Storytelling at North Bend: Flexibility is the Name of the Game!

Friday night at North Bend State Park: We arrived early enough to allow a leisurely time getting ready. That was fortunate--turned out there was a mix-up and the amphitheatre where I was to perform was rented out for a wedding rehearsal. The folks there for the wedding practice seemed really stressed, and I'm easygoing enough to go with whatever flow I find. So we moved the storytelling to the campfire circle. I did not change into my usual garb, electing instead to stay in jeans since I'd be telling around the fire. With the hubbub of changing locations, I also did not re-do my make-up. Note to self--never do that again! In the photos Larry took, I look tired, tired, tired. Well, I was, but no one needed to see it!

The audience turned out to be mostly preschool or elementary age children, a far cry from the mostly adult audiences I tend to have in the parks. So that called for yet another change--in stories. I mentally tossed out the ones I planned to tell and substituted participation stories and songs.

One young man who was there turned out to be quite the storyteller himself. When I asked if anyone had heard of Jack (referring to the folktale character) this boy spoke up and said, "Yes, I have a cousin named Jack but he lives in Israel and I don't think he's ever coming to Cleveland." Could it be the same Jack?

Same boy also asked me, as I was preparing to tell a story, "Did you take a shower yesterday?" I assured him that I had, and also took one that day as well. He said, "So did I!" One of the best parts of telling to kids is that you never know what they will say, do or ask!

Here I am telling one of my favorite, and most popular, children's stories, learned from storyteller Don Leonard in Florida. The raccoon puppet seems very lifelike and always draws a good reaction. I use a lot of puppets when telling stories with children and they are always a hit. Puppets change the stimulus so that children don't get as antsy when listening. I try to do something to shift the stimuli regularly, usually every 5 minutes or so with young audiences like this.

It ended up being a great session, and I was tired but happy with how it went. A preschool teacher from Glenville was in attendance, so she got a copy of my book of participation stories, "Tell it Together!" I know she'll make good use of it.