"The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”

-Brandon Sanders, The way of Kings

BEING HEARD and LISTENING: 

Storytelling, Community & Empathy

Everything is story.  And while perhaps obvious to some, it bears reminding ourselves and others especially in educational settings, in the workplace or at home where tasks can often overwhelm intention.  Wondering why immediately requires a story. Telling stories and hearing them is a uniquely human experience that transcends culture, class, nationality, background, identity, etc.  All the more reason for us to remind everyone we encounter that each of our NYC students represents a reservoir or fountain of youth-ful stories –many undeveloped, some meant to stay personal, and others begging to be shared.  We have all seen student’s sense of self grow or even balloon when they know they have a story to share–their own or even their investment in telling another’s story.  That’s often where you come in–facilitating the exploration of story and balancing the contributions of each student with the collective goal of collaborating and weaving voices. 

As theater educators we have the unique opportunity to put story front and center and encourage others to do the same in their subject areas.   Theater might be the story of the human condition but it is also the way we tell stories, recognizing the collaborative nature of all the elements (performing, space, design, direction, etc) that come together to recreate life as story.  We embrace story, but we should not be precious about theater. Every subject in school explores a story whether that of lessons learned from the past (History), from where we came and our role in the universe (Science), spatial relationships (Math and Geometry) and certainly the psychological stories found in English and Language Arts…you get the picture.  

Stories prompt curiosity –what comes next, where is this headed, how will it end?  Each of you has many stories to share of your theater work but also your personal journeys… just as every one of our students do.  Part of our challenge, or rather opportunity is to facilitate our students recognizing they have untold and yet lived stories in them to be valued and perhaps shared.  Regardless if performed, these stories remind us of our uniqueness and the potential for every student to contribute their perspective to making theater together, to discussing theater and to reflecting on other’s theater.

We are honored today to start with two master Storytellers, colleagues who will share their unique ways of working but also their vulnerability, their perspectives and their creativity.  My hope for each of us today is to experiment and take creative risks as we do every theater teacher PD, however to remain open to the core elements of story in all of the sessions in which you participate. Experience the newness of how and why the work resonates with you beyond activities you might use.  Why does a warm-up, activity, reflection or conversation land deeper for you.  As you play and discuss today,  perhaps consider how we can offer new and engaging ways to provide multiple worlds of theater making and storytelling to enable our youth to embrace their own stories and yearn to tell others. In this our last PD of the year, share the air, share your creativity, share your passions, share your stories.  

Peter

PETER AVERY

Director of Theater
NYC Public Schools Arts Office
www.iteachtheater.com