The State of Mind

 This is a ten minute read

Back in April 2022, as you may or may not have read, I had what I felt was my first real gig back in-person for a long time. It was certainly the first time since March 2020 where I was not 20 feet from the first row. It was certainly the first time since March 2020 where most folks were maskless and I was not wearing a mask, or a face shield. It was the first time I had had three large presentations to different groups of kids since the pandemic began. There was this wonderful, euphoric feeling of togetherness. It felt like a normal presentation – well three! The kids had been prepped on behaviour, there was some silliness, as it was the first event at the school with “an outsider” since March 2020, and it all felt wonderful and thrilling!

Since then, I have done a number of other first events as a visiting guest. Some have gone really well, others have been a little challenging. I am writing this because there are some folks, some performers out there who have not physically visited, in-person, a venue since March 2020, and things, I believe, have changed since then.

The amount of time people have been actively engaged in technology – screen time since the pandemic began, the amount of time people have been distracted by virtual meetings and calls, children who need help, and not being able to go outside and play to a large degree, has been huge, and at the end of the day many of us just vegged in front of a box or device. This has had a severe effect on not just kids, but everyone. I think we need to participate in a lot less digital engagement. AND I THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS THIS WITH PARENTS AND CARE GIVERS WHEN WE HAVE ACCESS TO THEM! We need to take time out for ourselves as humans, to disengage from digital content and seriously get back to analogue.

 

I am not a Luddite! I am NOT calling for people to throw out their devices, or run into schools and businesses and destroy computers and the like! I am suggesting that we step away from them for a while, go on a digital vacation, to some degree! Put devices in a time-out box!

I have been in schools on and off since the pandemic began, and since the beginning of 2022, have been regularly back in, in-person and I am seeing a difference in child behavior. This is at the elementary level, and middle school level. I am also seeing this with my own high school aged daughter and her friends - she is 17 and will start her final year of high school at the end of the summer. When I originally posted this as a letter to listservs I am on, I have heard back from others, including Milbre Burch who said: “I’ve seen what you describe from first graders to Masters students.”

I have presented Gilgamesh to sixth graders at a local school many times prior to 2019. The kids were spellbound by the story (and hopefully the telling). I presented it (at the same school) virtually, via streaming media during COVID. Because it was streamed, I have no real idea of how students were engaged those two years.

This April of 2022, I took Gilgamesh back to the school, in-person, in front of 6th graders. Same school with the same teachers, although in a different space. The reception was totally different. Lack of focus, getting up, whispering to friends next to each other were all happening which never happened in 2019 and the years prior to that. I had worked on Gilgamesh, probably more this year than in the past, and put a lot more work into being as engaging as possible, both with physicality and with word choices. And dramatic action! What I found was that the 'same' 6th grade students were behaving like 4th graders.

This is not my only experience this year. I have been into a number of schools, and performed at community events and found, to more or less a similar extent, children, students in elementary and middle school, have little attention span at all. I put a lot of this down to being remote for two years; having parents working from home, trying to work and engage the kids, and help them where possible. I imagine there was a lot of  - go play on your device, go watch a movie. Being stuck indoors for much of the first year, there was little play, little reading, just a lot of screen time. Habit forming, addictive screen time.

 

By doing what we do, analogue storytelling in front of warm bodies, we need to start with shorter stories, build up to longer ones, get the span of attention longer, larger, more resilient. The attention muscle has atrophied! It needs retraining. I believe we need to tell folks to read to their kids more often. Start with short stories, get into longer ones, combine stories. Heck, read them anything they will listen to. Discuss things with them. Get magazines like the Smithsonian or National Geographic and find articles to engage the kids, Mountain Bike Action magazine - anything! I think we need to be like that - try on multiple different fronts to engage young people, and retrain adults, quite possibly, based on a recent experience!

As storytellers, I feel this year, we need to be far more "accepting", maybe tolerant, way more patient with young people. It's Not Their Fault. We will, in my experience thus far, need to take more deep breaths, show patience, and try to work to gather them into the stories we tell, like a blanket on a cold day. From what I have seen this might be tough, and also not needed everywhere. We do need to be the fireplace where young people can gaze and lose themselves to their imaginations (which are being stripped from them by technology). They need to learn (for the little ones) or relearn (for the older ones) that the imagination is a wonderful (and much needed) tool and place. We need parents to realize that reading to kids, telling them stories, is so, so important right now. The tv and devices need to be Put Away. A return to analogue. And when we face children, young people this summer at libraries and camps, etc., we need to give them space and be tolerant of their behaviour, and guide them back gently.

Karen Chace on a 12-week class she led this year (and has led in the past many times): “Was every student difficult? No, but the vast majority had trouble listening, attending to their work, many were even disruptive during the interactive games, and practice time outside of class was fairly non-existent.”

And I have also experienced some wonderful interactions with students. In fact, last week I did three presentations at a large school (5 – 6 year-olds, 7 – 8 year-olds, and the last group 9–10 year-olds). The smallest group I had had around 65 kids in it, the others much larger. With each group I set expectations. The first two groups were amazing – wonderful, we had a lot of fun. The 4^th and 5^th graders (9 and 10 year-olds) were challenged in their ability to concentrate or sit still, or even listen. At one point in a story Goldilocks ran into the bedroom, landed on a really hard bed and cried out: “Crud! That really hurt!” Some of the kids, I think mis-hearing my British voice, told me I couldn’t use that word. So I said, Goldilocks ran into the room, and landed on the really hard bed crying out: “Bother!” Again, the kids called out, “You can’t say that!” So, I did the same thing again and again substituting the ‘bad’ word until I was using words like ‘shoe,’ ‘saucepans,’ and ‘fish hook’ until we agreed on: ‘Oh, oops-ee-daisy!’ and moved on. This took up about four minutes of the story as the kids cried out and then settled down before starting over again. This I would expect from 2^nd graders, not from too-cool-for-cucumbers 4^th and 5^th grade students. And it was fine. I tried other things in another story when one of the characters was granted a wish. I asked the kids (by raising their hands) what they might wish for. I used every trick in the book to engage on a more personal level and used some tricks that came to me, spur of the moment! They settled in, but it took time.

Like Karen, I had to have a serious talk with one of the kids (Karen had three and she eventually called the parents during her 12-week program). I rarely do this, and hate having to do this, but sometimes it is needed. Again, I don’t believe it’s the fault of the child.

 

This brings me to another point! At another gig with very little, delightful pre-school kids with wonderful parents and staff, I had some issues. It was a special event and held outdoors. It was hot and sunny, and I was placed in a pavilion, and invited kids and parents into the shade with me throughout my set. Some of the kids later joined me, but it got a little wild. Some kids walked about the space, some came and sat next to my feet, and one little girl for a while stood between my feet and rested her elbows on my knees and rested her chin in her hands as I told a story. Engaging the other children, and the parents continued, and after the story some of the kids went back to their parents. Some kids were whispered to, others were not. Those who were not whispered to came back and goofed about a bit on the pavilion platform.

When I finished and was packing up, a mother came over with her daughter. I thought we were going to have a nice little chat about stories, and by the look on the girl’s face, she though the same thing, but the mother then told her daughter to apologize to me for misbehaving. This was a parent who had said nothing to their child during the performance, in fact I wasn’t sure if she was the mother until that moment. The look in the girl’s eyes changed and I thought she was going to cry. I felt pretty annoyed myself. The parent had done nothing to educate her daughter, and her girl was just being a little preschooler – being who she was supposed to be. I felt the parent was the one who should have been apologizing. I said pretty much, just that – the girl was being a little kid, that’s all. No harm done. And that kids need good role models, they need guidance as to how to behave, especially when it might be their first sort of experience like this. I gave lots of smiles to both of them and hope the point was made.

Parents might need reminding that we, the performers, are not their children’s care providers. That care providers need to keep a check on their wee ones, that their wee ones might not know how to behave, but they, as parents, should be able to remember! I try to make light of a lot of this sort of thing and chalk it up to experience, and learn from it. We might have to tell parents that more than ever their children need active attention from them.

The kids have been through a lot, and I am sure many of these children have not escaped seeing or hearing about the horrific news about shootings. They are daily. Some are worse than others. There is so much division in the country, I am sure children feel that anxiety coming off parents and other adults around them. Kids sense a lot. We have to cut slack, as I said, breathe deeper, be more forgiving and supportive.

Again, from Karen Chace: “The principal was very aware of the problems and agreed the vast majority of students at the school were affected by the lack of social contact during the pandemic.” They are craving for contact, for attention. And it’s not all bad out there, as I said. We just need to be aware of the audience’s needs, and limitations. It is a changed world. As Fran Stallings wrote about her first time out in-person with children (K-2): “…they were great. Nobody moved, except with my gestures. Whew!! Teachers were dumbfounded. I credited the stories (with active participation tapping off excess energy). I’m glad we all survived together! Summer reading programs, with a wide range of ages and distractions, are a different challenge!”

And I Know we will rise to it. Milbre Burch again: “There’s a lot of work ahead, not all of it the kind you get paid for. Let’s all hold hands and jump!” Welcome to the new times ahead. Have fun out there and Love Your Audience.

Peace,

Simon

Learning the Art of Narrating Audio Books

I have to confess that this was a huge learning curve for me, but I have found some great mentors. As some of you know, I recorded my first audio book in 2012 for a local author and recorded it much the same way that I have recorded my CDs in the past.  Since then I have recorded a total of 10 books to this date.

Narration is not, for me, a question of sitting down and reading the book out loud. There is thought to the characters, who they are, and, of course, what they sound like. So far the authors who have got in touch with me have liked what I have done.  One of the things I was told by an audio book producing company was that I should learn to punch and roll.  This is very different from drop and roll.  It is a technique where you can, with certain DAW's, 'roll-back' to where you have made a mistake and the program punches in so you can record over said mistake. This eliminates the need to edit out clicks of the keyboard when you hit 'go'!  It is editing on the fly.  At first I thought it was easy, but then found I was missing and over-recording, or little bits or part of a word merged right into where I started, or I started too soon and my first word, or part of it was cut off!  It took about three days of constantly trying this to master it.

One of the things you need to listen for are mouth pops and clicks. Imagine you just ate your favourite meal and your mouth is still watering, it tasted that good! Then open your mouth and move it around. Hear those weird sounds? So will your mic if it's any good. You have to make sure your do not have that 'wet mouth' thing going on. Squeaky chair? Get rid of it. Find a solid chair that does not squeak! Clothes that rustle? Don't wear them! Cat in the room purring? Get it out of there! Kids playing in the basement rec room? Can't record if you can hear them.

I have been recording in my office, an ex-sunroom with two glass walls. One six feet long, the other 8 feet long. Big windows are BAD for recording. Sounds can travel through glass easily. We replaced one window because it had rotted out. The new window made a big difference but I can still hear sounds. I made two soundproof false walls and put them up over the non-replaced window which made a huge difference, and then added these rubber soundproof 'mats' on the new window. Worked really well, but I could still hear trucks driving by. A few weekends ago I moved the recording space out of the house and built a recording booth from all the materials I had. Pretty much dead silent. Nothing can be heard. I love the new space, although it is small.

So what does one do when one records a book? Read it all the way through before you do anything, especially fiction. I was told about one narrator who did not do this, and recorded a book and when he got to the last chapter, the author mentioned the main character had a southern accent. This was not mentioned before in the book. The narrator had to re-record all of the main characters talking lines with a southern accent.  One thing I learned to do was to make an audio and written file of the characters' voices. Some of the characters have large roles, but others have small and infrequent parts in the story.  By making a 'living' audio file of the character-voices as I do them, it allowed me to revisit - when the characters revisit at the end of the book, when they last appeared in the first chapter!  The written file is for a gentle reminder (oh, yeah, that was it), the audio for a kick on to the right path (what did this guy sound like?  Oh really, I thought it was something else).

One of the fun things to do, for me, is read the dialogue and try to hear the voice of each character as the writer might have, without making stereo-types.  So I try different things out and find some of the characters really come to life.  Obviously, to me, I do not want to make a too heavy statement on the two main characters, so the eventual listeners of the book can make their own picture up, so I try to make them neutral.  But other characters have real back-bone to their voices. With non-fiction one does not have to think about character voices!

When I have recorded my stories for CD or my website, I record them 'live', that is without a script.  I know these stories, so tell them as they come out of me, the same as if it were a live performance.  These are my words, not someone else's.  When I make a mistake, I stop and go back to a place and 'do over'.  Because there is music on my CDs between each story, it does not matter if I record on different days as my voice stays somewhat the same.  This is not possible when recording a book.  Especially when you get sick, as has happened to me once, or my voice gets rough, and slowly gets better - and you are working to someone else's deadline!

Then are snow storms and with those storms came snow days and kids at home!  College maintenance people and the town move snow around with their big trucks beeping and growling. In the summer the power or phone company, might be cutting and mulching trees up and down my street, and mowers! Now I know to 'get on it and work it hard' from day one, because you never know what will happen on day two! And the Audio Company I work with and when I am free lancing, we have a reputation keep.

The Audio Company have a number of quality control steps.  I record the text, or script.  A proofer listens to what I have done and marks up where I went wrong on a spread sheet and highlights the script.  I then go back and look these over and record the corrections.  My proofer was/is great.  It is amazing when you read quickly what your brain does and has you say!  From these I create a single audio file with the corrections.  Doing the corrections means trying to match my voice up today, with what it sounded like two weeks ago after shoveling snow off the driveway for an hour, or after a sleepless night with sick kids!  Like I said, I've learned a lot.

If you think you want to record books for a living, think about the amount of money you make on a single book, and how often you will get books to record. This can either be done for fun, for supplemental compensation, or as a full time gig. Royalty split books are fine to do, but not if they do not sell. If you want to make a living, I suggest staying away from those, especially big ones. All that time and stress has to be worth something and for me getting minimum wage for recording a book is not it.

I hope this helps those who are new or are thinking about recording audio books.

Be well!
Simon

Review - Elisa Pearmain’s “Forgiveness”

Elisa Pearmain’s “Forgiveness” – Collection of folk tales, workshop, or counseling?

Cover of CD

We all need forgiveness, or to forgive, even ourselves. ElisaPearmain’s double CD set “Forgiveness” is a must-have on many different levels. First there are the stories themselves. But this is not simply a collection of good folk tales, well told.  This is a collection of stories and knowledge which has been put together, very thoughtfully, as a program which uses stories to teach and to heal.

There is the glimpse at Pearmain’s skills, and gifts, as a counselor.  She brings to the front of the CD the forgiveness which is inherent in the stories Elisa has chosen and shares with us on the 2 CDs.  She teaches, through these stories, how we can learn to forgive (ourselves and others), exploring what we need to do first to be able to forgive and/or receive forgiveness.  Pearmain allows us to look at ourselves in a new light through these tales, and from that spring board, how we can grow.  The way the stories and narrative between the tales is presented, is not preachy or cloying.  Pearmain’s voice is guiding, gentle and strong.

“Forgiveness” also gives us the treat to discover, if we have not already done so, Elisa the storyteller, and what a strong storyteller she is.  Her delivery is natural, pacing immaculate, and her voice and style makes it wonderful to listen to.  She invokes sadness and joy in her telling, and each tale is given a power that few can deliver as well as Pearmain; more so, in the context of which she shares the stories.

The 15 tales (and the 8 sections they share) themselves come from many different cultures, traditions and countries. Two are personal stories: one of Pearmain’s own, and one from another primary source, and shared with permission.  These stories add to the power of the program, proving that one is ‘not alone’ in suffering or grief. There are also teachings, ritual, and meditation included to help understand, travel through, and learn.  The eight sections take us from ‘Getting Started’, and ‘Empathy’ through to ‘Letting Go of Anger’ concluding with ‘The Forgiving Stance’. Each section contains at least one story with a reflection or exercise to aid the listener “and those they serve to heal…[to] live more joyfully in the present”.

One could buy the 2 CD set for the tales alone: they are worth ever penny.  One could also buy the CDs for therapy work, or as a gift for those close to us who may be in need of such a program.  15 stories, plus the teachings included on the 2 CD program are very much worth the $22.50.  For more details on the stories, where the stories come from (there are very good sources here), and details on how to purchase Elsia Pearmain’s recorded “Forgiveness” program, please visit: http://www.wisdomtales.com/forgiveness.html

If Elisa Pearmain ever offered a workshop which is based around this program, or brought out a book, to explore and expand this program, I for one would be on board.

Artwork by Simon Brooks, copyright 2013

Giving back with stories

How often do you give back to your community or to an organization?  I am not talking about giving money, popping a check in the mail; I am talking about giving your time and energy to something you care about, or have strong feelings about.

Every summer for something like seven or eight years I have been going to a single week long camp held in Fairlee, Vermont. It is run by volunteers mostly and is only available to under-served kids from Vermont.   It is called CAMP! (if you were to say it out loud – or want to Google it, it would be Camp Exclamation Point).  The Aloha Foundation give them space to hold the camp at the last week of summer, when most other camps are over and done with.  The children have plenty of challenges in their lives, but CAMP! gives them a week to get away from it all and share, play, create, explore and have fun in a healthy and safe environment.  The camp is like most any other camp, but these kids are not as well off as most camp kids.  CAMP! serves those who have limited opportunities for such an experience because of a lack of financial resources, rural isolation, and disruption of life and education. Yet these kids are just like other camp kids – they are kids!

There is a sense of love for the children at CAMP! which goes beyond the ‘call of duty’.  CAMP! is a vocation, a passion; the councilors have a desire that these kids get some amazing experiences that they would never normally be able to have. Let me stress that, never normally be able to have.  Most of us have the opportunity to send our kids to a camp of some sort – be it a day camp for a few days or a week camp, fortnight or summer camp.  We have that choice.  But this camp is set up for those who do not have that choice, but CAMP! make it possible.  They get funds so even the most economically challenged family can send their children to paint, write, read, sing, act, sculpt, experience archery, learn to swim, do woodwork, learn about plants and nature, make new friends, know that they are not the only ones who have such difficulties, and of course make their own tie-dye tee shirts!

Each year I go to CAMP! to tell stories and volunteer my services. It is not much, I feel, but it is what I can do and this is how I give back to my community: when I go to CAMP!. For one afternoon, or evening, I perform there and spend extra time with the kids when I am able – and I try to make it so I am able.  Last night with a voice almost gone after a busy summer, I, along with colleague and friend Angela Klingler told stories to the entire camp before the kids were spilt into groups for individual camp fire stories based on age.  It is always fun to work with Angela as she is the consummate professional and has this magic about her when she tells the deep stories, which she did for the entire camp.  I have also worked with Angela around Halloween and know she knows some great campfire stories for all ages.  This is the second time she has volunteered to make the 2 /2 hour drive to CAMP! to tell tales.

I got to walk the hill with the eldest of the CAMP! kids and their councilors to a favourite quiet spot in the woods to tell tales and got to bring out some really fun and creepy tales for the ‘tweens and teens.  There is something about the darkness and the flames that can make a not-so-scary story seem quite spectacularly creepy.

This was in 2008, but feels like a few months ago!

These kids are great.  They are so appreciative of everyone.  I only appear for one day in one week in the year, but the kids remember me.  There are some kids who jump up and run over to give me a hug, there are those who jump out of seats to high-five me, and there are even more who simply grin at me or shout a loud ‘hi Simon storyteller guy’ when I arrive knowing that Wednesday night is story night.  And those hugs, high-fives shouts and smiles, and the stories I have to share are all I need.

Diving into Stories

For me, storytelling is sometimes like diving!

With the Olympics on, I was reminded of what it feels like standing on the high boards about to jump or dive. There is this fear, this sort of trepidation that goes along with a buzz, excitement and a knot in your stomach.  At least that is how it is for me.  I first want to put it out there that I am NOT a high diver, although I can dive.  And I am not talking about scuba here, I am talking about jumping off a bouncy fiberglass board, or a rock solid piece of a high concrete slab.  I am self taught and have never had a lesson.  I am a point and shoot diver and for me it was all trial and error.  Quite a fair bit of error too!

Stick Person

At first I jumped.  Nothing can go wrong, it is a straight, feet-first fall into the pool; you just need to remember to have your lungs full of air before you hit the water and your toes are pointing down.  If you flat foot it, it hurts - a lot.  If you don’t have enough breath, it seems like you might just gulp in a litre or three of water before hitting the surface once you are under the water.  You know you can do it, but standing on the edge looking 30 feet down into the water - well it is a long drop.  I have to admit there were a couple of times I walked back down the steps before I plucked up the courage to jump off that top board at my local pool as a kid.  A friend of mine, however, just went up there the first time, walked to the end and jumped.  At that point of leaving the concrete platform he could not swim. When he got to the side after coming up to the surface, he could!  That was how he taught himself to swim.

So I jumped a lot to get used to the height.  Figuring out breathing patterns is pretty important too.  I knew the time it would take to fall from the board to the point where I hit water after jumping a few times and getting the breathing wrong. It was quite a drop so I had filled my lungs the first couple of times way too soon and had to breathe out before hitting the water.  Not good!  But eventually I figured it out. For me, it was basically a little longer than a full lungful of drawn-in breath - I had to breathe out first, before that long slow pull of air in as I dived down.

Next, I plucked up the courage to sit on the end of the concrete board, feet dangling down, hands up in the air at a point, leaning back a bit, then rolling forward and dropping towards the water. I had of course done this a lot on the second board when I started diving, which was about 15 feet from the water and springy so I had an idea of the force of roll needed to not flip over and land on my back. The first few times the back of my legs got smacked by the water as I had not quite judged it right and spent a few moments waiting with smarting legs before trying it again.  But I tried over and over again until I got good at it.  Then I stood and dived, and although I had only one dive technique (jump, bend and go straight down), I got pretty good at it.  I got to the point where there was only a little splash.  And I can dive from rocks too, but only after watching others so I know there are no hidden rocks below a strange surface!  And I love to do it!  There is something about that moment when you leave the safety of the board and you are flying through the air, hoping that the angle is right and you’re not going to go over too far, or not enough and land on your back, or front.  I have done that and it hurts. A lot!

As I was thinking about this, it occurred that for me, it is very much like learning a new story. Or even storytelling!  You start with the smaller stories, or easieror sillier tales (the first board about a couple of feet or so off the water), until you can wind back the wheel so the board is at it’s springiest.  You can run the board, bounce really high, fold up in half and come gracefully down into the water.

Then you try the longer tales (the second board) until it feels as good as the first board.

And after that there are the deeper, meaningful tales.  Tales that you don’t just love, but stories you connect with on a deep level; stories that you find resonating within you like a tuning fork, a story that demands to be told – whether it is a personal tale or a folk tale. A story you put your whole being into.  You’re on the top board looking over the edge.  You might walk back down the steps, but you might just jump.  After all, when you bounce on the second board, you go almost as high (so it feels) as the top board.  So you take the story you have learned and you have it in your hands and you do that first jump.  Then you try the roll dive and then you stand and dive.  Will I make it to the water?  Will I fly through the air gracefully, or will I go over too much, or not enough?  Will it hurt when I hit the water? Will someone clap or appreciate what I just did?

Tonight I told a tale for the second time in public.  It was like walking up those steps, getting closer and closer to the ceiling, and the butterflies setting in.  But I had made the decision to tell it.  I made it my first tale so I could not back out and walk down the steps to the second board and choose another story.

The story is one I heard 4 years ago and love.  I have not heard it since, but it has been rattling about in my mind, demanding to be told.  So I learned it.  Then I got in touch with the storyteller I heard tell the story, Bob Pegg, and asked if he was okay with me telling it and if I had it right.  He told me "almost" and fixed my errors.  I have to tell a tale correctly or I would not be honouring it, or respecting its tradition. So I re-learned it. And checked again with materials Bob had generously provided.

When I told the story tonight it was a little like synchronized diving.  Bob was next to me on the board as I jumped, and his words were coming out, but as I got closer to the water, to the end of the story, I knew I was diving on my own.  And I know the more I tell the story it will become more of my own telling and less and less of Bobs.  They will be my words and phrases, my life experiences I bring to the story, my ‘spin’ if you like, but it will be true to the original, as true as it can be.  And then when I tell it, I know I will be alone on the board and the flight to the water will be filled with joy.  The name of the story?  Margaret of the Three Gifts, from way up in Scotland.