As a kid. I took piano lessons from age 8 to 13. In those five years I can count on one hand the number of times my morn let me skip a day of practicing. I remember well being in the midst of a competitive kickball game in the front yard when Mom would appear on the front stoop and call, "TRAAA--CY... you haven't practiced the piano yet today!" To which I would reply, "M--O--M!!! I'm in the middle of a kickball game!" To which she would reply "Well, if you'd practiced this morning like you were supposed to.. ." At that point I knew it would do me no good to continue arguing so I'd growl and mutter and stomp into the house to practice the piano for 44) minutes.
In the 22 years since that last piano lesson I've played the piano periodically but certainly not with the everyday discipline I did as a youth. And yet, two decades later, I'm still able to sit down at the keyboard and sight-read a piece of music fairly well (as long as it's not extremely difficult!). How is this possible? Well, I think it's because a solid foundation was laid during those intense first five years. At that time, I didn't just play songs: I exercised my fingers while running scales, I studied music theory and learned chord progression. And I did this every day for five years straight.
What does all this have to do with storytelling? Well, as I reflected upon "Laying the Cornerstone" (p. 10) I got to thinking about how my storytelling foundation was laid very similarly to my piano-playing foundation: a lot of initial discipline! Initially I was involved with a storytelling group that met monthly. During the previous month's meeting we would choose the story for the following month as well as someone to lead that meeting. That person was responsible for doing the exegetical work on the text but the rest of us were expected to at least start the process of familiarizing ourselves with the story. During our meetings we wouldn't just tell stories: we'd exercise our voices by experimenting with different intonations and voice characterizations. We studied narrative analysis and learned about plot progression. And we did this every month as a group, along with a lot of individual daily work between our monthly meetings.
The result of all that initial discipline is that now, ten years later. I'm able to recall old stories and learn new ones with relative ease. That's not to say, though, that no effort is required. Learning a story is a process that can only be short-cut up to a point. The word "process" itself implies time, effort, and growth and I would never encourage any of that to be skipped. I will say, however, that the process doesn't take me nearly as long as it did when I first started out. I have the Charlotte Chapter (as we called them back then) of NOBS to thank for that because they provided the discipline and accountability I needed to lay a sturdy foundation in biblical storytelling.
At this time of fresh starts and New Year's resolutions I encourage you to organize just such a group for yourself. Go with what works for you (which may mean a "group" of 2 or bimonthly rather that monthly meetings). The important thing is to stay disciplined--for at least a year and preferably longer. It takes time and effort and growth to create the type of foundation that will support decades of life-changing biblical storytelling. Some of us need to rely on group accountability because discipline doesn't come naturally to us. But even for those of you who are naturally disciplined I would say that there's a built-in motivation to stay disciplined if you're meeting with people whose fellowship you enjoy. (All I can say is that for me, personally, it sure beats having Mom remind me that. "TRAAA--CY. . . you haven't
practiced your biblical storytelling today!")
So. here's to a year of disciplined storytelling that will lay a sturdy foundation for years to come. Blessed 2001!
Tell it!
Tracy Radosevic is a professional storyteller based in Baltimore MD. She is editor of the Network of Biblical Storyteller's bi-monthly newsletter. You can email her.