Wit & Wisdom
Roger Jenkins
storyteller
storyteller
© Roger Jenkins 2011 Made With Serif WebPlus.
With masks. I have a large mask collection built up over 30 yrs in Asia. I use full masks (eg Noh-inspired designs in a Japanese story about an actor) and half-masks - like the nerdy guy pictured here, as these allow me to speak too. Young kids can find masks too scary, so they need to be used carefully, according to your audience
With tangrams. I love using the tangram - especially with Chinese folktales. Visit my video links page where I tell The Road To Lhasa through an animated powerpoint using about 20 tangrams. Once kids have seen this technique, they become adept at it too.
Using kamishibai. A3-sized picture cards with texts (for novice tellers!) On the back of each one. For lovely examples of these Japanese storytelling sets, visit my Storystore kamishibai page.
With found objects! Puppets don’t have to be expensive. Plastic vegetables, soft toys, wooden spoons - virtually anything can be animated! It shows audiences how one thing can symbolise another, and subtly celebrates the power of the imagination as we see the umbrella become a hockey stick, Q-tip and satay!
With an interactive picture. This scroll unrolls as I tell - it’s the ‘longest’ story in my repertoire! - and the audience has to guess what the final part of the picture will be. Another craft idea is to use a picture book with pop-ups, sliders and windows, but due to scale, these work best with intimate (classroom) audiences.
Magic!
With audience members help! This works well with chain stories as they get longer and longer. The kids here are holding pictures to identify their role - and to clarify what a gecko and dung-beetle are.
With props. I use this model bi-lane to introduce the true story of Mildred Bruce, the first woman (and only the 2nd in history) to fly around the world. It’s a far cry from a Boeing 747 which we’re used to flying in!
A prop (such as this calabash) is useful in sharing cultural objects or adding realism - especially if the prop is strong enough to be passed around your audience!
A prop (such as this calabash) is useful in sharing cultural objects or adding realism - especially if the prop is strong enough to be passed around your audience!
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