Storytelling Starters ~ Repertoire refreshment
Saturday, January 31st, 2015
Nice to be asked back. New stories required. This will be the third time – or maybe the fourth, I must check my notes – that St Stephen’s School in Shepherds Bush has invited me to come to tell stories. This visit will be for a day in their Arts Week in March and I’m thinking fresh stories would be a good idea – for me as much as for them. Even as this thought occurs, I’m also thinking that the process of preparing new stories could be a good subject for a new series of blogs. So here goes: Repertoire Refreshment (for humans rather than pigeons)! Let me know if my approach appeals. Maybe you have a different perspective.
Step 1 – choosing a story
I’ve already started thinking about a story I read in a book. Now which book was it? It was ages ago. One I reviewed for School Librarian? Was it Middle Eastern tales? Palestinian perhaps? I’ll check my shelves. Meantime, I’m asking myself why this story in particular has come back to my mind. I’m trying to remember what it’s about.
A young woman with two brothers. Her brothers disappear. There’s evil in the air and also magic. The young woman must get those brothers back, she loves them, they’re an important part of her life. There’s a mountain she’s going to have to climb – it’s literal and symbolic and a big risk. But she sets out with courage and passion. First she succeeds in saving one brother. Then she manages to save the other. Despair and determination give way to joy. (more…)