Bridging the Roles of Author and Storyteller,

Bridging the Roles of Author and Storyteller

As published in UP-FRONT with STORYTELLING, winter issue 2002

One of the most gratifying experiences to me as a children’s author is sharing my stories live with young audiences. Writing a story on paper requires that I condense different communication elements–speech, body language, delivery, and atmosphere. But performing a story gives me the opportunity to decompress the words on the page, to expand and play up all those expressive elements to levels that best suit the audience or venue.

For example, when telling The Jazz Fly, I play up the fun of the animal sounds when performing for a group of K-1st graders. For 5th-6th graders, I keep the audience engaged by inviting them to echo complex scat phrases in rhythm. When performing the story for teachers and librarians, I add quips using teacher jargon or more worldly jokes. When performing for Spanish speakers, I throw in phrases in Spanish.

Tailoring a story on the spot to the audience’s age and background is perhaps the storyteller’s most important job. Not even print on demand technology can match a storyteller’s spontaneous judgment and wit. But I’ve discovered one format that begins to bridge the gap between performance and the printed word. It’s the picture book with audio CD. To the traditional publisher, this involved format represents added work and xpense. To the author-storyteller, it represents possibilities.

When my traditional publishers balked at producing The Jazz Fly in this format, I took a deep breath and decided to publish it myself. As a story set to music, with a rhythmic narration, it appeals, as one reviewer noted, “to ages 2-99.” My second such project, Gobble, Quack, Moon, similarly combines music with rhythmic storytelling and is off to a flying start.

What I’m trying to do with each book--and what all storytellers can do--is reach out to kids who are only marginally interested in reading. By adding music, drums, rhythm, or a beat, to the traditional modes of expression we employ, we address our audience on multiple levels. And by tailoring our presentation to specific ages and backgrounds, and inviting listeners to participate accordingly, we further define our domain as storyteller with a service that only we can provide.