Focusing on the art of storytelling

A new course which teaches about the art of storytelling is set to launch next week.

Beginning on Monday, November 14, Eli Anderson, a graduate of OBV’s Magistrate Shadowing Scheme in 2006, will begin leading storytelling course with the theme “Storytellers have the power to change lives.”

The course will allow students to learn more about the craft of storytelling and hopefully have fun while doing so. It will run for three sessions at the Naked Turtle, a jazz restaurant and bar in Richmond.

Anderson, who has been a storyteller for 25 years, described his involvement in storytelling as ‘a way of trying to enable my sons to acquire a kind of understanding of their environment and their life’.

He said,

“I was given stories, and those stories have helped me make sense of my life and situation and give value to myself and others.”

Anderson added that the course’s ability to inspire those who take part differentiated it from others.

“Everyone is a storyteller. It can change your lift. It can make you believe in yourself, which is much more powerful than any other course.”

Because Anderson emphasizes the power of storytelling as an art form and a medium to share wisdom, the classes will focus on stories that allow people to explore both themselves and others.

It is the hope of the instructors that people who take part in the course will discover more about themselves while becoming better storytellers by harnessing the power of the spoken word and sharing their experiences.

“Storytelling is much more than sitting with a group of children or older people. It fundamentally says to people that we can do better, that we have the resources. We are social beings who need to be loved. We need to support and empower each other. If you can do that, the world will be a better place."

He added,

"When you have listened to a story, and it has made you laugh or made you think, you’re never the same. Something in you changes for positive. Never for the negative, always for the positive."

If you are interested in learning more about this storytelling course, go to http://www.eakan.co.uk/eAkan/Storytelling_VTTA_courses_2011.html for more information on the meetings and how to enrol.

Danny Mucinskas