There is something primal about the art of storytelling. Just like the effect that the smell of fresh-baked bread or staring into a campfire can have on the human spirit, there’s something magical about the power of a story well told. I was lucky enough to witness this magic over and over again during Conner Prairie’s ‘Stories, Tales, and Yarns” event. I, myself, got to be a storyteller at that event, and while I like the buzz I get from successfully telling good stories, I love watching what my audience goes through during the story. I try my best to evoke as much emotion and action with my own face and body, and in return, the audience mirrors back to me their reactions. I have to admit that I take an undue amount of pleasure in tweaking my approach to get a specific reaction.

Let me give you an example. During the program, I told a story called “Jack and the Varmints.” It stars the same Jack as in “Jack and the Beanstalk,” only this time, Jack’s boastful nature gets him in trouble. The King hires Jack to get rid of some ferocious creatures who have been plaguing the kingdom. Jack lucks his way through getting rid of the first two, and then faces his biggest challenge of all. At this point, I usoften my voice as I verbally paint the picture of what Jack is in for. The families in my audience usually start to lean a little bit forward as I say:

“The king brought Jack to the mouth of a big dark cave where the horrible monster lived. There were bits and pieces of bones scattered around the cave, left over from the monster’s many meals.”

I see several youngsters reflexively cuddle deeper into their parents’ sides, instinctively pulling their hands in towards their chests, and their parents’ squeeze their shoulders in return. I break the tension by pausing for a moment to pose a question, putting the children’s imaginations to good use, rather than letting them run wild.

“Can you guess what kind of monster lived in that cave?” Pause. The audience blinks, as the spell is briefly broken. “What kind of big, scary, monster might live in a cave?”

I see a few supportive parents bend slightly to whisper ideas into their children’s ears.

“A bear?!” a little brunette girl shouts pensively from the fourth row.

“That’s exactly right!” I crow. In fact, anything would have been exactly right, but bears are particularly appropriate for this story. So, I start casting my spell again, embellishing the bear. “That’s right – a big, grumpy, hungry bear lived in that cave. It was the sort of bear that if it caught event the slightest whiff of you being near by would come running to gobble you up!”

Several sets of eyeballs, both youth and adult, widen in response to the imagery.

“The king was too scared to stay behind and watch what would happen, so he left poor little Jack there all alone, standing in front of that big, dark cave. Jack didn’t know what else to do, so he climbed up on top of the mouth of the cave.“

I climb up on the step in the Meeting House and act like Jack, leaning forward and straining to peer into the cave, while on top of it.

“Jack leaned over to look into the cave. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear something waaaay back in the in back of the cave.”

I stomp one foot on the floor, then the other, like a very large, slow zombie.

“He could hear the bear’s great big paws pounding on the floor of the cave as he drew nearer. And he could hear – grrrrrrrr – the bear starting to growl. And he could hear – sniff, sniff – the bear sniffing the air to smell him.”

Stomp, stomp stomp. Members of my audience lean back just a little bit, as if trying to make Jack step back from the cave. I contort my face in an effort to look like an angry grizzly bear.

“That bear got closer and closer, and louder and louder, and Jack got more and more scared. Finally – grrrRRRRrrr – the bear was right at the mouth of the cave and Jack could see the bear’s nose just starting to stick out from the edge of the cave, and Jack is leaning so far out over the mouth of the cave that all of a sudden -“

I stumble off the edge of the step and pretend to fall down. A few of the kids in the audience jump a little bit. One or two parents chuckle, realizing where this is going.

“ – Jack falls off the mouth of the cave and lands – SMACK- right on the bear’s back!!! Now, Jack is riding that great big bear!”

Eyebrows on almost every face in my audience go up in surprise. A few sets of eyes begin to sparkle and the corners of mouths start to turn up in amused, if slightly worried, smiles. I begin to jump around, as if riding a bear.

“So now, Jack is RIDING this enormous, angry bear. And he doesn’t know what else to do, so he grabs the bear by the ears. And the bear rears up and tries to throw him off. The bear jumps and runs and claws at the air, like a big, furry bronco trying to get Jack off his back, but Jack holds on fast . . ."

The story continues on this way, until Jack finally saves the day and gets his just desserts. I can see all the tension that my audience members had been keeping in their faces and shoulders as they worried about Jack’s safety melt away as it becomes clear that this is one of those stories that ends with ‘happily ever after.” The faces of several children in the group begin to shine with big, bright smiles, and if I’ve done my job correctly, these children will leave the Meeting House pretending to ride a bear for themselves. I see several parents smiling warmly, very satisfied with the 15 minutes they spent with me, where, with only the power of my own voice, I was able to transport them to another place and time.

It’s no wonder that storytelling has continued to be such an important part of the human experience. Whether it’s movies, comic books, YouTube clips, or bedtime stories about when Daddy was a little boy, they allow us to live through adventures both amazing and terrifying, while remaining safely beside those we care about most. They let us use greatest assets – our limitless imaginations – to their fullest extent. And they’re just plain fun. So next time you’re here at Conner Prairie, be sure to stop by the Lenape Camp, or the Blacksmith’s shop, or History Science Theater to enjoy all that Storytelling here at Conner Prairie has to offer!