Dearest Readers,
The other day I posted on Facebook that I needed a “new story”. I did so because I’m telling this weekend for the Yukon International Storytelling Festival in celebration of World Storytelling Day. The theme is “Light and Shadow”.
The stories that I have in my bag certainly fit with the theme but none of them are really calling me. A story sometimes asks to be told. None of the usual suspects in my repertoire have been asking.
This morning, at Toastmasters, I told a story about the death of James Dean. I’m working my way through an Advanced Manual called “Storytelling” and the current project I had to tackle was “Bringing History to Life” with a story about a historical character.
It’s a great story and I enjoyed telling it but I’m sorry, Jimmy. It’s just not going to fly for the YISF.
As a writer/performer/producer, what I do, essentially, is tell stories. But storytelling as a form is very specific. That said, there are diverse styles within the form, which vary from the loose recounting of an event to the stylized performance of a memory or dream. Any form is alright by me for who does not like to tell or listen to a great story?
So, as I am inclined to do when at a loss, I prayed for a story to tell this Saturday night. Not begged, just “put it out there”. And this morning, after TM, while I was breathing deeply in a spinal roll during yoga practice, the story came.
It’s the story of why I moved to Alberta and why I left Alberta and the four months in between and, believe me, Light and Shadow fits the bill. I think I’m gonna call it “God Lives in Edmonton”.
If you live in Whitehorse, come!
Inspiring Message of the Day: Our lives are full of stories! Today, tell a story, listen to a story, learn from a story. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou
