Story telling in the planetarium is a low cost and
effective way to add some spice to a star point-out. It
can even be used as the basis for an entire show
presentation. To do story telling under the dome, simply
begin by adding a myth or legend to your star point-outs.
Start with just one story, perhaps a story about Ursa
Major the Bear (big dipper) or Orion the Hunter. Don't
take on more than one story until you're really
comfortable with your first. Once you've told your tale a
dozen times or so, try a different one. Keep repeating
the process, in six months you will have a nice
repertoire to choose from.
When I started, I began inadvertently with a quick
synopsis of some skylore that pertained to the
constellation at hand. I didn't tell entire stories
because I did not want to bore my audience (or so I
thought), and I didn't want to devote that much emphasis
to just one constellation during my point-out. However, I
soon found that I was getting more and more questions
about the stories. Often kids wanted to share versions
that they had heard. It soon dawned on me that there was
some real interest in the subject. The stories I was
talking about were mostly of two origins, classical Greek
myths and Native American legends. The interest was
strong in both areas. I soon found I had to learn more
stories and study my classical mythology because students
were beginning to ask questions that I really didn't know
how to answer. After all, I hadn't read much mythology
since high school.
Slowly I went from talking about the stories to
actually telling stories. This was a big step. It also
spawned even more questions and comments. The response
was very positive. At that time, the mid-1980's, I
decided that I should try a program devoted exclusively
to such stories. I didn't know if I could effectively
learn and perform enough stories to fill a fifty minute
show, so I purchased the Hansen Planetarium production of
"The People" which featured American Indian legends with
some minor analysis of the stories and their context. It
went over well, but it was not the huge success that I
had anticipated. Clearly this was a good show, but it was
still very different from the live interpretations I had
been performing during star point-outs.
As the run of the show came to a close, I decided to
try something slightly different. I decided to do the
story portions of the show "live". So I carefully edited
the taped narration, taking out the stories, so that I
could tell them myself. I had run the prerecorded show
enough times so that I knew the stories well enough to
tell them. I still used the taped analysis as a bridge
between the stories, the only difference was that I
became the story teller. I was pretty nervous that first
night, but it went well. Soon the attendance was
climbing. I got more and more comfortable with the
stories with each telling. The stories seemed to get
better, too. This version of "The People" soon was
completely outselling the original version. So we
extended it's run for an extra month. It sold out right
until the end.
That was back in the days of a hard dome planetarium
when I gave public shows every weekend. Now I'm in a
portable and doing almost exclusively school
presentations. Story telling shows encompass a large
portion of my offerings. Of our more than twenty-five
shows, four are story telling presentations, and they are
among the most popular of our programs. We no longer
offer an adapted version of "The People", but we do have
"Native American Sky Legends" as well as two
presentations on Greek mythology as it relates to the
stars. We call them both "Heroes, Gods, and Monsters" and
the format changes depending on the season. Teachers can
choose either presentation "Summer & Fall" or "Winter
& Spring" . Our fourth presentation is especially
adapted for younger audiences (grades K-2). We call it
"Star Stories". It features both American Indian stories
and classical Greek myths.
The secret to having successful presentations is to
actively take on the role of a story-teller. Learn the
stories you want to tell. Practice them. Let them become
your own stories. The stories will change slightly from
their original text. That's okay. You will find that your
audience will react to certain parts well and other parts
indifferently. The story-teller will naturally develop
the positive aspects of the story and de-emphasize and
simplify the less important aspects of the tale. That is
the role of the story-teller. You are a vital part of the
experience, as important in many ways as the story
itself. At first this may seem wrong. It seems to go
against the objectivity that we strive so hard for in the
planetarium, and in many ways it does. Yet, I think that
in this case it's all right. Story telling is not an
objective science, it is a performance art instead.
To put it in another perspective, consider going to a
concert. Do you go to a concert to hear a song sung in an
exact duplicating style to a studio recording? Do you
even go to hear a particular song? Or do you go to hear a
particular performer and experience the wonder of her
live performance? I think the answer is the latter. When
I go to a concert the main objective is to see a certain
artist and to hear a great performance, the particular
songs performed is certainly secondary. If the songs were
the most important, we could listen to anybody sing them
or simply stay home and listen to them on the stereo.
It's the performance that is important. When we advertise
these programs we emphasize that this will be a "Live
Story Telling Performance". Many people who come to the
shows have said that the fact that it was going to
feature a live story telling performer was a major
drawing factor that brought them to the planetarium.
That's the point with live story-telling. To be truly
successful, you have to be willing to make a commitment
to learn how to tell a good story. You must be able to
take a story that many in your audience may already know,
and make it new and exciting without destroying its
integrity. This is certainly a challenge, and I think
that is part of the appeal to the audience, every show is
a brand new performance. It's the type of show that can
make you really nervous as a presenter, but it can also
end up being one of the most fulfilling and fun types of
presentations you will ever give. I urge you to try
it!
