A new journey
Hello friends,
It occurred to me that, while I have been (somewhat) more regular about my blog entries, and I’ve been peppering them with philosophies, critiques, and bits of poetry, I haven’t yet spoken much of my recent journey, so this entry will be about that:
The primary bit to mention is how I have begun to take my storytelling style, dismantle it, recognize what I am doing, and will spend the next two years trying to change it all. It’s a little bit scary: I’m recognizing that what I have done in the past walks the line between one person theatre and storytelling; and leans toward one person theatre. That is not to say what I did was bad or wrong – I like to think I was a moderately good solo performer – but I believe I’m starting to see the limitations in the path I was headed. I can’t quite use words to clarify this (I am working on that), so I’ll now tell about what I’ve seen in my time here and what I intend to explore:
I am looking to return to the simple telling; move away from making a production out of the work. You may have read my critique of Ray Hicks (a few blog entries earlier) where I mentioned the pure simplicity he used to tell his story. I am looking to move my telling in that direction – though I don’t anticipate becoming able to tell in nearly as simple a style as Hicks, nor do I know if I would want to take my style to that extreme; we are different tellers, and Hicks has an Appalachian history I cannot comprehend. I simply am looking to learn to allow me to tell a story.
I desire to simplify my style because I am finding it opens the paths of communication with the audience in a way the more theatrical approach can never do. I’ve seen and heard lots of tellers in the short time I’ve been here, and have observed varying degrees of both approaches to the art, and while all the tellers have been very good, I’ve noticed that the fewer theatrics, the more I find myself pulled into the tale. I don’t claim to understand it yet and I certainly don’t have any definitive idea of how this will change my style: all I know is that I am here to learn how to be the best storyteller I can be, and I’m excited to see what this next stage in the journey brings about.
I am not saying I intend to abandon all theatrics; several storytellers I hold to be primary influences (Jay O’Callahan, Hal Pratt, Bill Harley) have shows with some theatrical stunts; and I have been raised in a theatrical world all my life, and I want to keep that with me. Instead, as I attempt to disentangle words from the jumble of thoughts running through my head, I am looking to be more honest (maybe) in my stories; maybe trust the story more? Allow the words to speak louder then my actions? Don’t feel I need to put on a clowning show? I’m really not sure if any of those last phrases say it, right now I’m exploring, and we shall see what happens. Be excited; I know I am.
I hope all is well for all of you, and I look forward to seeing you again, and sharing my new learnings someday soon on our travels. Continue to love the stories you see, though they can be hard at times.