Creating Stories from Historyby Tim LowryPublished in Hearsay, The Newsletter of the Connecticut Storytelling Center
Winter 2010, Volume 17.1
Tim Lowry, storyteller, recording artist and educational consultant from Charleston, South Carolina, specializes in American History and Folklore, with a special emphasis on creating historical characters. CSC asked Tim if he'd share some insight on creating stories from history.
CSC: You often perform stories from American history in an educational setting. Where do you go to find stories about historical figures?
TL: First, I look at the educational standards from the Department of Education website. Many of the Social Studies standards will list specific people that every student is expected to know. Then I read what information is printed about these historic figures in the student textbook. It is usually a fairly dry and dusty collection of dates and accomplishments, just the bare bones of the person's biography, but it is a starting point. Finally, I go to the library and start the search for more in-depth information.
CSC: How do you avoid misinformation or unreliable resources?
TL: Double check every resource and verify every story. There are some bad resources out there. In particular, children's biographies are often poorly written and filled with assumptions, conjecture, and imagined dialogue. If the historic figure wrote an autobiography, or kept a journal, this can be helpful in verifying what others have written about them. If you can read several different contemporary accounts of the same event, you can usuall find the facts of the story as a common thread running through all the different versions.
CSC: How do you take volumes of information and distill it into a "tellable tale"?
TL: After I have read a good bit about the person, then I map their life. I am looking for pinnacle moments in their life that have a high emotional quality. Moments that shaped the person's destiny. Usually, I find pinnacle moments (any one of which makes for a tellable tale) at four times in a person's life: childhood, teenage years/young adulthood, mature adulthood, and old age/death.
CSC: After you have identified the pinnacle moments, how do you craft the story?
TL: First, I survey what other people have done with the same information. I read novelized versions of the person's life, watch films based on the same historical event, find poems or songs written about the person, listen to instrumental music inspired by the person or historical events, etc. All these artistic treatments of the same story will do two things for me: First, it helps me know what has already been done, so I don't do the same old thing. Second, it gives me lots of ideas about style, i.e. telling the story in rhyme, using mostly dialogue, making use of the flashback technique so popular in film, ideas about costume, etc. Then I start writing my own version of the story. I may borrow ideas from these other "storytellers," but I always try to tell the story in my own voice.
CSC: Do you portray historical characters in costume and first person?
TL: I don't use first person or costumes when I am telling a biographical story for a variety of reasons: First, it is very difficult to pull off a first person portrayal of a 17th century character in a classroom with plastic desks and fluorescent lighting. Second, students tend to fixate on the fact that you are wearing stockings or that your hair looks funny, rather than on what you are saying. Finally, quality costumes, wigs, and makeup are expensive. And I firmly believe that if you are not going to invest in quality stuff, then you just cheapen your overall presentation.
CSC: But I've seen pictures of you in costume. What's that all about?
TL: I often appear in costume when telling folktales from a historic period (to set the mood), or when I am doing a "show and tell" demonstration about the way of life in times passed. However, I always make it clear to the audience that I am not portraying a character. When I am wearing a costume, I spend a lot of time talking about the costume. When I am in regular clothing, I find it easier to focus audience attention on the theme of the story.
CSC: What audiences respond best to stories about historical figures?
TL: It has been my experience that elementary students respond very well to stories about dead people. Because of their willingness to use a lot of imagination, these children will readily enter in to a story emotionally that takes place "long, long ago and far, far away," showing a lot of empathy for the main character. Older children (middle and high school) seem to relate better to stories about living heroes. They are searching for role models to pattern their life after, and often want to meet, or at least write to, the people they are learning about. Of course, I'm am speaking in generalities, I have seen plenty of exceptions to these observations.
CSC: Any advice for someone who is trying out a biographical story for the first time:
TL: Always choose someone for your subject that you personally admire. Choose a figure from history that you would like to invite to a fantasy dinner. Get to know them, admire them, and love them. Then, when you stand in front of your audience, the story will come easily, because it will be like telling the audience about your best friend.
CSC: Read any good books lately?
TL: Here are a few that I have recently added to my library. All of these contain "tellable tales" from American history.
- Manhunt by James Swanson. Terrific read about John Wilkes Booth. Written like a murder/thriller yet very historically accurate. There is also a children's companion book called Chasing Lincoln's Killer.
- The American Story by Jennifer Armstrong. A collection of tellable tales from every era of our history. A little hard on the Puritans and Christianity in general, some author bias, but nonetheless an excellent resource. I like the lesser known stories, like the "Great Molasses Flood" during Prohibition.
- Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly. Everything pirate from Peter Pan's battle with Captain Hook to the real adventures of Drake, Blackbeard, and Kidd.
- Pioneers of France in the New World by Francis Parkman. Out of print, but you may find it on Google Books. The story of Jean Ribault is an excellent illustration of early Americans' quest for religious freedom.
- Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. The story of Lewis and Clark's journey to the West is one of the greatest and most distinctly American adventures of all time. This event did much to define who we are as countrymen.
- United No More by Doreen Rappaport and Joan Verniero. Stories of well known and lesser known Civil War figures. Easily adaptable for oral presentations.
CSC: What projects would you like to work on in the future?
TL: There are always ideas cooking . . . . 2010 is the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I would like to put together a one-man show to mark that event. I am also working on stoires about travel and Americana. I recently completed an original tale titled, "A Trip to Disney World." I think it is important to not only tell the stories of the 18th and 19th centuries, but also the stories of the America that I grew up in, the America of the 1970s and 1980s.
I was recently asked to develop a collection of stories on the Cold War. I have been reading about Ping Pong Diplomacy, Chess Tournaments, and the 1980 Olympic hockey game between the USA and USSR. I think sport will make a good metaphor for this conflict of ideas, east versus west, democracy versus communism.
And then there is Thomas Edison. What a fascinating character. I would love to learn more about Edison.
CSC: Any final thoughts or comments? Anything you would like to add?
TL: Just this. My wife Bonnie and I recently became new parents! You can see pics of our newly adopted daughter, Libby Marie Esperanza, on Facebook or on my website - www.storytellertimlowry.com!
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