Workshop to give aspiring storytellers the 'nuts and bolts' of telling tales (From Surrey Comet)
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Surrey workshop to give aspiring storytellers the 'nuts and bolts' of telling tales
3:27pm Wednesday 16th January 2013 in Leisure By Hardeep Matharu
Have you ever wanted to tell a story but been worried that you won’t be able to remember it all? Does the thought of public speaking terrify you?
As part of National Storytelling Week, the Surrey Storytellers Guild will be holding a workshop to encourage people to tell stories by giving them the basic building blocks to understand how stories work and how to relay them.
It will be led by Janet Dowling, former chair of the guild who has travelled the world teaching adults and children how to tell stories.
Those attending will learn the ‘naming of parts’ to help them break down a story into its ‘bones’ and then build the story back up to remember and re-tell it in an improvised way, rather than by recitation or monologue.
Ms Dowling says: "Storytelling is useful in all parts of life - whether you are telling part of your family history, talking about yourself in an interview, putting together a presentation for work, standing up in public and making your point of view heard, or just telling a fantasy story for the fun of it to a child or adult.
"It’s a skill that is easy to learn, and then just requires practice. Open mouth, let words jump out."
She has recently had a chapter published in a book, Using Storytelling for Adults and Children with Special Needs, and, in April, her first book will be published on Surrey folk tales.
She adds: "It was a delight to travel the county seeking out the tales. I hope that this workshop will encourage people to keep telling them, and all their own local and family stories too."
The Nuts and Bolts of Oral Storytelling; The Sanctuary, St Michael’s Church, Church Street, Ewell, January 26; 9.30am to 4.30pm; £40 or £25 concessions; must book in advance by calling 07834194215 or emailing SurreyStorytellersGuild@gmail.com; visit www.SurreyStorytellersGuild.co.uk
