Storytelling: Trust, Imagination, Fun
by Jeff Simpson
Description:
For my TIE workshop, my audience was a sixth grade class working on a storytelling unit. We assumed that we, the class, had met before; the class was already somewhat familiar and comfortable with the games and exercises presented. My main objectives/goals for this workshop were to create an atmosphere of trust, imagination, and fun. Overall, I believe by the end of the workshop, each student: felt comfortable in front of their peers; explored his/her imagination; learned more about story structure; worked well with others to arrive at a storytelling destination.
Workshop Directions:
"The Wave: With a Twist"
(Approx. 4 minutes)
Activity: Students sit in a circle in the center of the room. The teacher/leader will send a "wave" around the circle by waving his hands in the air and bringing them back down in a smooth motion, while simultaneously shouting "Heeeeeyyyyyyyyy!"; it is better to stand up when passing the wave. The next time around, the leader will replace "Hey" with another word or sound; animal sounds work well in this activity. The wave goes around the circle several times with several different noises, or until everyone is ready to move on.
Goal: This is a great warm-up exercise. It gets everyone pumped up, and it transitions perfectly into the next activity. Who doesn't enjoy doing the wave?!
Result: This was a great opening exercise. Everyone really got into it. The students participated in a way that suggested we really had been working together previously, just as the hypothetical assumed. Everyone added their own personality to the circle; everyone participated. I wouldn't have done this exercise any differently.
"If Everyone is Silly, Then Nobody is Silly"
(Approx. 6 minutes)
Activity: Students remain in the circle, but now they are standing. Everyone will perform some sort of "silly" action at the same time. For instance, everyone could look and sound like a monkey. Since everyone will be doing this, nobody will look silly; this goes on for a couple of rounds. The leader should then point to a small group of people, and they perform the action by themselves; this also goes on for a couple of round. Eventually, the students should feel comfortable enough to perform a "silly" action by themselves.
Goal: This activity really helps to establish an atmosphere of trust. The students should realize they are all in the same boat; no one will be made fun of because all of the students will be participating. The students will not hesitate to be silly and to be themselves. This activity sets the stage for students to act/tell stories on their own.
Result: This exercise went better than I could have imagined. Granted, most of the participants have had training in theater, this exercise still calls for everyone to really come out of their comfort zones, which is not always easy-even for theater people. The exercise was executed just as described above. Some of the participants even commented afterward that the exercise helped them to come out of their comfort zones. This was the perfect follow-up exercise to the Wave exercise.
"Telephone"
(Approx. 4 minutes)
Activity: Students remain in the circle and remain standing. One person will think of a phrase and whisper it once (and only once) into the ear of the person to the left. That person will then repeat the phrase to the person on their left, as he/she heard it. The phrase should be passed all the way around the circle until it reaches the person who originally said the phrase. The phrase will most likely be much different in the end!
Goal: This activity encourages students to listen-to their peers and to themselves. This is a fun and light introduction to storytelling. Students will discover that stories can change over time; Most likely, a story will never be told in the same exact way.
Result: I purposely had the participants pass the phrase to the left so my hearing loss could contribute to the confusion. Surprisingly, I heard the phrase correctly; it was altered somewhere else in the circle. After this exercise I asked everyone to comment on what this exercise had to do with storytelling. Comments were made about how stories are different each time you tell them; they can evolve; everyone adds their own personality to the story, etc.
"The Popcorn Story"
(Approx. 6 minutes)
Activity: Students remain in the circle, but may sit down. Everyone will agree on a story, familiar to all, to be told as a group. Each student will have the opportunity to tell one sentence in the story. The challenging part is that the story must end with the last person in the circle; not sooner, not later.
Goal: This is another activity that helps students get comfortable being the center of attention. It is also a great improvisation exercise. True, they'll be telling a story they all know, but they tell it quickly, and they can add their own personality to it. Students will also learn to work together quickly in order to reach a destination.
Result: This exercise presented the biggest challenge out of any of the exercises. Each participant had to work together to make sure the story would end with the last person in the circle, which was Karla. There was a little difficulty deciding on which story to tell; we finally decided on the story of the Three Little Pigs. I should have had the story in mind ahead of time; well I did, actually, it just wasn't a generic enough story. This was a great game because everyone brought something different to the circle; everyone brought their own unique personality and voice to the exercise. The tone, pace, and mood of the story changed with each new teller.
"Telling Stories Through Images"
(Approx. 5 minutes)
Activity: Students organize themselves into small groups (3-4 people). Each group is assigned a certain story, in this case, a fairy tale. It is the group's job to create one, still image of that story using nothing but the group members' bodies. Each group presents its image and the other groups try to guess which story is being told.
Goal: It is important to know how to tell a story visually. Audiences can be very perceptive. If the image is clear enough, it is easy to see which story is being portrayed. This exercise helps students to focus on the key moments in a story; it helps them discover the defining moment in the story.
Result: This exercise didn't take as long as projected. The participants were really good at working together quickly and efficiently. There were four different groups; they represented the following stories: Rapunzel; Goldie Locks and the Three Bears; Jack and the Beanstalk; Rumpelstiltskin. I did a fine job explaining what was expected of each group; I told each group how much time they had, and I went around making sure each group wrapped it up on time. After asking for comments, it was clear that the groups understood the purpose of the exercise-to tell stories without words.
"Telling Stories Through Words"
(Approx. 3 minutes)
Activity: This is a continuation of the previous activity. Students are in the same groups, with the same stories. The groups freeze in the same exact image as before. However, in this activity, each group must come up with one word that tells the story. Each group then comes up with one phrase that tells the story.
Goal: It is important, at times, to get straight to the point. This exercise helps students work on brevity. Students learn to tell a story visually, and with very few words.
Result: Each of the groups seemed to take a different angle for this exercise. One group said a word summarizing the moral of the story. Another group said a word summarizing an emotion. Another group just said a word describing what they were doing. I think out of all the exercises, this one could have used some clearer instruction; that does not mean, however, I was not pleased with the outcome.
"Telling Stories Using Props"
(Approx. 8 minutes)
Activity: This is a continuation of the previous activity. In this exercise, students can say as much as they want within the stories, however, they should remember to keep the stories as brief as possible. In addition, students may use as many props as they please to tell the story. However, the props cannot be used to perform the same functions they would in real life. For instance, a pencil cannot be used as a pencil. Students come up with alternate uses for the props. The same stories are performed again, using images, words and props.
Goal: This activity is probably the most helpful in exploring the imagination. If a student imagines a pencil is really a paddle, used for rowing, the pencil becomes just that. If executed correctly, students can take audiences with them on a spectacular journey. In addition to this, props can really enhance a story; they make the story more visual, and can therefore better capture the audience's attention.
Result: For this exercise, I told each group they would have about 15 seconds to either tell the entire story, or tell a portion of that story. I don't think the exercise took as long as I had planned. Again, each group seemed to take a different approach from the others. Some groups told portions of their stories, while others told the entire stories; I really enjoyed the groups that dared to tell the whole story. This is a great exercise in brevity.