Storytelling in Secondary Education
Storytelling to Light Up the Forest of Life
In the beginning, when we sat around the ancestral fire, the magic of stories acted as a guide to help us learn about our inner selves, our clan and the outside world. Nowadays it can help us overcome the challenges of the transition stage of adolescence where it can often be difficult to see the forest for the trees.
Since I firmly believe that the ancestral wisdom of myths and stories can help light up the forest of life, I offer storytelling performances and story-based workshops for young people in English.
Please click on the titles below to see the different options.
Tales from Around the World
We will travel with stories, myths and legends to different countries around the world. As we journey with the characters we can walk in their shoes for a short time and feel their fears, anger, frustrations, sadness and happiness and perhaps learn from their mistakes.
Depending on the age of the students the selection of stories may act as a prompt to explore and question themes of identity, friendship, relationships and even the great enigmas of life, death and creation: everything that is needed for a memorable journey to distant outer lands and to inner landscapes.
Technical Chracteristics:
Duration: 50-60 minutes, depending on the school timetable.
Public:Groups of 50. The stories change according to the age and English level of the students.
Space: A large room that is available to set up one hour before the performance starts.
My Celtic World
A magical storytelling session set in the beauty of the wild Scottish Highlands. Following the traditional rune of Celtic hospitality "When a visitor arrives there is food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place and stories and music in the listening place", I invite you to the listening place around the fire in my grandmother’s house to hear legends, riddles and secrets from this green, mysterious land.
We may feel, for example, the respect that the Celts had for Nature as we listen to stories about ancient, wise trees. We could visit a haunted cemetery where a giant ghost lives and we may hear a selkie story or perhaps find out what happened to Silly Jack. All of this is waiting for you in My Celtic World.
Technical Chracteristics:
Duration: 50-60 minutes, depending on the school timetable.
Public:Groups of 50. The stories change according to the age and English level of the students.
Space: A large room that is available to set up one hour before the performance starts.
Combined Storytelling with Narration Workshop
The tools of the narrator can be a useful support for students when they are faced with giving a presentation in public.
After a short storytelling session, the students will be invited to connect with their inner storyteller in a hands-on, participative workshop. Through fun, memorable activities they will practice some of their innate narrative skills: body language, gestures and expressions, tone of voice and the importance of pauses. They will also learn how to structure their story presentation, paying attention to the beginning and the endings. Everything needed to learn how to speak in public in a fluid and confident way for life!
Technical Chracteristics:
Duration: 2 hours.
Public: Groups of 50.
Space: The assembly hall or large room that is available to set up 30 mins before and where they can easily move around.