Around the world and back on Zoom

My Zoom workspace

A year ago, in the waves of pandemic panic, I also felt curious. I’d been half-heartedly playing with online storytelling. “What if COVID-19 is my virtual storytelling bootcamp?” I wondered. On March 16, 2020, I began offering Zoom storytimes every weekday. Now a year later, I’m still doing it.

From my laptop in Lawrence, Kansas, I’ve reached listeners and workshop participants in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Israel, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Colombia, all over the US, and probably other places.

Here are a few of the questions I get asked about doing this:

Don’t you miss live performance? Yes, I do, but there is still connection with the listeners online, and sometimes an even more intimate feel to the performances.

Does it work? Surprisingly well. I was worried that it would be passive, too much like TV, but I’ve found ways to engage even young listeners. I speak directly to them, and ask them to join in on songs, chants, hand motions and other silliness, just as I do in live performance.

Don’t kids interrupt? No. Early on I learned to put everybody on mute without the possibility of unmuting unless I let them. This cuts down on the frantic arm waving followed by “My…my…my grandmother…has a cat.” In my every-weekday storytimes, kids get on at 1:45 for the 2 p.m. (CST) show. They can talk as much as they want then, and at 2 p.m. I say, “What time is it?” They say, “Mute time!”

Isn’t it distracting when kids are doing other things? I’m used to it. During Zoom sessions, I’ve had kids eating, jumping on trampolines, reading books, playing, drawing, painting, wrestling, picking their noses and more. They’re also listening. I know this, because they join in when I ask them to. Also, they come back. I have the same children every day, one of whom (hi, Gianna!) has missed only one day since she began last March.

Can you make a living at this? So far, I’m fine. Some of the storytime listeners tip me. Though I make a little plea for tips at the end of storytime, I don’t expect them—and I’m always appreciative. Schools, libraries, festivals and other organizations hire me (and they don’t have to pay mileage or lodging). I set up workshops and performances on Eventbrite, such as the Russian tales for grownups I did in February and the story games workshop I’ll be offering again in March and April. I set these up so folks in various time zones can attend. I’m also doing a once-monthly storytime for kids in distant-from-me-timezones.

The pandemic also pushed me to start a subscription service to bedtime stories for kids. For as little as $5/month, listeners have access to more than 50 audio stories (no screens at night, please) with a gentle talk-down at the end. I upload a new story every week.

Do you prerecord stories? No. While I know many storytellers do, I don’t plan to offer this at this point. On my website and YouTube channel, I do have lots of stories available to listen to and watch..

When the pandemic is over, will you keep doing online storytelling? Yes. As a self-supporting artist, I know the value of having many ways to make my living. This past year has reminded me to stay nimble, stay lively. I might taper off the every-weekday storytelling at some point. For now, I’ll keep going. Feel free to stop by the weekday storytimes. It’s not just for kids.

I also appreciate referrals, so if you know of a school or library or other organization that would like to have a storyteller on Zoom, I’d love it if you pass my name along.

Let me know if you have other questions!

Storytelling live-ish

Imagine this: students in five schools in different parts of the world listening to one storyteller (me) in their own classrooms, and asking the storyteller questions via chat. I'm in my studio (otherwise known as my dining room). The stories are tailored to the audience. The schools pay a fraction of the price of a regular storytelling performance, with none of the travel fees. They can use smartboards, projectors or individual screens. The teacher clicks a link and they're in the session. 

Over the last ten months, I've been testing live online storytelling events using the Zoom platform. From the comfort of home, I tell stories to listeners wherever in the world they are. Here's my setup:

The first try was a short puppet workshop for a group of teachers in Brazil. The next was a presentation for a middle school in Texas, with a goal of bringing kids into an existing storytelling troupe. Then I told stories to two homeschooling families (full disclosure, they were already fans). Today I had two middle schools, one in Florida and one in Tennessee. The school in Tennessee had me in multiple classrooms at once. (Thanks to Mariana, Sue, Melanie, Kelly, Tom, Elizabeth and all the other teachers for being my testers.)

Here are a few things I've learned in the guinea pig sessions

• Make sure the cat is outside before beginning. He is charming, but a distraction.
• Mute the audience during the stories, or there will be a lot of extraneous noise (chairs scraping, the intercom, etc.)
• Use a wired connection, not wireless, for the strongest possible signal.
• Put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.
• Don't use a lot of fast hand gestures. Movement on a screen can get blurred. 
• Dim the brightness of the laptop screen for less glare on eyeglasses.
• Plan for extra time for questions, since it requires using the chat window.

I still prefer telling stories in person, but this is a great way to get more stories and workshops out into the world.

I'm ready to go live, er, live-ish. Soon look for pricing on my website for full performances, workshops and "story snacks" (5-10 minute mini sessions).

Have questions? E-mail me or put a comment below. 

Advice on telling jump tales

When I tell stories to older kids, I often start with a jump tale. You know, the kind of story where there is a sudden bit that makes the listeners jump. Afterwards, the kids usually turn to each other to laugh and talk about the jump. In order to bring them back to a place where they can listen, I give advice on how to tell these stories. Here's a clip from a show at a school in Quito, Ecuador last month, thanks to videographer Sandro Rota.

Shakespeare's inspiration

"Hmm, now that's a good idea..."

I've got a new program, Shakespeare's Inspiration, in which I tell versions of the stories William Shakespeare drew upon for three of his plays. That's right, his ideas were not entirely his own. Are anybody's, even the Bard's? He drew upon folktales and existing books to create some of the world's best plays.

I'm having so much fun with this program, I can hardly stand it!

I began working on this using Patrick Ryan's Shakespeare's Storybook. Pat's collection pairs seven plays with versions of the stories that inspired them. Since his versions didn't completely resonate with me (they're good, just didn't suit me), I dove headfirst into the source notes, emerging with three stories for three plays: the English folktale "Cap O'Rushes" for King Lear, the Irish folktale "The Haughty Princess" for Taming of the Shrew and "Amleth" from Book 3 and 4 of the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus for Hamlet. I'm hoping to add Romeo and Juliet to the mix. My goal is to get the students interested in the story so they can enjoy the play even more.

First, I explain why Shakespeare is important (at the excellent suggestion of Sharon Benson). Here's the nutshell: 

Shakespeare’s plays have lasted over four hundred years because he tells great stories, with strong characters, clearly showing universal human strengths and weaknesses. He does this with beautiful, interesting, often funny language.

Then I give a brief synopsis of King Lear, before telling "Cap O'Rushes" (known also as "Like Meat Loves Salt."). Though it doesn't end tragically, as King Lear does, the beginning is very much the opening of the play. It's fun to see the students realize that it is also a Cinderella variant.

I do the same with the other two plays, telling the synopsis, then the base story. The story of Amleth, taken from the 13th century Danish history, is the most intense. As a story of revenge, it's also the most violent, which is why this program isn't for younger kids. The students listen in profound quiet, taking in the images in all three stories. 

Then we have a question and answer period at the end. It's important for the students to have that reflection time, even just a couple of minutes.

I've prepared a study guide for the program, so teachers will have ideas for extending my storytelling. 

I told all three stories together last summer and have told them in bits since then. Two weeks ago, I performed the whole show four times in one day, for sixth grade classes (11-12 year olds) in Salina, KS. It went well! Here's a response from Debbie Webb, the teacher who arranged the school visit: 

[...Priscilla's] stories pull in her audience through voice and actions. She brought Shakespeare to a level the students could understand, and they were taken aback at how his stories were a part of their lives today. She enriched the lives of my students and left them wanting more. I, the teacher, can’t wait for Romeo and Juliet to blossom and be told.