STORYTELLING ABILITY
Once upon a time...
Those immortal words have led spellbound listeners on many a journey. Through time and place, earth and space, those four small beacons of light set the stage for a performance as old as man.
There have been storytellers as long as there have been stories to tell. Without stories, no culture or history would have been passed on to the next generation. The first stories were books without pages, words without print, pictures without illustrations. The good storyteller did not need a pen or paper or a paintbrush -not once upon a time and not now. He or she had far better tools of the trade.
The Irish call their storytellers seanachai, prounounced SHAN-ukh-ee and they are among the finest in the world. The kings called them bards. They were revered members of society. The storytellers of Ireland were welcomed into castle and cottage alike with open arms. Seanachai passed news and chronicled history, made heros of some men and cowards of others. The power of their stories gave power to the storyteller.
The great storytellers of time have much in common, regardless of their nationality or age of their birth. They have something special about them that improves story after story. Something rich in their voice that grows finer with age. Something sparkling in their eyes that entices like diamonds. Something wise in their words that never fails to amaze.
There is no story in the day to day activities of life until the story teller takes it and weaves his magic. There are no heros until their deeds become acclaimed. No battle won or mountain climbed can be appreciated until the smoke clears and the flag is placed on the summit. This is where the storyteller lives - in the telling of the tale for those not there to understand and remember so they might tell it again. There must be imagery and color, sound and texture, music without instruments and life where there was death. The storyteller must use their magic, their special gifts to bring what was then into what is now. And they must do it wihout only themselves and their words as pen, paintbrush and paper.
A storyteller may be a writer but not all writers are storytellers. The true story teller is a presence, a human presence. Many people tell stories but not all who tell stories are storytellers. You will know one when you hear one for you will be entranced by his voice, enthralled by his presence and unable to do anything but sit down in front of the fire, your back to the hearth and simply listen.
Storytellers, like fairies and elves, still exist. You must look for their magic and relish it when you chance to find it. And what, pray tell, if you are the storyteller? Ah, then embrace what you are and simply begin with these words...
Once upon a time...