A couple of weeks ago I was performing at the Zwischen-Zeiten Storytelling Festival in Aachen, Germany together with a fantastic group of tellers including Joe Baele from Belgium, Ana Sofia Paiva from Portugal and Germany’s brilliant Hedwig Rost and Jörg Baesecke with their ‘smallest theatre in the world’ and an assortment of kitchen utensil puppets. It was a real treat to see some of Europe’s most inspiring storytelling work.
Before catching the train home, I spent the morning at Eijkhagen School just across the border in Holland, thanks to booker and storyteller, Lisette Oosterbosch. I had a great time working with the second and fourth formers. Here’s what they had to say…
Nieuws
Storyteller Emily Hennessey performer at Eijkhagen, CMC
07 oktober 2015
Monday the 5th of October the second and fourth formers of TTO listened to a professional storyteller Emily Hennessey, who tells folktales, wondertales, myths and epics from around the world for audiences of all ages. The second formers didn’t only listen; they had an interesting workshop of 100 minutes in which they developed their language skills (speaking and listening) and drama skills.
Emily creates an internal world of imagery and through the telling, converts that imagery into language. She encourages flights into fantasy worlds. It empowers both the teller and the listeners, stretches the imagination and broadens horizons, offering a deeper understanding of different cultures as well as the immediate world around the storytelling workshops. The pupils’ and teachers’ reactions were very positive. Hopefully we can invite Emily again in the years to come.
Thanks Emily and thanks Lisette Oosterbosch, who accompanied Emily to our school.
Some pupils’ reactions:
“ It was very entertaining and nice because it is not something we do very often.”
“ I liked it a lot because it’s an awesome variation from regular lessons, even though you’re still learning things.”
“ I think it was more interesting than an ordinary lesson. I play at the theatre myself and I think this storytelling is a lot like a play. A monologue where you have to imagine the story around it. I enjoyed watching this.“
“ First thoughts: It is going to be really fun because I’ve never seen it before. What did I learn? I learned that you don’t need props to make a story better, you just need your imagination. Be creative.”
