Blog ; Denton Scare on the Square

    October 29 ,2011
    Saturday night at the Denton , County Court House,  Scare on the Square Ghost Story Concert.
    The ghost story concert was lots of fun with fun stories for the kids outside and the adult tales inside the court house. I want to share my appreciation of the other tellers and their talent and donated time for this concert.  Every teller did a great job and a good time was had by all. I would like to thank Genie Hammel for putting the concert together and the other tells were, Tim Couch, Maryann Clark and Janet Latham.
     What most audiences don't realize is how much a storyteller feeds off of their audiences faces, eyes and even their bodies. During the lawn concert, I was the last teller,  I asked the kids to come gather around closer to me  for the story and about a dozen or more plus a parent did. The reason I did that is somewhat selfish.  I had decided to tell a jump tale and that requires that I be in close contact with my audience but the main reason is that I needed to see your eyes and your faces. I feed off of your reactions to my story and without that ' 1 on 1 ' interaction storytelling looses its some of its power. We also had joining us a signer with what I believe were his kids or a group of kids and he did a great job.
      Storytelling is an intimate and very personal process which has greater impact in close quarters. Sound systems are wonderful but they should be there to help the storyteller be heard but that does not mean we should be telling to 1,000 people at a time. We have been seduced by the use of technology into playing up to larger audiences for the sake of time and money. Really I do understand this and how it came about and I have myself performed on the big stage but just because that is how it is done doesn't mean that is the best way. We (Storytellers and our stories)  are not movies or theater plays that are designed to entertain large audiences. We are only ' One ' and we are meant for small groups.
      The courtroom setting inside the courthouse is absolutely awesome. It is my favorite venue and perfect for almost any kind of storytelling though ghost stories do work particularly well in that setting.
   I only had time for one story last night in the court house and again I was the last teller (which by the way I enjoy being)  I performed the one story that I wanted to tell the most 'The Erl King' which uses the idea of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe poem as its basis and theme.  This performance takes me back to my earlier dissertation regarding feeding off of my audiences faces. I had practiced this story 7 or 8 times trying to develop how the presentation would go. You have to understand that storytelling is more than just telling a tale. A certain amount of theater is involved as well.      
      To be honest I never really know how a story will come off until I perform it because the story doesn't really come to life until I am in front of my audience. Again this goes back to having an intimate audience but admittedly not all stories requires intimacy. [ Some stories like 'Jack Tales ' don't require intimacy to tell or for the audience to enjoy but even stories such as this will benefit from a small audience.]  So last night for the first time ever I told ' The Erl King ' not knowing if it would work or not.
      I can't begin to tell you how this works. How my mind kicks into gear and how all the practice suddenly fires up and something that had not existed moments before comes to life. ( it's kind of like Frankenstein "It's Alive... It's Alive...) It is hard to explain how I suddenly find myself improvising as I tell the story or how looking into the eyes of my audiences fires me up like a rocket going into the 3rd stage boost. It is all very surreal as it happens and takes me into a level that is even a mystery to me. The point is though that without that intimacy of the audience I don ' t get the same kick. Otherwise I might as well be telling my story to a wall. It is not that storytelling to a large audience can't work , it is more of a case that it is limited in how it works. So what happened last night I really can't explain. It is a mystery even to me. But what I can tell you is that it is a result of interaction between me and the audience. When I first discovered the Erl King  Poem nearly 5 years ago I immediately wanted to find a way to tell the tale. Finally last night I did and it became a powerful story just as I had hoped it would.
    I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunities that I have experienced as a storyteller and that includes the good and the bad (believe me there has been plenty of bad as to me and the setting and even audience). But it is moments like last night that make them all worth while.
    I would like to thank all who were there last might in that court house room as I told the tale of the Erl King . Thank you for letting me look into your souls and feed my story with it. It was your eyes, faces and bodies that breathed life into that story.  I was just a vessel through which the story took shape.
Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to share

Gary Whitaker aka the Storyman

Halloween Ghost Tale

The Erl King Story 

By Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

WHO rides there so late through the night dark and drear?
The father it is, with his child so dear;
He holdeth the boy tightly clasp'd in his arm,
He holdeth him safely, he keepeth him warm 

Thus begins a nightmare unparalleled. The Poem of the Erl King is about a Sprite or Spirit much like a Banshee. It is envisioned as a malevolent creature who haunts forests and carries off travellers to their deaths. The original story developed out of a ballad called Erlkönigs Tochter, or the Erl Kings Daughter by Johann Gottfried von Herder in the late 1700’s. In that version it is a women that ruthlessly calls to the dying.

    Of course stories, legends and folk tales blend and grow creating a monster of epic proportions. Eventually the Erl King becomes a male creature who feeds on fear, hate, mistreatment, lack of love and the many other weaknesses that children of that day would had suffered. Eventually it becomes a creature that seduces children who are unwanted or maltreated into its world promising the child a mother who cares, comfort, food and fun. When in truth it only won’t the child so that it can feed on its soul and suck the life out of it. As to the treatment of children in those days , If you wonder about what I speak of,  all you have to do is read the Grimm Tales. It is full of stories about children being mistreated or cast aside.

   I discovered the poem about 6 years ago and I was immediately drawn to it. I even wrote story using the Erl King as my main bad guy but have never been able to get a handle on the original poem so that I could use it for storytelling. The Poem is a subtle story that plays on the most basic of childhood fears. In fact the story is quite direct and simple. The simplicity of the story was not an issue but what I lacked was a back ground story to weave into the original poem and a way to properly set the mood for this story.

    I played with many devises off and on while trying to find a way to make this story work for me. In a recent version that I wrote using this poem as the main inspiration I finally found what I was looking for in a background story but still the question remained ‘how to use it’. I wanted this to blend flawlessly.

    I find it funny how my mind puts things together. Oft times I have no idea that anybody is up there at all. Somewhere in those dark recesses of matter hiding in a tiny cubby hole was a little brain blob just waiting for the door to open. Sometimes I think it must use a pry bar to get it open but oh well. It is what it is, whatever it is.

   Yeah something up there connected and a very simple solution presented itself that works and I liked it. So in the end I am able to use the basic structure of the poem as is along with a perfect back story and incorporate the beginning and end of the poem in the process. The story is not long, maybe ten minutes at best. I still haven’t practiced it all the way through but that will come. This will be a case of presentation making this story work and so practice it I must. I have learned over the years how important basic simple voice inflections can change how the listener hears what is being said. You can literally lead your listener by the ear down the path you want them to go. In some stories this is more important than in others.

    This coming October 29 I will get to use this chilling tale at the Denton Courthouse ghost story concert in the adult storytelling program inside the courtroom. I got to perform inside the courtroom a few years ago when we used the inside for the first time and it became one of my most favorite settings.

     I will dedicate this story to one of my best friends Elizabeth Beamon who will be celebrating her 60^th birthday that night and will not be able to attend the program. So here to you Liz! Happy Birthday Sweety and thanks for the support and friendship.

 All My love

Gary

Class of '71, 40th Nolan High School Reunion and Southlake Bob Jones Nature Center Festival

Class of '71 ,40^th Nolan High School Reunion and Southlake Bob Jones Nature Center Festival

  I found myself looking back at old faces this last Saturday night at Picosos Restaurant up in the old North Side area of Fort Worth. I had come grudgingly to my Nolan High School class of 1971 Reunion. The buddies that I had run with in high school are all gone now. I know of one dead for sure and the others I just have no idea. Time can be a cruel mistress sometimes. So I really didn’t have anyone that I thought would remember me that I could share memories with at the reunion.

  I had been asked by David Eishen, the class mate who put this reunion together, to tell a story once he had discovered my side profession. Based on nearly 15 years of performing I was not of a mind to work a program in a dinner setting and especially amongst old class mates who I had no doubt  had a very different memory of me. Generally these type of non professional settings seldom work well for storytelling. I argued with myself over what to do. I wanted to do it but my fears were rattling my old chains mightily.

  Eventually I gave in and agreed to do it but why I am not sure.

  The next issue was what kind of material to use. I wanted something that I thought they could connect with. Though fairy tales can be lots of fun and there are some that you can adult up considerably, I pushed that aside. I considered doing some Adult Material that would delve deep into morals and choices.

   Yes I could make them sob! I could wrench their hearts with an emotion tale of woe and hardship.

   NO ain’t gonna do that. We’ve probably all sobbed enough as it. After all most of this class is close to 55 and over. I’ll be 60 this year. So I blew that off.

   Then I decided to shoot for a middle ground. A place that we all remember with great fondness; Our childhoods and youth. So I decided on Summer of the Red Dragon and I was glad that I did. This is a story set in the 1960’s and is about two boys and their adventures. It is a fun story. So I performed the intro to the Red Dragon.

  I still wasn’t sure how they would respond to me and to this. I had really enjoyed mixing with the class members who had come and to my amazement many remembered me. Many old memories had been dredged up and many stories had been exchanged. After Dinner David introduced me. I don’t even think that he had any idea of what to expect from me.

    So with a short explanation of what I did and the reasons for my choices I launched into the story with zest. Vividly I described a time period that is near and dear to us all. And then suddenly all was quiet. They had stopped talking and gathered round to see me and watch me. Their eyes and faces intent with focus and interest. I knew I had them. They were with me walking down those paths.  So I lead them down those ancient trails and brought them into my world, word by word, step by step and lead them into the magical world of the Red Dragon.

   At the end of my story I received a very strong applause and was surprised and glad that I had made this choice to share my passion. I don’t think that I will ever forget it. Those faces, those eyes, those memories. Once again my instinct had not lead me astray. I had chosen well.

   On Sunday I was to perform for The Southlake Library at their fall harvest Hike festival being held at the Bob Jones Nature Center. This was my first time to be performing at this location. I wasn't sure how this was gonna work if at all. My old friend Elizabeth Beamon had suggested me as a storyteller along with DeCee Cornish. Decee and I are old friends going back 15 years in storytelling. We have performed at the same functions dozens of times.This time we were set up in different locations and ran two separate storytelling venues set up at different times. It worked quite well.

   I ended up down the trail with a background setting of an open meadow and a path running right through my storytelling area (It turned out not to be an issue). Before me were rows of benches big and small and soon I found them full of kids and adults stopping by to listen to my stories. The kids and adults were good listeners and a fun audience.   

   Southlake had an excellent turn out and I truly enjoyed myself. The audiences were great and storytelling lots of fun. I did a variety of stories including Lazy Jack, One Shot, Big Foot Wallace and the Hickory Nuts and closed with a Scottish Tale Called The Ogre of Castle Grim. 

    I want to thank Cynthia Pfiedderer who also helped me at the festival and Nancy Roper who invited me and set me up. I hope this will become a annual event because I would have loved to bring my grandson to it (actually Grandmama or his mother would had to do that but you get the picture). I hope also that I will be invited back for future storytelling events.It is these kind of events that are so much fun to work and give so much back to the public.

  So all in all It was a good weekend and one I will not forget for a long time.

   To all of my old school mates May the Good Lord watch over and protect you and bless the rest of your days.

  All for now

Take Care and God Bless

Gary Whitaker aka The Storyman