Why Storytelling is Important

This is not meant to be a preaching blog about storytelling because I let my stories speak my heart for me.
I have created this blog so that others might understand how a performer like me operates and thinks when it comes to putting together programs. It will not be a daily blog but I will most likely post a weekly blog.
It will also serve to let others know of my new programs that I have created and also what I hope to achieve with these programs. Some of this will just be me as a performer and my ideas and some of this will be about storytelling and some of this will be about events that I have participated in.
I have been performing for over ten years now and I am considered by many other tellers in the field to be a master storyteller today. Yet I am not a regular at Storytelling Festivals (except at the TSA festival in Denton for the Ghost Story Concerts -thanks to Doc and Elizabeth Ellis) and that is okay.
There was a time when that was important to me but as I have grown as a performer and teller I have come realize that the most important thing about being a storyteller is to share the stories in such a way that is effective and inspiring. Of course not all stories are not meant to be inspiring but are meant to share ideas and morals. So it is important to succeed in this as well. For almost all folk tales impart some kind of moral idea or concept. So this brings me to the point of this specific blog.
WHY IS STORYTELLING IMPORTANT?
Our world, our history, our lives are all tied together by stories. Many stories are lost but somehow some stories survive and that is what we pass on from decade to century.
The reason some of the stories survive is because within them there is a truth that can not be denied. But what are those truths and why are they so important?
Let us consider that today we are surrounded by super hero tales and movies.
Why? because we need them.
We live in a time when our world is unstable and explosive and we would like to believe in a superhero who will go beyond our normal expectations and save us from ourselves.
Where does the idea of the super hero comes from. It comes from Mythology and the gods of the ancients; who were human and also gods. The superhero's of today are just new versions of the superhero's of ancient times (Greeks, Romans..etc.). So whether we realize it or not we are surrounded by the ties of storytelling. Through stories we find ties that bind us together.
There is a power in storytelling when a story is properly presented. The storyteller will propel you into their world of words and imagination. Like an author of a book the storyteller will allow your imagination to create pictures and scenes and actions. The storyteller will put you into the path of the main character's story and help you live their experience. The storyteller will help you past your disbelief and suspend reality. The storyteller will make their story live, breath, walk and talk. The listener becomes a part of the story.
Why is Storytelling important?
Because it enacts your imagination, it broadens your vision and challenges you views of life. It makes you think. It will make your laugh and cry. It might even make your reconsider some of your moral concepts. Yes, some stories are old fairy tales that we have all grown up with but modern day storytellers take the themes of many of these older stories (folk tales etc) and envision them in different ways. They create new stories out of the old or use old themes with a story about a person's life or struggles. In other words we update these old stories just like the superhero tales.
The stories of a storyteller whether they be folk tales or legends are all based on concepts that have survived throughout the ages. Basic themes and characterizations that have manifest themselves throughout history. Stories connect us with ourselves, past and present. They also help us to see ourselves and look at our actions from a different perspective.
This is why we need storytelling in schools whether it be elementary, middle or high and even college. This is why we need storytelling at churches (not just biblical storytelling) and in public events. This is why adults need storytelling. We need to recognize the value of storytelling. But the world is run by adults who believe that storytelling is just for kindergartner's and librarians.
I used to say that my goal was to convince adults that storytelling isn't just for kids!
I know that there are many adults out there that believe in storytelling and its value. I see them at storytelling festivals and a few other public events. But remember that our kids only find value in what their parents acknowledge as valuable. So if adults don't show value in storytelling neither will their kids. And one day we will loose site of who we were and are.
Storytelling is a bond. It is the stitch, it is the glue.
Why is Storytelling Important! Because it is what makes us Human.