Download - Bringing storytime alive 1
Bringing Storytime Alive with
Acting Techniques
An Interactive Workshop with
Christi Underdown-DuBois
& Pete Turner
What not to do...
Banish Shyness. Literally.
The Importance of Warm-Ups:
"The body is your instrument and tool, just like the book you are going to present."
Let’s Get Physical
Let’s Get Vocal
Let’s Get Emotional
Physical
Spine RollSwingFront - Back - All the Way Around !Big & Small
Vocal - ProjectionOooo’sYawn (Temple Mandibular)Na Na NaMa Na La Tha Va ZaTongue Rolls & Lip Rolls
Vocal -DictionRed Leather Yellow LeatherToy BoatRubber Baby Buggy BumpersNat's knapsack strap snapped Bruce bought bad brown bran bread Pacific Overtures...
Adapted from Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim
Please, Hello, I come with letters from Her Majesty Victoria
Who, learning how you're trading now, sang "Hallelujah, Gloria!"
And sent me to convey to you her positive euphoria
As well as little gifts from Britain's various emporia.
Tea? For drink? I thank you. I think.
Her letters do contain a few proposals to your Emperor
Which if, of course, he won't endorse, will put in her in a temper or,
More happily, should he agree, will serve to keep her placid, or
At least till I am followed by a permanent ambassador.
Her Majesty considers the arrangements to be tentative
Until we ship a proper diplomatic representative.
We don't foresee that you will be the least bit argumentative,
So please ignore the man-of-war we brought as a preventative.
And speaking of the man-of-war That's anchored rather near the shore,
It's nothing but a metaphor That acts as a preventative.
Hints to Helpa.k.a. The Yellow Brick
RoadBody as a Tool
Ping Pong Lead
Posture & Gestures
Body Leads
Standing vs. Sitting
Placement of Voice
Sean Connery vs. Other Scottish vs. Irish vs. New York
Droopy
Laban’s Effort Shapes
Practice Practice Practice~ make the story your own
~Read the Story AloudRead from the Side and Upside DownFind the Arc of the Story, the Rhythm, the Trouble SpotsCheat Front
Audience ~ Taming the Wild Pony
Memorize First and Last LineMake Eye ContactPersonal Space as a ControlLaugh with ThemInteract with Questions
Story~ Text Analysis
Honor the author and honor the story. Try to make choices that emphasize, not detract from, the story.
It's always more about the story than the performer. Lose your self-consciousness and ego.
Story ~ Text Analysis
Find unique elements & Author’s voice
Repetition of words or elements
The Rule of Threes
Sound Effects & Onamanopia
Poetry & “Tasty Words”
Graphics
Story ~ Text Analysis
Find the Main Character’s Arc and the rhythm of the story.
The Arc of a Character is that Character’s Journey and how they CHANGE.
Story ~ Text Analysis
ACTS:
Beginning,
Middle
& End
PLOT POINTS:
Where the Action Changes
Story ~ Text Analysis
Rhythm!Find the places that speed up & slow down Don't be afraid of silenceDon’t go too slow either!
Story ~ Text Analysis
Find the Problem SpotsTough words & odd phrasingSentences that break over pagesPictures that differ from text
Story ~ Performance
Stay in the moment in the story.
Live the story with the characters and the children who are hearing it for the first time.
Try not to project the next moment.
Story ~ Performance
Emphasize Important Moments with all the tools from our warm-up
“Pronounce” those Moments
Sources
Best Read Aloud Picture Bookshttp://www.mnstate.edu/cmc/BestReadAlouds.cfm
ICDL - International Children’s Digital Library
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
opening graphic is poster from Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein
o Aardema, Verna; illustrated by Petra Mathers. Borreguita and the Coyote. New York, NY: Dragonfly Books, 1991.
o Breathed , Berkeley. Goodnight Opus. Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Company, 1993.
o Breathed , Berkeley. Red Ranger Came Calling. Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Company, 1994.
o Bunting, Eve; illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. The Bones of Fred McFee. Orlando, FL : Harcourt, 2005.
o Cinderella. (Octopus Pop-Up Picture Stories) London, UK : Octopus Books Limited, 1980.
o Cowley, Joy: illustrated by Robyn Belton. The Duck in the Gun. London, UK : Walker, 2009.
o Cronin, Doreen; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Duck for President. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2004.
o Duran Ryan, Cheri; illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Hildilid's Night. New York, NY : Macmillan, 1971.
Books we like to use for story times
o French, Jackie; illustrated by Bruce Whatley. Pete the Sheep Sheep. New York, NY : Clarion, 2004.
o Ga'g, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New York, NY : Scholastic, 1956.
o Hort, Lenny; A N Afanasʹev; illustrated by Gennadiĭ Spirin. The Fool and the Fish. New York, NY : Dial Books, 1990.
o Jagtenberg, Yvonne. Jack's Kite. Brookfield, Conn : Roaring Book Press, 2003.
o Leaf , Munro; illustrated by Robert Lawson. The Story of Ferdinand. London, UK : Viking, 1936.
o Lionni, Leo. Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. New York, NY : Scholastic, 1969.
o Mack, Stan. Where's My Cheese? Pantheon Books, 1977.
o Orleans, Susan; illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Lazy Little Loafers. New York, NY : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008.
o Slobodkina, Esphyr. Caps For Sale. Reading, MA : Young Scott Books, 1968.
o Snow White. (An All-action Treasure Hour Pop-Up Book) Czechoslovakia : Brown Watson, 1983.
Books we like to use for story times
o Steig, William. Brave Irene. New York, NY : HarperCollins, 1986.
o Thompson, Jill. Scary Godmother. San Antonio, TX : Sirius, 1999.
o Ungerer, Tomi. Crictor. New York, NY : HarperCollins, 1986.
o Ungerer, Tomi. The Three Robbers. London, UK : Phaidon, 2008.
o Ungerer, Tomi. Zeralda's Ogre. New York, NY : Delacorte Press, 1967.
o Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Hartford, CT : Atheneum, 1972.
o Waddell, Martin; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Farmer Duck. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 1996.
o Willems, Mo. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2003.
o Willems, Mo. Edwina, the Dinosaur who didn't know She was Extinct. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2006.
o Willems, Mo. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2004.
Books we like to use for story times