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       Storytelling is a folk art as old as the cave dwellers, as contemporary as the bus driver sharing an anecdote with the toll taker. Stories have been passed down and passed around the world until we have a great embroidered web of countless tales, and more are being created all the time.
       Teaching Storytelling is particularly suited to ECRS, for it can be enjoyed by anyone who can talk and hear (and some who can't), can be done with any number of people and with varied experience levels. I often tell people, "We are all storytellers," and it's true. As teacher or leader of a storytelling course, I aim primarily to develop confidence in people, to have them experiment and experience telling stories and, secondarily, to develop skills and technique. Storytelling is not something where you can say, "Now you do this..."
       I use a wide range of activities (movement, games, dramatic activities and storytelling activities), to some of which people ask, "What does this have to do with storytelling?" Movement in place, limbering up, breathing and movement to drum are part of every class to remind us that our whole bodies are involved.

I play games...

Continuous Story With Rhythm: People stand in a circle, establish a rhythm (click left fingers, click right fingers, repeat), then tell a story (making it up) in progression around the circle, each person saying a few words or a sentence or two. The signal for passing it on to the next person is clapping thighs with both hands (clap, click, click).

Other good games include "Hands Down 54," "Signals," and "Simon Says".

I do dramatic activities...

Props: Use two props such as a large dowel stick and kerchief. Volunteers come into the middle and use one or both objects dramatically to show "what they are".

Passing Masks: In a circle, one person makes a "funny face" of their own face and turns to the person next to her; that person assumes the same face (as much as possible) and then changes it to another "funny face" and passes it on to the next person, continuing around the circle.

Transforming Chairs: Each person sits on a chair anywhere in the room. As the leader calls out various new identities for the chair such as "throne," "racing car," "dentist's chair," "cliff," "lion," the participants react and respond dramatically.

Then I do activities that provide focus for telling a complete (sometimes short, sometimes longer) story...

Name Story: Many people have stories associated with their names (first, last, nickname, fantasy name, changing our name). Ask for volunteers to tell their name story.

As I Went Up the Apple Tree (learned from storyteller, Doug Lipman): In this game one person tells a story from his or her own life which may or may not be true. Players sit in a circle and the first teller is chosen by a counting-out rhyme:

"As I went up the apple tree.
All the apples fell on me,
Apple pudding, apple pie.
Did you ever tell a lie?"

All recite the rhyme as the leader points to each person in turn (like "Eeny, meeny..." or "One potato, two potato..."). The person pointed to on the last word then tells a short story as though it happened to him or her: "I went down to the grocery store..." When the story is finished the listeners vote on whether they think it really happened or not. On the leader's count of 3, all listeners put out one hand with two fingers extended; the fingers are parallel if they think the story is true, crossed (as in "this is a fib") if they think it is false. Then the storyteller tells the group if it really happened or not.

The rhyme, storytelling and guessing are then repeated. The cumulative effect of several stories is very powerful. Listeners focus on determining the "truth" of the story, but that does not detract from listening to the story itself. Tellers have an opportunity to tell their story and to try to fool the audience. Everyone enjoys the game and the experience of listening to and telling stories.

Once Upon a Time There Were Three: The activity begins with this framework-

Once upon a time there were three (pigs, children, ants...)

• Their names were:
• They were on their way to (grocery store, moon, palace...)
• On the way they met (a dragon, a macho man, the Devil...)
• (Have a real conflict develop.)
• What happened? (Resolve the conflict.)

Each group of three people makes up a story around this framework, and then presents/tells it together to the whole group.

Tell the Story of an Object: Each person chooses an object (found objects like a shell, apple, or acorn, or something from a person's pocket or pocketbook) and takes it in his or her hands. The leader suggests questions such as: where did this object come from? what is it made of? what is its future? what does it want to tell you? Then volunteers tell the stories of their objects.

Short Folktale: The leader tells a short folktale (for example, "Bye, Bye" or "The Difference Between Heaven and Hell") in its bare-bones, simplest form. Then people retell it in their own style/details/approach, in pairs, to each other. Then one or more volunteers tell the story they just told in the pairs to the whole group.

       I use the above activities throughout the series of sessions in mix-and-match fashion, as I feel like it and as I sense the needs of the particular group, some shorter, some longer activities in each session. As we go along, I encourage people to find their own way of telling and their own story/stories, through creating and improvising in the above activities and through looking for congenial tales in books and their memories. I sometimes make a distinction between family (remembered) stories and traditional folk tales (found in books), and have people tell one or more of each kind. By the end of the week everyone has chosen a tale to tell, has some practice time in pairs and then tells the story to the whole group.
       Even the simplest of these activities can generate considerable discussion about the process of storytelling, which contributes to the development of confidence and skill and the awareness of the unlimited possibilities of storytelling, - where to go from here. At the same time, participants have had spirited and joyous interaction with other people, creative challenges and appreciation of themselves and others.
       Though of course people come into this class with fears and insecurities, they almost always have a great sense of satisfaction in telling their stories. There really is no wrong way of doing it. It is most important for the leader to be aware of creating an atmosphere of safety, especially by initially setting criteria for feedback that will respect people's vulnerability and differences.