A Tale of Three Tales
As part of Scotland’s Year of Stories, Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches held a storytelling workshop in Edinburgh on Saturday 8 May.
Donald Smith and Ruth Kirkpatrick demonstrated a variety of storytelling techniques by selecting a few stories from the many to be found on the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches website. Participants worked with Donald and Ruth in two groups, with each group sharing a story with the other at the end of the workshop.
In his final blog, Donald Smith looks at the various factors which need to be considered when choosing a story, or indeed three stories, for an audience.
-------------------------------------------------------------
You can have as many thoughts about storytelling as there are leaves on a birch tree, but at some point it comes down to looking folk in the eye and telling a story. Aye, but which story?
That was my dilemma at the Scottish Storytelling Centre when we got together for the Kist o Riches storytelling workshop. There is an old saying, ‘Don’t pick your story till you see the whites of their eyes’. And there is wisdom in that as ahead of time you might imagine a completely different situation and mix of people. The story or stories you chose in advance may not suit, and there is nothing worse than ploughing on resolutely along the wrong furrow.
However, few of us these days are natural tradition bearers with a treasure trove of stories at our fingertips. So, my advice is to choose a few stories more than you need, and make yourself familiar with them all. But don’t make your final pick, or settle the running order, till you meet the group. In fact, if you are comfortable with all your choices, and you make the listeners comfortable, you can swap them round as you go, according to the mood and flow.
So which story would I focus on at the workshop? With all the resources of the site at my disposal, I was of course spoilt for choice! Yet I needed something that would be a fully-formed tale without being too complex or long for a starter tale. I also needed something not too heavy in tone, but subtle enough to carry a mix of emotions.
One easy route would be to pick a really funny story like ‘The Blacksmith’s Cure’. There are two versions on the site,Track ID 44830 and Track ID 31932. Moreover this story is of a type where someone with special powers puts a reversed head the right way round or changes age into youth, but then someone else without those powers tries the same transformation with disastrous results.
These are great stories for providing variety within a wee session of tales, but are they suitable on their own? Humour is a diverse taste. Some of these stories are quite physical, perhaps violent, in their comedy. On the other hand, they are great stories for illustrating structure, pace and timing - all humour depends on those factors. Yet, what about the more gentle arts of empathy?
So, I chose another story to have in hand - one of Duncan Williamson’s Jack tales (Track ID 29643). ‘The Enchanted Cuckoo and the Singing Leaves’ is a wonder tale with some humour as well as magic in its tonal mix. It is a very compact story, yet has quite a few twists and turns. Moreover, it is a seasonal story with Beltane, autumn and Christmas all in the mix, so good for the workshop’s timing. Lastly, this is a new story for me, and I like to be a learner amongst learners at a workshop, not a dominie.
Of course, on the day, its not just my choices that count. Ruth Kirkpatrick, my fellow workshop leader, has her choices in play, so we can complement each other, and check in on the favourite tales of other participants.
But it so happened that morning, I was Mumming in the Edinburgh and Lothian Mayday procession - Dr Death was overcome by May greenery and revels. Jack’s own encounter with Death rose up in my mind. We have all had a brush with death. That turned out to be the story for today - ‘Jack and the Nut’ as told by Duncan Williamson (Track ID 36459).
Yet like all good picks it is just a starting point, and an invitation to explore further, pursuing your own tastes and opportunities. There is nothing more important than choosing the right tale for you and your listeners, and nothing more enjoyable than that journey of discovery.
----------------------------------------------
Donald Smith has been an active participant in Scots and Irish storytelling for over thirty years. He is a regular workshop leader, lecturer and mentor to developing storytellers. Donald started the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and is also a founding member of the Scottish Storytelling Forum and Edinburgh’s Guid Crack Club.