A Year and a Day
Last night marked a year since me and Guy drunkenly stumbled into the monthly storytelling at Milgi's (every third Tuesday of the month) and I got up and told a story. Since then I have been every month and have only not told a story maybe three or four times when the floor spots were otherwise taken. I've probably told more stories at that event than the guests who get a cut of the donations and a free drink. Ho hum.
I've also been going (not quite every month but very regularly) to the Storytelling Circle at Chapter Arts Centre (every first Sunday of the month) and been telling stories there - usually, but not always, the story that I would later tell at Milgi's.
Since I have told a different story every month, I'm slowly building up a repertoire that I should, at some point, probably make a note of so I don't lose track of what stories I know.
It's been a fun year getting involved in storytelling. In December, Cath Little, who has been giving me encouragement from day one, paid me a compliment when she said that I always seem so confident when I'm telling stories. Of course, when I'm telling I feel the exact opposite and the entire time that I'm telling stories at Milgi's (ironically except for that very first time), I am always wracked with nerves. This is something that I feel a lot less at the Storytelling Circle, far more informal and you don't have to stand up, but I still get a wave of nerves when I know that I'm next to tell a story.
Of course, even the most experienced thespian will tell you that they get nervous before going on stage, so I don't think it's anything that will ever change, but the nerves really stem from how well I know the story. For instance, the story I told last January was one with which I was intimately familiar, having told it so many times (under very informal circumstances) that I could recite it backwards. However, last night was possibly the first time that I've ever told a story at Milgi's that I only read the night before. Not only that, but I also presented it in a unique manner that I'd only thought up that morning.
I was nervous as hell telling it, but everyone seemed to really like it. While they compliment me to my face, I really have no idea how the professional storytellers truly rate me. I'm obviously not a bad storyteller, but whether they actually consider me a good storyteller is another matter. I don't mind because I know that I've not yet made these stories my own (except for the ones I told in January and February last year and one or two others which, while not particularly well known, fell into place very quickly). Over time, I guess, I'll really get to grips with it. Not sure I'm anywhere near ready to go hiring out a room at Chapter to invite people to come listen to me all night, though.
I've also been going (not quite every month but very regularly) to the Storytelling Circle at Chapter Arts Centre (every first Sunday of the month) and been telling stories there - usually, but not always, the story that I would later tell at Milgi's.
Since I have told a different story every month, I'm slowly building up a repertoire that I should, at some point, probably make a note of so I don't lose track of what stories I know.
It's been a fun year getting involved in storytelling. In December, Cath Little, who has been giving me encouragement from day one, paid me a compliment when she said that I always seem so confident when I'm telling stories. Of course, when I'm telling I feel the exact opposite and the entire time that I'm telling stories at Milgi's (ironically except for that very first time), I am always wracked with nerves. This is something that I feel a lot less at the Storytelling Circle, far more informal and you don't have to stand up, but I still get a wave of nerves when I know that I'm next to tell a story.
Of course, even the most experienced thespian will tell you that they get nervous before going on stage, so I don't think it's anything that will ever change, but the nerves really stem from how well I know the story. For instance, the story I told last January was one with which I was intimately familiar, having told it so many times (under very informal circumstances) that I could recite it backwards. However, last night was possibly the first time that I've ever told a story at Milgi's that I only read the night before. Not only that, but I also presented it in a unique manner that I'd only thought up that morning.
I was nervous as hell telling it, but everyone seemed to really like it. While they compliment me to my face, I really have no idea how the professional storytellers truly rate me. I'm obviously not a bad storyteller, but whether they actually consider me a good storyteller is another matter. I don't mind because I know that I've not yet made these stories my own (except for the ones I told in January and February last year and one or two others which, while not particularly well known, fell into place very quickly). Over time, I guess, I'll really get to grips with it. Not sure I'm anywhere near ready to go hiring out a room at Chapter to invite people to come listen to me all night, though.