Ringmaster Not Roustabout: Those Basic Basics in the Storytelling Tent.

 Why, hello there, storytelling newbie. I didn't see you standing there. I've been so busy lately over on other shows that I haven't had near enough time to speak to you.

Nonetheless- do you have a moment? Oh, very good.

Welcome to the show. And what a show it is. Storytelling is the mother of all art forms. An idea forms from the substance around us. That form then becomes narrative. That narrative becomes story. People share those narratives together and the story becomes storytelling. That storytelling inspires artists of all types.

Since you have walked into the Oral-Storytelling tent with the rest of us, let me welcome you inside with a few tips.

1. Use a microphone. If we can't hear you, your story has no value to us. Sitting with friends and entertaining them with your story is one thing but if you are going to stand up and speak to all of us: we need to hear you, no matter how confident or pumped you think you are.

2. Stay focused on the story. Some people will tell you that a storyteller is supposed to just be a vessel for the story, but that's pretty much metaphorical talk that is far away from where you are now in the art form. But here's a problem: that cool thing you do with the broad acrobatics and grunting (or guitaring or balancing plates on your head…whatever) isn't helping with the story. If at the end of an experience of oral storytelling we're talking more about your antics than the story you told, then something went wrong with your storytelling.

Let me clarify that I am not in the be-still-all-times storytelling camp. Your intentional movements that keep the story clear are just fine. Keep first in your mind your story and the connection it creates to and with your audience. Be ringmaster not roustabout.

3. Learn your story in parts. I see new storytellers try to recite stories they have memorized. They get lost and confused. So, do storytelling instead. See the story. Break it into parts. Tell us the parts you see rather than the words you have stored. Cool phrases and "crafting" (you are going to hear that word a lot) of the story will come later as you internalize the story. For now, go unplugged-style and just tell us the story you are seeing.

4. Get coached. If you are going to be serious in any art form, you need to take some classes and get some input. Tell me, how many sports stars are self-taught? None of course. You can be sure that every other artist in this tent (regardless of their skill level) has voices they seek out for guidance.  If you are telling jokes in the bar (not storytelling anyway), then you can go it alone. If you want to communicate, you need training and coaching.

So, I am glad you are here. We need new voices and new understandings of our very specific art form. Come grow with us who have been at this for a while. I love it when I get to say, "I learned something from this new voice today." That is so cool.


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The is the official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.

Getting the New Year in Focus

Heads up: this post is a bit more personal than what I normally post here. I'm writing more about the "artist" than the "art."

You might be tired of the New Year's posts, but I just wanted to share a thought that was new to me. It's not an idea that I thought up as I first heard it in a workshop from Trish Gillam at Gangplank Avondale. I've seen a mention or two since then in other places.

I'm not a fan of resolutions, even if I have written about them in the past. I find that people either "do" or "do not do" projects and ideas in their lives. However, I do like the idea of having a "theme word" for a year. As professional performing artists, I know it's easy for all artists to see grand possibilities about the future but forget that such possibilities need a firm foundation.

Now, my  2014 "theme word" is "organized." I let too much of 2013 get past me, for many legitimate reasons. At other times, I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by ideas and goals and then, in that mess of possibilities, I ended up not making anything happen.

This is not to say that 2013 did not have some good projects and surprises. 2013 did indeed have some unexpected-yet-good events. However, in being honest, I found that I lost momentum by not keeping a better reign on the structures of my work and art. In that, this was a rare year for me.

So, in this year as an artist, coach and family man, I will ask myself a question about the projects I choose and the activities I do: "Will this help me be organized?" An organized (not compulsive) working artist can achieve many goals and get projects done. This is not solely about being "neat" or "housekeeping;" rather it's about being together in mind and purpose.

My word for 2014 is "organized." No lofty resolutions in that one word but rather a need to see the top of my desk again, the transcendent side of my work as an artist expanding, books and projects completed, my calendar better filled with bookings, and my family still moving forward. There is no order to that list as I see it as an overall way of being rather than a list of  resolutions.

I hope this makes sense for you as a fellow artist or entrepreneur. If you chose a word that would describe your goals for 2014 what would your word be?

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The is the official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.