San Diego Navy Pier Sunrise (December 2019)

Lest anyone think I have faded from the world and this blog, I am still here. We've moved most of our discussions to http://smalltoothdog.com and http://seantells.com, but we're still active.
 

The Selkie and Her Children

The Selkie and Her Children: A Story by Sean Buvala. 

Excerpt:

The man looked out toward the beach and there he saw a bonfire and around it were dancing the silhouettes of a woman and her children and as he looked about he saw that there was a pile next to them and so he figured that these must be selkies and that pile was their pelts. He knew that if he took their pelts away from them, they could not return to the water and that he could tell them what to do and so while they were dancing silhouetted against the flame, the man snuck up behind them, grabbed the pelts in his arms, and held them tight.

Immediately, the woman knew that their pelts had been stolen and so she turned to the man and she said, "Sir, please give us those pelts back. We must have them."

He said "No, you are on my land. This part of the land here is mine and you have trespassed upon it. No, you will do as I say."

And she said, "Sir, please, the seas from which we come are rough and dangerous for my children. We need to come here."

And he said, "No. I have told you. Here is what I am going to do. I'm going to take your children and lock them away. You will become my wife and you will do as I say."

She begged the man to return the pelts but he refused. And so, she reluctantly agreed to his terms.

He took the children and he put them in a cellar. There in the cellar, they could not hear the sound of the ocean. There was, however, a window high at the top of the cellar. When he would come back every day bring food to the children, he would open the window and leave it open for an hour. He would then close it, He would leave the cellar, lock the door behind him, leaving the children behind. He forbid the selkie woman from ever going to see the children, lest he take them away in secret to a place she would never know.

He took the pelts that he had stolen from them and he put them in a chest, keeping them under lock and key. The selkie woman, meanwhile, became his wife and, as you can imagine, she was miserable. She did not give him any children of his own. Every day, she would go to the edges of the ocean, sit upon a rock, and simply lament the loss of her sea children.

Watch the video for the entire story.  CC video.

Where to Find Stories (Basics)

"I don't have any stories!" I hear this from newcomers rather often. Where will you find your stories? Let us look at some ideas.

1. World Folktales

Simple tales such as Aesop's Fables are fantastic starting points for gathering stories and you will find these especially good for business and non-profit settings. You'll also find a variety of tales from the Grimm Brothers or Joseph Jacobs that can be adapted to almost any situation.

2. Online Collections

I mentioned to you last week the repository of stories you can find at my Storyteller.net site or even through searches through websites such as YouTube. Although you do not want to pick up these stories word for word from other artists, these stories might inspire you to research more stories.

3. The Past: Yours and Others

Although story-gathering from other people is a skill in and of itself, you might be surprised at the family stories that are lurking in the minds of your relatives and friends. If you have a particular subject matter in mind, ask your friends to think about keywords. Do they have stories in their past? For example, if you are doing a talk or presentation on "family dynamics," ask your friends about how they got along with brothers and sisters when they were a child. Ask about quirks they thought their parents or grandparents might have had.

This really can work well for you. People are naturally inclined to share stories. At the very moment, as I wrote this lesson for you, I was sitting in a popular coffee shop. Across from me, two women were regaling each other with stories of their childhood, talking about their sisters. Folks have plenty of stories; they just need to be asked.

When you are using this method, please note that it may take some time for people to pull up stories from their mind. Often, it's better to say, "Tell me about a time when your sister made you crazy" rather than "Tell me stories about your childhood."

By the way, never use a person's stories without their permission!

As a storyteller, you never need to run out of stories. They are everywhere. Start gathering today.

Here is Your Homework!

1. This lesson really is a reminder to do your homework. Storytelling is an art form that requires constant attention, just as any art does. You can't be a watercolor artist if you don't paint.

2. In your own journal, dig for stories from your own mind by answering these questions;

Can you recall a time in your job or career that something was truly accomplished?

When did you first know that your siblings could also be your friends?

Can you remember an emotional moment with a pet?

Did you ever have a dream come true?

3. Try the story gathering with a friend. Choose a simple subject and spend time together recalling memories. Outline the conversation in your journal.
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The is the official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach. He is the publisher at The Small Tooth Dog Publishing Group LLC.

Storytelling Slams: Cocktails, Canapes and Calliope

Like me, a calliope is sometimes full of hot air.

A bit of personal reflection: "Cocktails, Canapes and Calliope" is the new way that I am understanding the ongoing evolution of the Story Slam.

There's been, in my little circles, some discussion by the oral storytelling community (both online and offline) about story slams. I've been reflecting, mostly for myself, on my evolving image of the story slam.

Story slams, henceforth just called "slams," vary in style, quality, rules, and process but most are built around telling personal tales that are supposed to be true. The sharing of personal stories has probably already existed since people learned to speak. Really, aren't slams just the extension of gossiping with your neighbor over the backyard fence in olden times, like 1970 or some such date? Slams, if nothing else, create self-selected communities when we are too busy to know the people who actually live in the homes next to us.  If you need to know more about slams, I've written about them here and here and always-teaching here.

In the most popular cases, these storytelling events usually are almost always held with food and drink (hence, "cocktails and canapes") for the audience. It seems, from my experience, that the best-attended slam events have these two elements. I'm wondering if this is unique to this version of storytelling (as a performing art) as I can't imagine that most folks go the ballet with a table of highballs and mixed nuts.

New Words
Lately, I am seeing some positive shift in the quality of these events.  I know that "quality" is subjective and personal, as for some people every word uttered on the slam stage should be applauded while others shun the entire reality of slams. However, balance is important.

I used to describe slams as "karaoke storytelling".  "Karaoke" was once the cocktails-and-canapes version of "everybody's-a-performer" event before slams started to take over. For many of the events I saw at the beginning of the story-slam trend (1998?), "Karaoke storytelling" was the right description in my mind. People readily understood the model: get up and talk (usually in anecdotes and not really in stories) about one of the big-three subjects of sex, drinking or nakedness (with a smattering of  "how crazy my family is") and you could get an ovation. Much like karaoke singing an off key-version of "Midnight Train to Georgia," you would at least get applause for your efforts and (important) your telling would embolden others to share their voices.

However, in the last year or so, I am seeing a positive shift in the quality storytelling at some slams. I'm replacing my use of the word "karaoke" with "calliope/Calliope."

first, it's a calliope
Let's start with the calliope with the small-c. A calliope is a loud, offkey, hot-air driven musical device that is used at circuses and state fairs. It's blustery, attention-seeking and, for a few moments, can be fun to watch. They are a novelty for music; they are not something I want to listen to all the time. Sadly, there is still some calliope-style storytelling going on at slams. While you can get a "ringer" who truly understands how to tell a story, there are still some storytellers who are new and loud. Worse yet is the storyteller who is not new, just lazy (untaught?) in story-crafting. This happens often in "draw the contestants' names from a hat" shows. These are the calliope storytellers. You will have some fun, but you will get tired of listening to these tellers after a while. There is much noise and distraction coming from these calliope tellers.  In fairness, we could say that there is some serious butchering of world-tale story in the traditional presentations, too.

Choose Your Muse.
Calliope drops knowledge on Orpheus

Choose Your Muse: Calliope
Importantly, we also have the capital-C Calliope. She is The Muse of Eloquence and Epic Poetry.  With the slams that insist on coaching or curating the presenters, there is often better personal storytelling going on as well as the sets of inspired, touching, relevant and eloquent tales. Seemingly touched by Calliope herself, some of the storytellers in these slams create a wonder to hear and feel.  These Calliope[1] storytellers elicit a room-wide guttural sound of agreement or appropriate laughter from the audience immediately before they begin applauding. These good tellers are now the ones who inspire others to share their voices.

Take Some Action
Thinking that you want to be more on the Calliope side of things? Here are four actions you can take for improving your storytelling. First, get better coaching or (as a producer) offer coaching at your slams. Then, be more intentional about the stories you are telling. Also, be sure you have rehearsed your story with others who will actually give you authentic feedback.  Finally, explore some more options and educate yourself about how stories are actually crafted and created.

While the forms of both traditional and slam storytelling have their mixes of calliope and Calliope, I am happy to say that I think that more slams are evolving to the Calliope stage.

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[1]Or...go ahead and blow my alliteration by using the name of her son Orpheus should you need something more masculine.
Photo Cred:
calliope: By Neochichiri11 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Calliope: Alexandre-Auguste Hirsch [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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.

A Story for Solstice: Calling Out a Rising Sun

Altered-Art Solstice by Michelle Buvala

Well, Winter is here in my part of the world. Happy Solstice to You. Here's a story I wrote some time back. It first appeared on my "Calling Out a Rising Sun: Stories for Teenage Guys" CD back in 2006. It was originally written for a multi-mode arts project on "addiction and recovery."

While that project never came to be, some of the stories remained. You can listen to "Calling Out a Rising Sun" now in .mp3 audio when you click on this link here.

Happy Winter to you all. And, Hot Happy Summer to my friends on the other 1/2 of the globe. Peace be upon you.

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

The "Talking Turkeys" Story.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA friends and family.

For those who don't know, Thanksgiving is a traditional US holiday that focuses on gratitude, family and food. It is much like harvest festivals in other countries. Turkey has been the usual centerpiece dish.

So.....here is your Turkey Story of the Day, told by me to you.

Click here now to hear "The Talking Turkeys" in an .mp3 audio.


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

Review: A Storytelling House Concert

Storytelling events come in all shapes and sizes. This was a bit more home party.

We had a great time Saturday night at a storytelling house-concert held at the home of Dwight and Sandy Oglesby in Paradise Valley, Arizona, a northern suburb of Phoenix. (In the picture- Sandy is on the right standing next to Liz Warren.)

Sandy had announced the house-concert some months ago, giving people plenty of time to get the event on their calendars. She ended up with about 20 folks (adults, no kids) with many of our familiar friends and a few new additions (in the audience and "on stage") to the storytelling community of Arizona.

Sandy put out a nice spread of cheese, fruit, dips, breads, crackers and other snacks served along with a selection of wines, juices, teas and coffee. The crowd was casual and talked freely with each other as they snacked on good food. She had a basket at the door for attendees to contribute a few dollars to offset costs.

Leading off the night's storytelling was Harriet Cole. Harriet told her good blend of "parrot folktales" that move along well with her accounts of a life-long dedication to birds of all sorts and sizes that she and her husband keep in their home. Think of the idea of "1001 Arabian Nights" from the parrot's perspective- but it's much more complex than that. I was one of the first folks around here to do this weaving of personal and folktales- so I am always glad to hear someone else do this method. Harriet had previously told these "for adults" parrot tales at one of our StoryRise events and I enjoyed hearing how the crafting of the tales has progressed.

Harriet was followed by Annie Gustafson who is new to the storytelling scene in Arizona. Annie told a tale about the origins of how she and her brother were named. Since coming to Arizona, Annie has dived right into telling and exploring storytelling. She's also working hard to create a spoken word/storytelling show on our local RadioPHX community radio station. We are very fortunate to have Annie working among us.

We took a short break for refilling of plates and emptying of bladders. After all, some wine was involved, and as the Merovingian from "The Matrix" films can attest, there is a cause and effect. How's that for being direct with an obscure reference?

We were back to the stories with Liz Warren. Liz began with a very funny tale of trying to decipher the writing of a friend's note on her (recent) birthday card. Then, she told her tale of a family party and the powerful effects of good food, stories and family love that she calls "Eating Memories."

I've noticed a change in storytelling from Liz in the last year. She's always been a good teller, but there seems to be a brand-new comfort level in her telling. Although I am familiar with her story, tonight I found myself thinking, "I am hearing this for the first time." I experience a lot of stories and storytellers from my perch at Storyteller.net, so I don't easily get "lost" (in a good way) in the work of other tellers. With both this telling and her recent appearance at StoryRise- I think Liz has stepped up to a whole new level of both grace and professionalism. She is also the director of the Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix.

After Liz came Sule Greg Wilson. I have been hearing great things about this musician and performer so it was good to finally experience his work. He journeyed us through a set of tales of movies and film, leading up to a story about the homeless that had a surprise twist. When a teller can surprise you with an ending that you just did not predict, then you know they have a gift. Sule is not new to performing and I am looking forward to hearing more from him as he continues to explore storytelling with our community.

To my surprise, Sandy asked me to tell. I had planned to be just a part of the audience tonight, but she called me forward. "Hmm, what to tell?" Annie's early story about her name led me to think about my children's' names. One of my daughters has "Rose" in her name- which we jokingly tell her comes from the Disney movie of "Sleeping Beauty." So I dusted off my take on "Briar Rose" from my "Seven Ravens" CD, discovering a new opening sequence about the "queen's tears" emerging as I told it. I realized that I still wanted to fix the ending. I realized this as I was ending the story- so I hope that was not too distracting. For a surprise telling, I think I was coherent at least.

Our super-host Sandy then recounted a story from Maya Angelou's new book, Letter to My Daughter before we took an intermission with a reset of the food table into the dessert table. Following that little sugar feast, Sandy concluded the night with a risqué tale of what happens when you let the wife do all the work and not have any of the fun. I'll just leave it at that. Sandy's' fun and conversational style reminded us all why she's been a "featured teller" at the Mesa Storytelling Festival.

We had a great night with a variety of adults stories from folktales to personal tales. Thanks to Sandy and Dwight for opening up their home for this experience. I'm looking forward to the next one. Maybe you should try on in your area?

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

About Sean: From the DaddyTeller™ Site.

(Here's the bio page from my new DaddyTeller™ book.I hired a professional write, Durga Walker, to create it for us. )

K. Sean Buvala is a Trainer, Corporate Coach, and Speaker. But first and foremost, he’s a Storyteller.

If you’re anything like me, this word evokes images of rapt little faces gathered round the yarn-spinner, mouths agape, hanging on every word. It should. Storytelling is an art that appeals to the deep emotional memory in all of us. Unlike motivational speaking, which seeks to uplift the listener and spur to him action, storytelling strengthens our powers of creativity and problem solving by drawing on our own imaginations.

In short, storytelling conveys information in a way the listener will never forget.

In 2007 Sean Buvala was presented the Oracle Award by the National Storytelling Network for his work in the promotion of storytelling, including the development of Storyteller.net, an online goldmine of resources for storytellers and their audiences alike.

His work as a trainer and coach in the corporate word demonstrates his ability as a master storyteller. On the premise that good leadership requires strong communication skills, good storytelling techniques and the ability to convey information with impact, Sean designs workshops and seminars specifically for corporate groups, where he trains leaders to lead more effectively by improving their storytelling abilities. Here, he teaches real skills—not theory—that corporate management can implement immediately. In executive-level workshops that identify what already works for the company and what needs fixing, participants are shocked to see dramatic improvement in their public-speaking and leadership abilities.

Now Sean has applied his years of experience as a storyteller—and, not incidentally, father—to a project designed to help Dads convey valuable information to their own children. DaddyTeller: How to be a Hero to Your Kids and Teach Them What’s Really Important By Telling Them One Simple Story at a Time is a step-by-step e-book guide for teaching Dads to become storytellers for their kids.

As the father of four daughters, Sean knows this subject intimately. Based on the premise that any father can learn to tell his children stories that convey values and ethics to his children, DaddyTeller offers nine simple stories (eight plus a bonus) aimed to turn story time into a meaningful and loving experience for both parent and child.

Beyond the book, Sean provides ample support, not just for Dads but for anyone who wants to learn to tell a story with impact. His video clips and audio files are abundant. Watching him perform is inspiring, and even if all you do is watch, I guarantee you’ll tell your next story with just a touch more panache.

Sean describes his own style as somewhere between “in your life and in your face,” depending on his audience, and he has ample opportunity to adjust his approach. In addition to his work with teenagers, he is an expert presenter for corporations, teachers’ groups, colleges and universities, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations. His expertise includes communication and presentation skills, group dynamics, arts marketing, theatrical training, ministry management, and entrepreneurial development, to name but a few.

As a storyteller, he travels to where the need is, performing in schools and libraries, nonprofit groups, businesses and corporations, festivals, and churches—anywhere people will gather round the yarn-spinner. Using myths and legends, fables, sacred stories, and observations about life, Sean chooses stories that speak to the specific needs of each group

A group with needs was, in fact, exactly where Sean Buvala got his start 23 years ago, in a classroom of wild eighth graders on a very wild day. Desperate, he called out over the din, “Once upon a time....”

A hush settled over the room.

“I grabbed the first kid,” he says. “I led him to the front of the classroom and said, ‘Once upon a time, there was a man who had two sons....’”

He grabbed the next two boys and placed them next to the first one, where they became the sons. In turn, he brought each child up to be cast as an actor in the story. And the rest is, well, history.

-- by Durga Walker




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

My Picture Blog

I am having great fun updating and composing my storytelling daily picture blog at http://www.2008pics.com. If you haven't surfed there yet, please do. Woo hoo!

Storyteller.net Podcast for January 2008

It's a brand new Podcast at Storyteller.net! You can use the link below to hear our latest. Features storyteller K. Sean Buvala telling the Grimm tale of "The Willful Child" as well as providing a coaching moment on "finding your niche". The coaching moment comes from an interview that Sean did with the "Art of Storytelling With Children" podcast. Also on this January 2008 podcast is Kindra McGrane of Arizona telling her lively, fun personal tale of "The Bargain Shopper" recorded live at one of our http://www.storytellingatborders.com/ events. Come and enjoy. Find all our past podcasts at this link now.

Use this link to hear the January 2008 podcast now in mp3.