© By Judith Black, STF Workshop Presenter
Much more than a chant or collective rhythm, authentic interactivity is the magic that elevates storytelling into a unique communal experience. The teller is present, relating completely through the story to the listeners before them. With it, stories told hundreds of times are still vibrant because we are listening to our listeners and shaping the experience for them. How can we define Authentic Interactivity? It’s not planned participation. This is a useful device planned and executed by the teller with the cooperation of the listeners. It’s not ‘shtick.’ This is something that occurred spontaneously, but then is imprinted and repeated again and again, as it first occurred.
Authentic Interactivity is when we, the tellers, are able to create spontaneous bridges between our listeners, ourselves, and the story. It is a unique experience that happens only when a skilled teller wraps a tale they know as well as the quilt they sleep with around a given audience. It is often the spontaneous responses, additions, subtractions, and adjustments that make both the story and the experience so very compelling and memorable for both the listener and the teller. This process is more often than not a subtle one that cannot be dissected, but can be detected:
A group of rowdy adolescents are pretending to do the famous sports field ‘wave,’ during a tale. Rather than scolding or scowling the teller says “The entire village waved the hero off on his adventure,” encouraging the teens to stand and accentuate their activity! The teller used AI to throw the net of the story around the rowdy crew, including, rather than excluding them.
A shy child, hiding behind a chair, finds that her shirt and shoes are the same as those on the story’s heroine, and she slowly emerges to enter the world of the tale. The teller used AI to help a child relate to the tale.
The story is barely touched, it remains whole in sequence and characters, but something has occurred that binds this story and you to that particular group of listeners and creates a unique experience. This is Authentic Interaction.
Want to learn more about authentic interaction in storytelling? Take Judith’s workshop, Authentic Interaction: Telling with Who and What Shows Up,(Saturday, March 24 from 10:30 – noon) at Sharing the Fire 2018. Visit the STF Conference Details page to register for the conference. Want to share your own experiences on this topic? Leave a comment.
About Judith: Oracle Award winner, Judith Black, has been telling tales for years exploring history from new perspectives, tickling familial dysfunction and delving into topics related to aging. She has been featured at the Smithsonian Institution, the Montreal Comedy Festival and ten times at the National Storytelling Festival. www.storiesalive.com
