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Published on 08/11/1999 All articles from this issue

Storytellers enjoy time-honored tradition, plan 'storyswap' Sunday in Los Altos

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By Wendy Marinaccio

Special to the Town Crier

Los Altos is home to a group of young and old storytellers.

The Southbay Storytellers, with members from eight to 80, will hold its monthly "storyswap" this Sunday. It will take place at the United Methodist Church in Los Altos, where the group has held meetings and events since its inception in 1992.

"The emphasis is on the storyteller and the story listener," said Joy Swift, a longtime member of the group. She said about half of the between 15 and 35 people who attend the meetings just come to listen. The storyswaps are open to the public, and everyone is allowed to tell a story.

"We have a wonderful time," said Los Altos resident Paul Dexter, who founded the group. In his 80s, the Southbay Storytellers have dubbed him "grandpa."

He said he became interested in storytelling after hearing a woman tell stories to a group of 1,000 children. "She kept the entire room spellbound," he said.

Dexter then took a class on storytelling and began telling stories at the county children's shelter. He found his effect on rowdy children was similar: "In nothing flat, (the pre-schoolers) were on the floor in front of me, just listening like little angels," he said.

"I began to wish there was a storytelling group in the area where I could have some friends who were doing the same thing," Dexter said. "Storytellers are a kind-of gregarious group," he said, so "word kind of gets around." The new Southbay Storytellers put on their first story festival, Tellabration, in November of 1992.

Tellabration is held all over the country each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and this year, the first National Storytelling Week will culminate with the festival. It is the sole Southbay Storyteller event geared only at adults. Swift said they don't tell vulgar stories, but Tellabration stories are often "beyond what children would understand."

Swift said, "You listen to a story and you will perceive it from where you are in your growth. You may hear that story five years later and you will understand it differently, because you are changing."

The group also holds "Fifth Sunday Tales," a free, all-ages performance of all kinds of stories. The next Fifth Sunday Tales will be held Aug. 29.

Twelve-year-old Mia Lieberman has been a member of the Southbay Storytellers since she was 7. "It's one of my favorite things to do every month. I wish it met more often," she said.

"(Storytelling is) taking the backbone of the story and filling in your own details," Lieberman said. "It's a way of connecting the world without electronic devices."

Lieberman just took a storytelling class from Bob Jenkins, head of the Theatre Arts department at San Jose State University. She said it taught her "how to put the story in a direction, how to make the characters come to life."

She enjoys telling folk stories, which she finds while reading or listening to other storytellers.

Dexter said, "You can't very well tell as story unless you love the story itself." He has gone to great lengths to get permission to tell some of his favorite stories, as the group tries not to infringe upon other people's property.

Swift was looking for a new direction in life when she discovered storytelling. Now she is the camp storyteller at a Bible camp in the Sierras.

Swift related "Dead Aaron," a story about a dancing skeleton. She said she includes the creaks of the skeleton when she tells the story. "It's a very short but fun, playful story," she said.

David Kimball, a member of the Southbay Storytellers, became involved with storytelling after going through a divorce. "It's sort of a healing thing," he said.

He said people often get into storytelling when they realize "there's something else out there" for themselves.

"Everybody has a story," Kimball said.

The Southbay Storytellers offers help to people who want a critique on their stories. A small group gets together to coach each fourth Monday of the month.

Swift explained storytellers must learn to "tell a story from memory, but not memorize. You make it your own. Often a storyteller will embellish (the story), add to it, edit it."