For me, the hard part isn’t having a story. It’s discerning when to share it and when to save it.
It’s amazing how badly we want to be part of a conversation. Someone offers an insight or an anecdote or a point and we want to find a way to relate or chime in or make our mark. And that often involves bringing a story to the mix. But is the story really all that pertinent? That’s the sort of question which demands a split-second answer.
Consider my elk story. When would you tell this?
storytelling
A storyteller passes away.
A great man named Merlin Dewing passed away this morning at the age of seventy-four. I was shocked and stunned, as Merlin was as young as they get, full of life and an interest in bettering the lives of others. There is a mix of grief and gratitude in me this week. Grief for his … Read more
Improv and Storytelling.
It appears this may be a week of improv-related posts. I’m teaching an intro-level performance track improv class at the Brave New Workshop these days and the subject of story and scene came up, and this is a subject I’ve been kicking around in my brain for a while. It this particular situation, there was … Read more
Storytelling shapes.
Though it’s been a while since I’ve done onstage improv on a consistent basis, I’ve been performing since 1999. I’ve also been writing during that time, though I’ve realized that when I’m improvising more, I write less and vice versa (lately, it’s the case of vice versa). One thing I dig about improv and writing … Read more