by Lucinda Frye
Imagine yourself standing before a seated group of children. Their eyes are on you, mouths hang open slightly. They are listening to your every word. Even the teenagers in the group are hanging on your every word. You are a storyteller.
Your chance to learn the magical art of storytelling from a master in the field has come to St. Maarten. Come, but not gone. If you missed last week’s workshop, don’t fret. The library is planning to make an ongoing series of lessons with Wijnand Stomp. A theatrical storyteller, Stomp uses humour, infectious naughtiness and a touch of sagacity to hold young and old spellbound, riveted to their seats with his folk tales and myths from afar, as well as from the Caribbean. The workshops last week were quite involved; meeting at the library every evening, culminating in a performance at the Cultural Centre. The next sessions are due in a few months time and, with interest, may extend throughout the next three years. Contact the library for information.
Storytelling is oral tradition, not only speaking but also gestures and expressions. Through the art of storytelling, cultural values are passed on, but also the listeners are entertained, educated, and taught moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view. Some storytellers tell stories from their own imagination. Other stories have been gathered, sometimes adapted from books and other storytellers. Folklore stories such as myths, epics, legends, and fables continue to be favourites.
Ever since ancient times, storytelling has been a way of passing on the traditions and beliefs of a particular society from one generation to the next. Of particular interest to our culture are the stories originating from Africa. Those ancient tales were, and still are, told and retold under the shade of a tree or around a village campfire, passing on the history, philosophy, and moral laws of the people. African culture is rich with many stories, songs, poems, and religious and tribal customs due to the diversity of people living on the vast continent. Entire complex cultures have been carried down through the centuries by the spoken word.
Now-a-days stories can be told in the same way, or in a theatre, during a tour bus, or anywhere else for that matter. One of the subjects which play a prominent role in many stories is animals. Especially in Africa, animals played a prominent role in people’s daily thoughts, conversations, and oral literature, due to the fact that the people lived in close proximity to the wild animals that shared their land. In many of these tales, Africans attributed human feelings and desires to particular animals, and even derived ethical ideals from their behaviour.
The spider is commonly found in many African stories and myths. The spider was depicted as a great hero in many African folktales. He was extremely cunning and was capable of overcoming every plot. In West Africa, where the spider is called “Anansi,” he was portrayed as the cleverest of animals and often appears in myths where he is the chief official of God among men. The spider was thought to be the one who was commanded to spin a delicate thread that reached up to God in the sky, so people would have a path to heaven.
Wijnand Stomp is a modern day storyteller who, over the years, has developed a style of his own. His ability to be clearly telling a story with many characters is awesome to listen to, as he is a wonderful mimic, with a voice that is conspiratorial and mysterious. Growing up in Curaçao and Suriname, Stomp heard the stories that were originally passed down from Africa and upon investigating their origins he perfected his storytelling ability by incorporating that well known character, the spider Anansi, into his own character. Turning the African expression, “It takes a village to raise a child,” into, “It takes a story to raise a child,” he set about starting an educational programme that aims at stimulating storytelling and reading. Anansi the Spider creates a never-ending tale, like the unlimited supply of the spider’s thread.
Wijnand's workshops cover all aspects of becoming a great storyteller by acting out many different characters in one story and then being able to make contact with the audience and get a strong communication between the audience and the storyteller. It is not uncommon to hear someone in the audience call out to the storyteller, making a remark to, not the actual person, but to the character being played. Trying to get audience participation, especially children, whereby the audience starts to participate in the story and start telling their version of the story and then moving along by incorporating these interruptions into the story is a remarkable feat of a good storyteller and at Wijnand’s workshops you can learn to do just that.
“The BIG secret,” says Wijnand “is to become one with the characters in the story you are telling.” As a storyteller you don’t need any props, masks or costumes. You just need your voice, positioning yourself in the right place to depict this character, using body language and believing in this character. In one story you could switch characters two or three times, but you also could switch characters five or six or more times, all depends on the story.
Learning to be a great story teller is not only fun, but it could benefit many in their careers. A well-developed and presented story can cut across age barriers and will hold the interest and reach its listeners. The workshops are great for teachers, but also excellent as teambuilding for businesses, and great for taxi drivers, public speakers, tour guides, day charter yacht crew and, of course, mothers, uncles or anyone who has to deal with people in his/her daily life, as it encourages better communication skills. Stories will be remembered long after other orations.
These workshops also teach how to read a written story with more spark; how to read, yet let go of the book; how to stay in touch with the present day and relate to the experiences of children. Reading stories to children using these storytelling techniques may actually inspire children to pick up a book themselves and read.
Wijnand’s stories can also be found in book form. His stories are compelling, mischievous and fun. They deal just as much with tricks and deceit as with vulnerability and identity. They always make for moving performances spiked with a great sense of humour. His book is called Mr. Anansi is in Dutch and will soon be published in English.
Only if a story is told with passion, courage and dedication does it have true impact. Effective storytelling is a fine and beautiful art. Knowing and applying the basics of storytelling will strengthen your stories.
The great storyteller Rudyard Kipling entertained his own children and those of his friends by inventing ingenious explanations of such questions as ‘How the Camel Got His Hump’ and ‘How the Leopard Got his Spots’. He kept his young audience in suspense with his delightfully droll, outrageous and silly stories. In 1902, he wrote them down for publication as the Just So Stories, they may be old, but they will never be out of date.
Check them out at the Library and read them to your children with your own story telling style!
[from The Daily Herald, Friday, 03 September 2010] 
