Title: storytelling2-art
Subject: Another article on storytelling by Yaakov.
Author: Edited by Mark Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: storytelling, bards, stories, tales, article

storytelling2-art - 1/9/96

Another storytelling article by Yaakov.

NOTE: See also the files: storytelling-art, poems-msg, p-stories-msg, bardic-msg, Hornbook-art, Bardic-Guide-art, story-sources-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: HAROLD.FELD at hq.doe.GOV
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: More Storytelling.......(long)
Date: 6 May 1994 23:12:14 -0400

          [being a continuation of the Dialog between Mar Yaakov
          HaMizrachi and his sister, Aura of Befudlement, on the
          subject of storytelling]

          Aura of Befudlement:  I am glad to see you again, dear
          brother, for I heard yesterday that you had some business in
          the courts and could not come to continue our discussions of
          storytelling.

          Yaakov HaMizrachi:  In truth I was, and a great victory did
          we have before the learned judge.

          AB: And did you use your storyteller's arts?

          YH:  It was not I who made the presentation, for I
          merely helped in the preparing of briefs and researches into
          the legal texts.  But, though you meant your words lightly,
          I will tell you that you speak truely.  the lawyer uses the
          same arts as the storyteller, as does the orator and the
          politician.  All have the same purpose, to convince another
          of the truth of the matter.

          AB:  It seems to me, then, that a storyteller can follow
          many paths in life to success.

          YH:  You speak with excellent wit.  It should therefore be
          plain that storytelling is no idle thing, nor are
          storytellers to be triffled with and scorned like jongluers
          or actors.  In Ireland, so I am told, the storytellers have
          status second only to the kings.  All live in fear of them,
          for they may inflict most terrible satires on any who
          offend them.  But, they are also courted by great lords, for
          through their efforts one may achieve immortality.

          AB:  That is quite plain.  After all, how do we know of
          Arthur and his knights, save that storytellers have sung his
          praises through the ages.   But come!  Let us return to the
          topic you mentioned before, that of the storyteller who
          grows too enamoured of his own arts and does not pay proper
          heed to his audience.

          THE TRAPS AND PITFALLS INTO WHICH STORYTELLERS MAY FALL, AND
          HOW THEY MAY BEST BE EVADED OR REPAIRED

          YH: I shall return once again to that analogy that has
          served me so well in this discourse, that of a young man who
          wishes to woo a lady.  As you know, it is the fashion for
          men who would woo to write poems to their beloved, and to
          look greenly when she approach, to carry her picture in a
          locket, to sigh and swoon, and in otherwise make a great
          show on their affections.

          AB: Aye.  every spring, it seems, a fainting plague takes
          the young men of the city.

          YH: No doubt you have observed some young men who become so
          wrapped up in their pantomime that they forget the object of
          their affection and continue to behave so even after they
          have attained their desire, or after a seemly time has
          passed when the maid has made it plain the suit is not
          welcome.  Or, worse, that they so enjoy _being_ in love
          that they switch the object of their affection from one maid
          to the next, writing sonnets and romantic nonesense to a new
          woman every week.  They look ridiculous to all save
          themselves, and are held up in the commedia and everywhere
          else as laughable.  So too some storytellers take such
          deleight in their own telling that they shall tell the same
          tale over and over, well past when the company have grown
          tired of it.  Also, they put far too much emphasis upon
          their words and gestures.

          AB: But how can a storyteller know when he is in danger of
          becoming such a laughingstock.

          YH: Take heed of your audience and regard them well.  Do
          they shift uncomfortabley?  When you begin your story, do
          they seem to groan, or to look at the ground or their
          neighbor?  Also, as you tell your tale, you should keep
          careful eye upon them and so judge their mood.  You must not
          become so involved in your tale that you forget the
          audience, or so involved in the audience that you forget
          your tale.  Also, it helps to know more than one story.
          Time and again, at bardic circles, I have heard the same
          fellow or two stand and tell the same story, for the
          fourteenth time.  The first time may be wonderous, the
          second splendid, but the tenth in quick succesion becomes
          wearisome.

          AB: Should you never repeat a story, then?

          YH:  No, that is to go to far in the other extreme.
          Further, if you go to such great Faires as Pennsic or
          Estrella you may do well by moving from fire to fire.  I
          have myself eaten and drunken well on one story and two
          songs at Pennsic, since it is new to the different company
          each time.  Yet here I shall caution you of another danger.
           It may be that you tell a story so often that you yourself
          cannot bear to hear it again.  In that case, give it rest,
          for if you cannot tell a story with the same enthusiasm as
          before, the audience shall hear the boredom in your voice
          and will likewise find the tale tiresome.

          AB: It seems then a very good thing to have a large
          repetoire.

          YH: Indeed it is.  In this way, also , you shall have
          stories for every occassion- bawdy tales for revellers,
          solemn tales for high occassions, romances for the ladies,
          and so forth.

          AB: Can you really keep track of so many stories in your
          head?

          YH:  Alas for our generation!  Of old, it is said that the
          Skols of the Norsmen could recite all the lineages of their
          kings and sing the praises of their ancestors.  Our sages of
          old, may their memory be as a blessing, could recite the
          whole of the Talmud by heart.  Yet we cannot recall more
          than a handful of stories!  So does man ever decline.  Yet
          it is still possible to recall several different stories if
          one takes proper precautions.

          AB: And what are these?

          YH:  When you ready yourself to go to some bardic gathering
          or faire, take the trouble to refresh your memory and
          practice again those tales you wish to tell.  Even if you
          are confident you can recall it, practice again at
          least once before you plan to tell it.  If someone requests
          a story from you, consider for a moment if all the details
          and segues are fresh in your mind.  It is no shame to tell
          someone who has requested a tale 'Alas, I fear I do not
          recall that one as well as I might, I shall surely tell it
          to you on the morrow.'  This shall not hurt your reputation,
          and may well draw the fellow back with friends to hear the
          tale.  Whereas, if you began and then discovered in the
          middle that you could not recall some crucial plot twist, or
          rembered it after it needed to go into the story, then you
          would look absurd and find yourself as the fool who plunged
          into the well to catch the moon.

          AB: Is it such a horrible thing, then, to forget a part of
          the story?

          YH:  Only if you do not know how to recover from your error.
           Too often have a seen a novice tale-teller with promise
          lift the audience to great heights with his talents only to
          send them crashing down again by stopping suddenly and
          saying: 'Oh, I forgot to mention, the knight had a magic
          sword.'  For the interuption plays havoc with the illusion
          you have created and the audience must be coaxed back again
          to the pleasant dream in which you had enraptured them.
          This work is far harder than it was before, like trying to
          put back to bed a friend you awakened by making a loud
          noise.  The awakened sleeper is grumpy, and blames you for
          rousing him from his pleasant state.  Worse, the storyteller
          frequently loses the rythm of the tale himself, and loses
          some measure of confidence.  These two things, the
          frustration of the audience and the nervousness of the
          storyteller, with its concominant loss of skill, wreak
          havoc with the tale and make a succesful conclusion
          difficult indeed.

          AB: Is there no way, then to recover from such a mistake?

          YH:  On the contrary, if you listen to what I say now, you
          will be able to recover from any such mistake of memory so
          easily that none shall detect it.  Recall that the audience
          _does_ _not_ _know_ _the_ _tale_.  Only you, the
          storyteller, know the tale.  Even if the audience be
          familiar with the plot, there are as many variations as
          there are storytellers.  Further, even if you yourself have
          told the story to this same audience aforetime, they will
          not remember every detail.  And, even if they do, they will
          think nothing of it.

          AB:  All this is true, but how does it help in this case?

          YH:  When you tell the tale and reach the part wherein you
          remember some forgotten and crucial detail, keep calm.  Do
          not panic, which is the precursor of defeat.  Instead, work
          the detail into the story as if it were meant to come at
          just such a point.  Let us return to our example of the
          hapless storyteller.  Rather than saying: 'I forgot to say
          he had a magic sword that could cut through armor,' let him
          say: 'But unbeknownst to this villain, our hero had secured
          a magic sword from a djinn many years ago.  This very
          weapon, which could pierce any armor, now came into our
          hero's hand...'

          AB:  I see the cleverness of your device.  Even if a part of
          the tale has been omitted, it can be thus added as if it
          were meant to belong.

          YH:  Exactly.  Many such devices and variations exist.  The
          words 'meanwhile' or 'unbekownst to our hero/villain, and
          'for it was not known that' are your freinds and allies.
          Even if the audience suspects, they will forgive you, if the
          story continues to flow smoothly.  Afterwards, the clever
          among them may call you out on it.  In which case smile and
          do not deny it, but rather let them think themselves clever.
           It shall not diminsh you fame or honor to have a reputation
          for having recovered well in a difficult spot.

          AB:  Wise advice, but I must ask: what if you cannot
          remember the ending?

          YH: Pray that God will inspire you.  And speaking of
          prayer, the time draws nigh when I must return home to
          prepare for the Sabbath.

          AB:  Peace be with you then.  Perhaps, if God is kind, we
          may resume this discourse later.

From: HAROLD.FELD at hq.doe.GOV
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: More Storytelling.....(long)
Date: 4 May 1994 10:42:54 -0400

          Unto all who read these words, greetings from Yaakov.

          I have elected to change the form of my discourses on
          storytelling a triffle.

          A Dialogue Upon Storytelling, and the Manner of
          Storytelling, by Yaakov Hamizrachi, residing upon the Rialto
          Bridge.

          Aura of Beffudlement:  Good brother Yaakov!  I am pleased to
          see you here upon Rialto Bridge.   In truth, I expected to
          find you here, for I am told by those that know you that you
          are here often, doing no real work, but engaged in debate
          with the other habitues of this place.

          Yaakov HaMizrachi: Sweet sister Aura!  Well glad I am to
          see you again.  How do you like the study and courses of the
          University?  I pursued them in bygone days myself.

          AB: I find them noble arts and necessary in the conduct of
          affairs, but I regret that while at University I neglected
          to learn bardic arts.  For, on my return to the Laurel
          Kingdoms, I found myself at bardic circles, where, to put it
          briefly, I was tongue tied and awkward, and regarded as
          little more than a block of wood.  I should have liked to
          have acquired skill in storytelling during the hours between
          serious studies, an accomplishment which would have rendered
          my company welcome to all.

          YH: That will be an easy thing by reading good books in
          order to sharpen your wit and by learning storytelling,
          singing and musical instruements.

          AB: I much enjoyed singing and playing the doumbec, which
          put me on good terms with the Horde.  But I could not get
          me a silver armband or other treasurer upon which, it seems
          to me, the reputation of a young bard depends.

          YH: You are quite right, as those who give treasurers and
          rewards do not desire to have splitting headaches, which
          comes from overmuch listening to the doumbec.  Also,
          storytelling allows a patron to survey the bard and see all
          his aspect, to savor the quality of his performance, and to
          see if his breath emit an odor, as of bad meat.  And the
          good storyteller do encompase all the arts of the performer
          such as singer, oratition, actor, and more that these others
          do not put forth.  Therefore is storytelling considered the
          best and most worthy of the bardic arts.

          AB: You speak truely, it seems to me, but that I have heard
          certain moralists and others rail against storytelling as an
          idle practice.  As you are a religious man I pray you tell
          me why it be permitted to spend time on such things, or to
          tell bawdy or other unseemly stories.

          YH:  For every detractor of stories, there are a hundred who
          do praise them for their power to teach and to give wholsome
          diversion.  The Rabbis report that the greatest among them
          knew all the tales of foxes, and of washerwomen, and for
          this were they considered great and learned.  Further, it
          is reported that the High Priest was kept awake all the
          night before the Day of Antonement by storytellers, lest he
          suffer an emission in the night and be rendered unfit for
          service in the Temple.  The descendants of Ishmael so revere
          stories and storytellers that the tales of Mohamad are a
          source of law.  So too the Christains say that their Jesus
          preached by means of parables and stories.  Even the anceint
          pagans did thus, for it is said that Augustus himself could
          not sleep at night unless a storyteller stood by to relieve
          the cares of the day with fables and tales of wonder.

          AB: This seems a most excellent recomendation.   Yet what of
          the bawdy tales that are favored, that deal with matters
          coarse and plain.

          YH: Even these tales have value.  For, if you examine them,
          you will see that many of them have fine value and give good
          moral teaching, showing the vanity of love and romance and
          the futility of persuing one's venal desires.  Also, in
          many of them, it is shown how those who behave immorally
          receive their comeuppence.

          AB: Your discourse shows me proper wisdom.  I see it can be
          meritorious to tell even the bawdiest tale.  Therefore,
          since there is no shame in the matter, I would bid you teach
          me all that you can about this most excellent art.

          YH:  Since I know your quality, I know that you know the
          basics: To learn the tale well so that you are familiar with
          the details, to practice it, and to use one's body and one's
          voice in the telling.

          AB: Yes, these basics are known to me, so that I may tell a
          passable tale.  But now, dear brother, do confide in me the
          techniques and devices by which one may improve the telling
          of tales.

          OF THE LANGUAGE OF STORYTELLING

          YH: First, you must give thought to the language which you
          use.  The storyteller must, above all else, use words to
          paint an image.  Wherefore first I must caution you, if you
          tell what is commonly called a 'period' tale of old, to
          exise from your words all trace of modern loqutions and
          expressions.

          AB: But why should this be so?

          YH: Nothing will so anger your audience as to tease them
          into the image you desire then to tear it down before them.
          If you have filled their heads with the vision of Arthur and
          his knights of old, nothing could so jar them as to hear
          Arthur disclaim some modern jape or slang expression.  Then
          will the audience's dreams be dashed and your purpose
          defeated.

          AB:  But is it not true that some humor may be derived from
          this juxtaposition of imagery?

          YH: I'faith, a truely skilled storyteller may sometimes
          achieve this effect,  but more often than not it is the
          amature who does this by accident, never noticing the slip
          that has tripped off his tongue.  Even if the audience
          laughs, you have but gained cheap laughter of no account.
          You may as well saved everyone the trouble of listening to
          you and broken wind loudly before your elders.

          AB: Your point is well taken, but do you speak against all
          comedy then?

          YH: Heaven forfend!  The gift of laughter is one of the
          greatest gifts the Holy One, Blessed be He, has given to
          man.  But recall that you are bard, not a buffon.  The Bard
          uses wit, and satire, and irony.

          AB: How may this be achieved?

          YH: Irony is a great weapon.  Make it sharp, but not so
          subtle that it passes out of view of your audience.
          Euphamism may also aid you, especially if you use it
          ironically.  For example, if you said of a man in the act of
          fleeing his foe 'and so he exercised that bravery and
          intelligent discretion for which he was justly famous.'

          AB: And, as you have said, the gesticulations of the hand
          and face should also compliment this effect.

          YH: Precisely so.  Further, you may make the point with the
          quality of your voice, and contrasting it with the
          description given in words.  For example, if you said of a
          harriden: and then, in her own sweet dulcet tones, she
          gently exclaimed' and then screached out the words, that
          would work as well.

          AB: I see.

          YH: Yet I urge you to be wary and not to overuse any one
          trick.  A song may be beautiful once, but it becomes tedious
          to hear again and again.  In a tale, you must balance the
          tricks you use for effect.

          AB: Yet how does one know the proper balance?

          YH: That skill comes with time and much practice.  If you
          persist, then you shall learn the way of it.  But come, the
          hour of nones comes nigh, and I am famished and parched.

          AB: In truth, good brother, so am I.  Let us continue our
          discourses after we have taken refreshment.

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	storytelling2-art	Page  of