Storytelling - invite me to inspire you

Invite me to inspire you:

I can create storytelling sessions to fit in with the curriculum, with projects, festivals and special occasions, or I can just tell stories for fun!

I can build workshops using traditional tales to encourage assertiveness, to bring local history alive, or to create your own riddles. Or I can create new workshops just for your school or organisation, because stories can do anything!

What can I do:

• Once upon a time. True or false? Listen to great stories from the past, then consider the difference between true and false, and historical and traditional. I often use pirate and dragon stories for this session.
• Happy Ever After? Stories about strong and clever girls, like Janet who saved Tam Linn from the Fairy Queen, and Savitri who outwitted the Hindu god of death. None of these girls married a prince just because they were pretty or had tiny feet.
• Tell your history. Turn your local history into oral stories. Learn to tell the difference between interesting historical facts and satisfyingly story-shaped ones, and discuss how true history needs to be. I have done this workshop with Leith and Edinburgh stories, but could easily research it for your local area.
• Stories that ask questions. Lots of traditional tales are built round questions, answers, riddles and wishes, and I can use them to encourage assertiveness and lateral thinking. Asking the right questions, giving the right answers, being careful what you wish for, and challenging fearsome beasts to impossible tasks.
• Twist your mind round riddles. I can tell the story of the first ever riddle and the horrible fate that awaited anyone who got it wrong. Once you get the hang of the twisty ways riddles work, you can ask and answer the most fiendish brain teasers. See if you can answer my favourite riddles, and learn how to make up your own.

These are examples of a few sessions and workshops I have done. But if there is anything else you would like, please ask! I love to be challenged to do new things with stories, because I believe stories can do anything.

How to get the best from me:

A Scottish travellers' proverb says that the story is told eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart.

Storytelling is most effective to a small audience. I would rather not tell stories to a gym hall full of children, because I will not be able to reach everyone individually with my eyes, even if my voice does reach the back row. Depending on what you want to achieve with a session or workshop, a single class is usually the ideal size.

The best way to ensure you get the storytelling that you want, is to let me know beforehand. Let me know if you are linking it to an occasion or project when you book me, not the morning I turn up. Let me know the audience size, and the space, so I can bring the best props and stories. Tell me if there are any potential difficulties (it won't put me off, it will just let me prepare). The more you tell me about the event, the better the event will be.

How can you book me?

You can email me on this website, or contact me through Scottish Storytelling Centre, where you can also check current fees for storytelling sessions and workshops.

Why book a storyteller?

Listening to live oral storytelling develops concentration and attention span, as well as a love of language, a wide vocabulary and an appreciation of how stories are put together. Sharing stories promotes confidence and sense of identity.

Stories are one of the most basic ways that we create living links to our past and to people and cultures all around the world. And they are great entertainment for all ages!

In schools, storytelling fits very neatly into the Curriculum for Excellence, helping teachers encourage successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Why book me?

I am passionate about promoting the power of stories, and how strong stories well told can inspire everyone.

And I never do the same session twice. Before I arrive, I'll chat to you to tailor a session to fit your requirements. Once I get there, I tell each story differently every time because I am watching people's eyes as I tell it. I'll have great fun doing it. I hope you will too.

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Events

Saturday 5th September
Braidburn Park, Edinburgh
Community fundraising event for Friends of Braidburn Valley Park
Wolf Notes storytelling
2.15 pm – stories for all ages
3.00 pm – stories for over 8 years

Tuesdays 8th and 15th September
Electric Tales
I’ll be taking part in a project linking storytelling with stand-up comedy
This is NOT an event suitable for children!
8th September 8.30pm
The Stand, York Place, Edinburgh
Tickets from 0131 558 7272
15th September 7.30pm
Scottish Storytelling Centre, High Street, Edinburgh
Tickets from 0131 556 9579
www.electrictales.com

Saturday 26th September
Dundee Reads!
Steps Theatre, Central Library, Dundee
Storytelling and book readings, with plenty of wolves, dragons, monsters and magic 2.30 pm
Further information soon


view all events »

First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts

From the Borders, through Orkney and on to Edinburgh‘s underground streets, First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts is a skilful blend of fable and fiction as Helen embarks on an exciting race through Scotland‘s diverse landscapes. Accompanied by an array of creatures from mythology and folklore, Helen and her fantastical friends must solve a sequence of riddles in order to recover the lost Book before the Winter Solstice.
find out more »