Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 2/19/2008 with Syd Lieberman as he speaks about telling your family’s stories.
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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 1/07/2008 with Baba the Storyteller who spoke with me about podcasting as a storyteller.

Baba and I speak about the podcasting revolution. Comments or feed back welcome here on the blog post. Do you think I should have Baba back? Is podcasting to narrow a subject? Are we off topic fro the art of storytelling with children? Will we ever stop talking off topic of podcasting during this episode? All this and so much more on two tellers talking – the podcasting special. Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 2/12/2008 with Dianne de Las Casas who spoke about storytelling and how it can be a safari into literacy.

Dianne de Las Casas writes…
My whole life has been a safari (Swahili word for “journey”) of stories. The power of stories permeated and impacted my life so strongly that, at an early age, I knew I wanted to share stories with the world. It became my life’s dream, which I am realizing today through storytelling and writing books.

Because books, reading, and telling stories are such an important part of my family’s life, I am always saddened to watch the declining literacy rate in America’s school children. Nearly 2/3 of elementary age children read 2 grade levels below their expected reading level. Why is this happening?

Many of today’s families are not “storied” families. Stories are not a daily part of life – they are not shared at the “campfire” - the dinner table (many families don’t even eat at the dinner table together anymore). There are a vast amount of children who do not have a basic foundation of nursery rhymes and folktales. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my 6 year old niece never heard of Rapunzel because Rapunzel wasn’t a “Disney Princess!”

In addition, few teachers have time to spend doing something “fun” like storytelling. There are standards and benchmarks to meet as well as tests to administer. Many educators do not understand the value of storytelling and how storytelling is an integral part of literacy in the home and the classroom.

Of course, pop culture also plays a role. Stories are pre-fabricated for our children in the form of television shows, movies, and computer and video games, leaving little room for Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on February 5th, 2008 at 8PM ET with Brother Wolf and Joyce Slater on how to tell stories with teenagers who have newborns.

Joyce Slater writes…

Storypartners for Teenage Parents is an intergenerational storytelling/mentoring residency for high schools. It is designed to promote communication between teenage parents and parents of another generation. Like it or not parents have similar experiences no matter when they became a parent. This program gives all participants a chance to tell his/her own story to someone who is there to listen to them.

Before the residency begins, possible mentoring partners are interviewed and screened. After the mentors are chosen, they participate in a workshop designed to help them tell their own personal stories. The students participate in a similar workshop before the two groups meet.

The residency lasts two to three weeks with monthly follow-up gatherings for the mentors and the students. The facilitator meets with the parents and the mentors separately and together to develop the process of telling their own stories of child rearing. The facilitator also uses stories to illustrate topics of discussion, like love, hope, disappointment and fear. Sometimes music is Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 1/27/2008 with Alex the Jester (Alex Feldman) talks about how to use your physical relationship with your audience to build your success on the Art of Storytelling with Children Podcast.

Connecting Quickly (and Managing Behavior) through Physicality.

When telling for young audiences, even the most brilliant story is vulnerable to young audiences if the situation is compromised, or your delivery is not ideal for the setting. In this discussion, Alex reveals how his wild and mesmerizing style is methodically built, brick by brick. Small details can reap huge Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 1/27/2008 with storyteller Priscilla Howe about how to make a living as a storyteller.

Priscilla writes…

“Is this…the only thing you do?”
“Are you a teacher?”
“Can you really make a living as a storyteller?”

I hear these questions regularly as I go about my storytelling life. Yes, storytelling is the only Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 1/15/2008 with storyteller Steve Denning about how storytelling can be used to effect change in any work place setting.

Steve Denning writes…
In 1998, I made a pilgrimage to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee, seeking enlightenment. As program director of knowledge management at the World Bank, I’d stumbled onto the power of storytelling. Despite a career of scoffing at such touchy-feely stuff—like most business executives, I knew that analytical was good, anecdotal was bad—my thinking had started to change. Over the previous few years, I’d seen stories help galvanize an organization around Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference on 12/30/2007 with storyteller Bobby Norfolk The Brain is Hardwired for Stories.

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference on 12/18/2007 with storyteller Michael J. Caduto talking about how stories are giving and receiving.

Michael J. Caduto writes…

I always start my storytelling performances by focusing on the circles and cycles that we share. Storytelling is a circle: a story needs someone to speak the words and a listener to imagine the story into being. This vital exchange breathes life into stories as they become animated in our mind’s eye. So the gift of storytelling is a mutual experience—an exchange of wisdom and a mindful act of creation.

There is also the circle of our gathering—of giving and receiving—in which everyone is arranged in a shape which symbolizes reciprocity and reminds us that we are all in balance. Whatever we share goes around between us all.

The circle is also a symbol our relationship of giving and receiving with the natural world. Everything in nature works in cycles. The basic principles of ecology and sustainable natural processes are based on exchanges of minerals, carbohydrates, genes, gases and other life-sustaining elements. Without this essential mutuality, ecosystems, and the life therein, could not survive. These are the cycles that we must live within in order to Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as livel on 12/04/2007 with storyteller the Yellow Springs Tailspinners and Brother Wolf discuss how to effectively start and form a storytelling group.

I spent an hour talking with my local yellow springs Tale-spinners about how we function as a closed storytelling group. We are fairly successful at supporting each other and building on our past successes. I think you will enjoy the conversation.

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