Bardic Storytelling

“Obitusism” and “The Last Village” by Kt H.

My project for storytelling was writing and telling two stories. I’ve audio recorded “Obitusism” and “The Last Village.” In class, we explored different aspects of stories. Each one presented a unique challenge. I really wanted to challenge myself the most, so I wrote two stories. The first is “Obitusism.” As I was brainstorming my story about relics, we talked about how objects had their own personalities. This reminded me of the book series, “The Lunar Chronicles” where robots have personality chips that make them unique. I also wanted to write in the thought process of a villain, to see their mindset. Obitus wants world domination because he’s power hungry and wanted what he used to have as a God. My second story is “The Last Village.” I was challenging myself to write something that isn’t magical fantasy. I wanted the world to seem scientifically feasible. I was also playing around with what we are experiencing this year, with the pandemic and environmental issues, and imagining how they would shape our world. I struggled most with actually telling my own stories to people. At first I had to confront my stage fright, sharing my own, personal ideas. I realized the more I presented, the easier it became. I still struggle with stage fright, but I see I can work through it. I also discovered that I was good at dialogue and characterization. My teachers reminded me with each performance that I could really make the characters live.

X-BUK and Rineco Fox by Tegan B.

Tegan wrote and presented two original stories. His first story, X-BUK, was inspired by our conversation and writing on monsters and relics, recognizing that a monster does what is natural to it. He takes a science-fiction approach to the story, adding the unique element of telling a story through journal entries. Tegan's second story, Rineco Fox, was inspired by our conversations on fables - the need for a moral - and the rule of three in fairy tales. He tells a story of redemption or damnation in three phases, and three dreams

“The Fox and the Hare” and “Ciltamina” By Giselle L

For my celebrations project, I presented two of my stories that I wrote in the storytelling class. The reason I chose my creation story, Ciltamina, and fable, The Fox and the Hare, is that I wanted to do one story that played to my strengths and one story that challenged me. I know that I give speeches and presentations well, which is represented in Ciltamina. My fable stretched my performance abilities, requiring me to do voices and characters within the story. I enjoy stories that follow the hero’s journey and have a longer storyline. For my creation story, I wanted a plot twist and to give a feeling of tradition as if we were celebrating a holiday and there is a story to go with. For my fable, I thought of Aesop’s fables and children’s stories. I got to practice my creative writing skills and presentation along with being more confident when performing. Every week I was working on my writing skills then would present to the class. I worked on my speech and how to slow down for a better presentation. Overall this class has pushed me outside my boundaries but was also calming.

Tales of a Sojourn Chorus By James Golston Jr

Tales of a Sojourn Chorus is a story prompted by one of Bardic Inspiration: Storytelling topics Monsters & Relics. This story is leaning on the relics side of things. The inspiration for my story primarily stemmed from the interconnected book “The World Doesn’t Require You” by Rion A. Scott. The idea is of a central city telling different stories throughout time dealing with the same relic. The only variation being the title, name, or image people give to the relic is what I attempted to portray in the transitioning outfits, hairstyles, and rhymes. The primary thing I want viewers to take away is their initial interpretation of who the characters are or what the relic is in their own life. Is there an item or moment that changes forms the more time passes. Would you give up everything for it or continue searching past its illusion. My final takeaways from the writing process is a new found joy with playing around in diction. I learned that my writing within storytelling leans towards fable or play in structure. In presenting I learned how expansive performance is, comparing this experience to: spoken word, presenting written poetry, Ted x style presentation, or formal presentation, the structure and technique is nuanced.