THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
THERE ONCE was a little boy who loved to hear his teacher tell stories.
Every Wednesday, at storytelling time, he would scurry to the front of the room and sit as close to her as possible. Then, one day, he knocked some books off a desk as he hurried forward, and he had to stop and pick them up.
Well, by the time he got to the front of the room, his favorite spot had been taken by two other boys, each named Richard. The little boy was so miffed that he took a finger and poked Richard I in the back. And, of course, Richard I squealed and blamed Richard II.
In just a few minutes, the little boy took a finger and poked Richard II in the back. And, of course, Richard II blamed Richard I.
In just a few minutes more, the little boy took two fingers and poked both Richards in the back at the same time. And both Richards were sent to the principal's office, and the little boy slid into his coveted front-row seat to hear his teacher tell a story.
``A true story,'' said Bill Blake, president of the Norfolk Story League. ``I actually did those things.''
And the moral is: When the league holds its spring workshop Saturday, let Blake have the front-row seat.
The Norfolk Story League was founded 42 years ago, but its roots are much older.
``Storytelling is really the oldest of the language-arts forms,'' Blake said. ``Before there was Gutenberg, before there was radio, there was storytelling. It was the educational tool. We want to see telling come back into prominence.''
With about 40 members, the league provides storytellers for schools, nursing homes, civic leagues, museums, festivals - you name it. The league recently wrapped up a week at Nauticus, where members told sea stories.
The only other story league in Virginia is in Richmond. The National Story League's annual convention will be held in Williamsburg June 20-23.
Membership in the nonprofit organization is open to anyone wanting to learn about stories and willing to tell stories. A junior story league meets at the Larchmont branch public library on the third Saturday of the month; the adult league meets the first Thursday at Virginia Wesleyan College.
The league's main emphasis is on reaching children, but members will tell stories to any audience.
Barbara Hartin stood before the second-graders and told the story of her life. Every pupil was riveted on Hartin as the story's 8-year-old pioneer hero, Jonathan, turned over an iron kettle and tunneled through the snow to hide from bears.
Wait a minute. This is Hartin's life?
Indeed.
Stories are Hartin's life, her profession and her hobby neatly woven into one tale. She stood before the class at Portsmouth Catholic Elementary School and caught their attention immediately.
``Ssshhhh,'' she said, ``I don't want to have to talk too loud, or the frogs will jump out of my mouth.''
That did not dissuade one girl in the front row. Her chosen seat was so close that the teacher's skirt brushed her forehead.
``Take one scoot back,'' said teacher Donna Henry. The girl edged back a millimeter. ``Take another scoot.''
Bill Blake could relate.
``C.S. Lewis says that an imaginary castle is much to be preferred to a real one when it comes to unlocking the doors of imagination,'' Blake said. ``There is a link between listening and writing. There are definitely benefits for building concentration and attention.''
It sounds so serious. But the monthly meetings are so much fun.
First order of business: You there, in the second row, tell a story. Susan Corbitt reeled off the tale of ``Wanda's Roses.''
You, two seats down, tell a story. Carolyn Pratts told of the Russian tailor who met Christ through the people he invited into his shop.
There is a religious aspect to the story league, although it is non-denominational. The meetings include a collect, addressed to the Master Storyteller.
The Saturday workshop will include a session on religious stories for children ages 2 to 10.
Of course, it also includes two sessions on how to tell stories.
``The storyteller is a venue for the story,'' Blake explained. ``Everything comes into play. Your voice, your body language, the tone, the pitch of your voice. So much of that carries the story.''
Hartin, as she related the story of Jonathan and the bears on Hemlock Mountain, humped her back like a stretching cat and sniffed for imaginary cookies.
``Finally,'' she said, ``Jonathan got so nice and warm that his eyes began to slowly . . . slowly . . . slowly . . . close.'' A child yawned.
Hartin's voice dropped looowww and soft as Jonathan crept through the dusky woods, fearing to meet bears. Not a child dared take his eyes off Hartin's face.
When Jonathan was finally safe at home, the front row stirred. ``Another one!'' shouted a girl.
So Hartin told of the Incredible Shrinking Shirt. Then, with an Irish accent, of Michael O'Grady and the leprechaun. And then the last one, of the tailor who sewed himself a coat and wore it until it was tattered.
But, Hartin said, there was just enough good fabric left in it to make a jacket. Then a vest. Then a hat. Then a button. And when the button wore out, the tailor was ready to pitch it.
``But,'' Hartin said, ``when he looked at it, there was just enough good fabric left to make - a story.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Vicki Cronis\The Virginian-Pilot
Storyteller Barbara Hartin of the Norfolk Story League tells tales
to second-graders at Portsmouth Catholic Elememtary School.
Andrew Quilipa, 8, and his Portsmouth Catholic classmates are
absorbed by the tale Hartin is telling.
Graphic
To schedule a storyteller for your organization or activity, call
Shirley Sellers at 423-4326.
KEYWORDS: STORYTELLING by CNB