Youthful storytellers spun tales and won awards Friday February 12, 2010 at the Fine Arts Center’s annual storytelling contest, taking honors in three age categories.
Jessica Dean, daughter of Scott and Joyce Dean, won first place in the high school division with her performance of “The Mayor’s Golden Shoes. Her brother, Jason Dean, took second place honors in the division.
Andrew Wood, son of William and Andria Wood, took top honors in the fourth-sixth grade division for his telling of “It Could Always Be Worse”. Nathan Pace, son of Mike and Rhonda Pace, tied for second place with Emily Isaacson, daughter of Dave and Ginger Isaacson.
Leia Isaacson, also a daughter of Dave and Ginger Isaacson, won first place in the first to third grade division, for her telling of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”.
Winners received cash awards and first place winners are scheduled to perform at Art-Tell at the Fine Arts Center on Friday, February 26, at 7 p.m..
HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS :
1. Find a good story that you like. For beginners, we recommend a folk tale or legend, a favorite book, or a family story. Library sections 398.2 have many good “telling” stories. Just make sure it has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
2. Read your story several times so that you know it. Learn the repetitious lines. Then tell the main part of the story in your own words, ( so you don’t sound memorized. )
3. After you are familiar with your story, practice it out loud alone in your room so you can create characters comfortably. Use different voices and actions to define each character.
4. If there is only narration in the story, change some of it into dialogue (what the characters say) to make it more exciting.
5. Make sure you speak clearly. Speak up and be careful not to get quieter at the end of a line or sentence. Think “bring the end of the line up!” (and not down).
6. Look for and bring out emotion in your story: happiness, sadness, apprehension, etc.
7. Picture what is happening in your mind as you tell. If you can visualize it, your audience will be able to “see it”, too. This will also help you keep track of where you are in the story.
8. Practice your story out loud as much as you can. Practice in front of a mirror, then practice in front of family or friends. It is really good to get used to practicing in front of people.
9. Have confidence and go for it!