Storytellers Club

About the Storytellers The ’tellers are a small group dedicated to the preservation of the art of storytelling. They meet the second Saturday each month (except August) at 10 a.m. at the Center to practice stories and exchange information on the storytelling art. The Storytellers tell at Wilderness Center Concerts and as individuals at various community happenings. All are welcome to become involved with the ’tellers and to become storytellers themselves. 2007 Storyteller Schedule: There’s nothing like a well-told story! Come, hear stories old and new. Wonder of Spring: Saturday, April 28, 7 p.m. Magic of Midsummer: Saturday, July 7, 7 p.m. Autumn Mystery Saturday: September 22, 7 p.m. Children's Holiday Story Concert: Saturday, December 1, 2 p.m.   To register for our Story Concert: $3 per adult $1 per child $6 for entire family

What is a storyteller.....By Jim Barnes

   Simply put, storytelling is the practice or art of telling stories. Professional tellers or actors do not always tell stories. Some are, but most are not. Look in the mirror and say, “You are a storyteller.” Sounds a little silly, but it’s true. In one way or another we’re all storytellers.

   We all, at one time or another, tell friends or co-workers what we did last night or on our last vacation. “You wouldn’t believe what happened,” is the beginning of so many stories, too many to count. When the kids come home from school, they talk about their day or what so and so did (maybe). The older folks talk about the way things used to be. And get this; there are still a few families that actually talk to each other at the dinner table about their day! There are many other examples, but it’s all storytelling.

    Storytelling is the oldest form of communication. The clan gathered around the fire and told of a good or bad hunt. They told the others where there was food or water. They told of danger, of ways of doing things that worked or didn’t work. They told interesting and entertaining stories which gave the members of the clan a feeling of togetherness or belonging. They passed on the history of the clan. This alone is one of the most important elements of the human species; continuity. The unbroken thread of civilization, past, present and the hope of the future. All of this took place without a written language. It’s all storytelling.

   Storytelling can open the door to an interest in reading and an increase in vocabulary. It can lead to two-way communication that can help people learn to listen, really listen to each other. The telling and re-telling of stories between cultures can often promote understanding the diversity between them. Perhaps more importantly, how much alike they are.

  Stories give life and character to abstract ideas. They can bring out hopes and dreams, the hidden fears, which seem to lessen when spoken of. They can speak eloquently of the state of mind of nations, cultures and individuals. In the realm of folklore stories change with the times reflecting the state of society at any given time.

   Stories can take the human imagination freely through time and space. The mind can travel to different realties and bring out images from the depths of the mind. For a short time, stories can bring people, places and things to life that is unattainable in real life.

   That, perhaps, is the most beneficial part of the storytelling; to take the listener away from the grind of everyday life for a short time; to let their imaginations take them to places and experiences that they can only dream of.