Eight-year-old
Reece Ellis said his mother read stories to him before he
went to bed when he was younger. Now, he's rehearsing to
perform at the 2008 St. Louis Storytelling Festival.
Storyteller Marilyn Kinsella has been working after school
with Reece and others at Holy Trinity Catholic School in
the City of St. Louis.
The kids are learning storytelling techniques to prepare
for the city-wide 29th annual festival April 30-May 3. The
4-day festival features a host of well-known adult professional
storytellers.
Reece
Ellis |
But, there is a special session set aside to showcase kid
storytellers.
(If you'd like to know more about the festival, you
can visit its website at www.umsl.edu/storytelling.
The storytelling festival is sponsored by the University
of Missouri-St. Louis.)
Reece is a 3rd grader at Holy Trinity. He's already had
some performing experience.
"Earlier this year, I was in a puppet show that we did
for pre-schoolers and other younger kids at the school.
I had speaking parts for two of the puppets and also sang
a song in a group," he said.
But, he admits he's got lots to learn about solo storytelling
before an audience.
He said, "Ms. Kinsella told me I have to use a little more
volume in my voice and I have to look at everyone in the
audience when I speak."
Dierra
Bell |
The kids have been meeting after school one day a week
since the start of the school year. They perform familiar
stories in front of other kids in the class.
Nine-yer-old Dierra Bell is a 4th grader at Holy Trinity.
During a recent practice session, she performed "The Little
Red Hen" story. That story calls for the storyteller to
get the audience to repeat a chorus at different points
in the story.
Dierra said she was told to keep her voice volume up so
the whole audience can hear. And, she said, "Ms. Kinsella
also told me never to turn my back to the audience."
Ms. Kinsella told the kids that audience involvement is
important in any performance. She said, "When you are in
the audience, you should listen with delight."
Yolandis
Gambrell |
At a recent practice session, she introduced them to a
more complicated type of story. The "story drama" included
several times when the audience repeated parts of the story.
One of the other kids in Ms. Kinsella's class was 8-year-old
Yolandis Gambrell, a third grader at Holy Trinity.
He told the familiar folktale about "The Billy Goats Gruff."
That's the story about three goats who bother the "ugly
troll" when the walk over a bridge to get to pasture land.
The troll lives under that bridge.
Yolandis said he used that same story during the program
for the younger kids in school a couple months ago.
Ms. Kinsella told Yolandis to "tell your story with excitement."
She also wanted him to tell stories where the audience can
participate.
With about two months remaining before the festival, the
kids are thinking about what story they'd like to tell to
a big audience.
Reece and Yolandis have got their eye on the same story,
"Red, Red Lips." Yolandis said that's a story about the
visit of a "scary" woman who visits late at night.
In fact, scary stories seem to be in fashion with the Trinity
kids.
Dierra said she hopes to use a story titled "In the Dark,
Dark Woods."
One of the big challenges at the storytelling festival
is that performers all have to know their stories by heart.
They can't have a written script with them.
The storytelling kids all say they like to read printed
books.
Reece said reading is one of his five hobbies. He listed
the other hobbies as swimming, watching TV, going to his
grandma's and eating--"if you can call eating a hobby."
Dierra said, "I like books about animals." Yolandis said
he enjoys Dr. Seuss books.
