Kim Kilpatrick says a story is a gift you give to a listener.
She says she was inspired more than 10 years ago after going to the Ottawa Storytelling Festival for the first time.
Now a professional storyteller and disability awareness advocate, Kilpatrick will share autobiographical stories about living as a blind person at the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival at Library and Archives Canada on Nov. 5.
Kilpatrick will bring a unique take on storytelling, through the use of non-visual descriptions, which engage the imagination.
By describing what something sounds or feels like, children learn that although the storyteller may perceive things differently, they can still share common experiences with the audience.
“If you just tell children what it’s like being blind, they would still be interested,” says Kilpatrick.
“But when you tell a story, you never know, the next day they might go up to their teacher and ask ‘well, how did Kim get from her house to the store?’ That’s why storytelling is so powerful – because the story’s still sitting with them.”
Sherri Yazdani, who will also perform, says children have a lot to gain from the interactive nature of listening to stories.
Yazdani will perform with two teenage storytellers. “What’s most important for kids is that they can’t just sit back and let the story come to them; they have to work to create it,” says Yazdani.
The simple, yet interactive, nature of storytelling can help children deal with the “problem of imagery,” says Patrick Holloway, Ottawa StoryTellers publicity and marketing co-ordinatior.
“It’s a bit like telling someone the story of the Trojan War and the world’s most beautiful woman, Helen of Troy. I could show you a picture of a beautiful woman, but the world ‘most’ beautiful woman would be the woman in your imagination, because you created her yourself,” says Holloway, who has also taught in the faculty of education at the University of Ottawa for 25 years.
“The only technology storytelling really needs is that of the human voice, and human ear,” because its ability to spark the imagination is what has allowed it to endure, says Holloway.
Storytelling is evolving due to technology and social media.
Red Words, a production company and publicity partner of the Ottawa StoryTellers, created a series called Once Upon A Slam, which began as a production by show co-ordinator Ruthanne Edward.
The series, which takes place at the Mercury Lounge in the Byward Market on every last Friday of the month, addresses these changes.
By combining storytelling with the format used by spoken word artists in poetry slams, listeners get the chance to hear and judge quick stories centred on contemporary and often witty topics.
Although telling shorter stories about contemporary and personal subject matter have been gaining popularity, Yazdani says the basic elements, emotions and effect on the listener, remain just as strong.
“Newer forms of storytelling, such as movies or television, make it easier to be by yourself – but deep down we want to be connected with others. Being able to share our lives with others speaks to a fundamental need inside all of us,” says Gail Anglin, the first president of the organization.
John Frogley, an English teacher at Canterbury High School, invited Yazdani to share some of her stories with his Grade 10 class.
He says in his class, students communicate using “Facelook” instead of Facebook, meaning they are encouraged to see the value of telling stories and sharing their lives face-to-face.
“Every day we start off with a quote from a student, and then the student sits in what we call the ‘golden chair’ as their classmates respond by giving affirmations,” says Frogley. “So, we did the same when Sherry Yazdani came to visit us. When she sat in the golden chair, the affirmation she received was on how well she kept their attention.”
Yazdani says that from the storyteller’s perspective, reciting to younger audiences makes for a rewarding experience because “children are much less inhibited in their response – they don’t just clap, their whole face lights up.”
For Yazdani and Kilpatrick, creating this connection with the audience is just as important as having a good story to tell.
“Words are all you need to grab someone’s attention,” says Kilpatrick. “That’s what makes storytelling so accessible – anyone can do it anywhere. But, in order to see that, you have to recognize the power of language.”