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There's magic in the four words "once upon a time." Children settle in to their favorite grown-up's lap when it's story time and adults relax in anticipation of re-creating the warm feeling of childhood that came when an unfolding story carried them to faraway worlds and adventures that seemed real.
That mix of comfort and adventure returns to the Capital Region with the third annual Riverway Storytelling Festival, scheduled to take place at libraries and other venues throughout the area April 4-10.
"Storytelling is universal," said Mary Fellows, manager of youth and family services for the Upper Hudson Library System, who founded the festival with a former co-worker, Betsy Soares. "It's about human beings who have the same struggles, wins and losses. There's a connection between the storyteller and the audience; an energy that's exchanged. The audience is made up of strangers, but they're creating pictures in their minds. It's a way to feel connected to other people, through this shared experience."
And while we might all enjoy a good yarn, storytelling can also be a powerful educational tool. One of Riverway's nationally known tellers, Boston-based Derek Burrows, does a lot of work in classrooms and with teachers, using storytelling as a craft in itself and as a jumping-off point to other subjects.
"I use storytelling to get children to imagine things so they can be creative beings," Burrows said.
How does it work? He tells this story, a folk tale from his native Bahamas: A whale and elephant argue about who is stronger. A rabbit tricks them into a tug of war with a long rope that he ties to each of them. They pull against each other, into the water and onto the land. They finally give up and acknowledge that since neither of them can win, the rabbit must be the strongest. "From that story, we talk about geography," Burrows said. "Where do whales and elephants live? We talk about science: Where do whales go in the winter? Why? We talk about math; about size and proportion. You can talk about ethics: Was it right that the rabbit tricked the whale and elephant? You can talk about immigration. Elephants aren't native to the Bahamas. How did the elephant get there?"
Storytelling can also provide a link to literacy, as, for instance, when a story can be found in print. Stories about Anansi, the tricky African spider, and the Arabian nights, Burrows said, always prompt kids to ask if there are books on these subjects.
Middle school teachers Christine Fowler and Marilyn Michaels use storytelling in the seventh-grade "connections" class that they team-teach at Maple Hill Middle School in the Schodack school district.
"Connections is a language arts-based class that includes service learning projects," Fowler said. "Three years ago, Darlene Miller of the Castleton Public Library asked us if we'd be interested in storytelling, something she had received grant money for through the Upper Hudson Library System."
Mary Murphy, an Albany-based writer and teller of stories, has become the storyteller-in-residence for the connections class. She works with all five classes of seventh-graders, some 80-90 students, who tell stories to fellow students, senior citizens, mentally challenged people and other community members.
"All the kids learn public speaking," Fowler said of what storytelling gives the students. "It helps their organizational skills, because there has to be a beginning, middle and end of the story. Storytelling appeals to all ages, because there are scary stories for older kids and fables for younger ones. It also fits in with the state-mandated character education and service learning, since kids can pick stories about honesty and they're telling (the stories) in the community."
Murphy has a kick-off exercise that proves her belief that everyone is a storyteller.
"We sit in a circle and I ask them to talk about how they got a scar," she said. "The stories can be funny, gory, interesting -- anything."
Murphy also works with a group of about 12 kids who just can't get enough of storytelling in the Connections After School Storytelling Troupe. Members of CASST will tell stories to third-graders from the Albany city schools at the New York State Museum on Thursday, April 7, as part of Riverway. They'll also give a family performance on Saturday, April 9, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Albany Public Library.
Brighid Docherty is one of the seventh-graders in CASST. As was the case with Burrows and his family, Docherty's family has always told stories when members get together.
"I joined CASST because I wanted to be a better storyteller and make up my own stories," said Docherty, who also likes to write and sing. "It has helped with hand gestures and the group suggested different ways to twist the end of the story."
Docherty will tell a story her 14-year-old cousin made up about how the chipmunk and different parts of the world came to be.
While some Riverway performances are geared toward adults, some toward families and some toward children, at the core of each is a story that any group can relate to.
"We all love stories," Burrows said. "That's why we go to the movies. We all still tell a lot of stories. If we tell somebody our story, we really do exist."
JOIN THE CELEBRATION
The number of venues and events have increased at the Riverway Storytelling Festival. There will be 30 storytellers participating in 23 different events in this year.
The festival takes place at libraries throughout the area from Monday, April 4, through Sunday, April 10. The festival will begin with family programs at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library and the Petersburgh Public Library. Both are at 7 p.m. and are free.
Different events will take place every day that week. They will include storytelling performances and workshops for teachers, librarians and storytelling aficionados. On Thursday, April 7, storytellers and students from Maple Hill Middle School will tell stories to third-graders from Albany city schools at the New York State Museum.
Derek Burrows will tell tales for families from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at The College of Saint Rose.
The festival will conclude April 10 with an adult performance from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the William K. Sanford Town Library in Colonie.
All Times Union materials copyright 1996-2005, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y.
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