivate them to add their voices to the magic that is oral storytelling.
To create this magic, to draw the youth into our art form, several tellers are getting together to discuss what makes a workshop engage young folk. What works the best?
Amongst Ottawa’s storytellers, we have many skills: long-time performers who have experienced what works and does not, early childhood educators who hold knowledge of what works with children and what does not, teachers who know how to set up lesson plans, tellers with knowledge of story structure, tellers trained in theatre who can share presentation skills ranging from voice, to use of space, to building interaction with the audience. We have a diversity of cultural and linguistic backgrounds that will enable us to meet the needs of the participants in our workshops.
On December 4, a group of diverse tellers and workshop leaders will get together to share their skills to enrich all of us. The result will create a workshop foundation that engages and enriches the experiences for children and youth who take part in OST storytelling workshops for children. If you want to learn more, email Christine Hecker, assistantdirector@ottawastorytellers.ca.
Plant the seeds when they are young…