Monday 22 July 2013

There Is Always a Story to Be Told



Day 20:

Today was a free day in Edinburgh.  We could use it for our research if we needed to, but we could also use it for travel or just to wander around a bit.  I decided to sleep late (yay!) and then do a little shopping in Edinburgh before I headed to the Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh to see what I could find out about their programs. 

Fortunately, I got really great deals on some clothes at Primark!  Unfortunately, the guy I talked to at the Scottish Storytelling Centre didn’t have too much extra information to share with me.  I told him that I was a graduate student doing research about storytelling and asked a few questions, and he told me that I would find all of the information I needed on the website and in the two brochures he gave me.  Their website is quite helpful, but I was hoping that going in person to talk to someone would give me more insight.  I bought my tickets for the ceilidh that night and browsed their gift shop.  I couldn’t even look around their cafe because there was a meeting of some type that I didn’t want to interrupt.  

I headed off to Starbucks to do a little work and enjoy some iced coffee before meeting up with my friends to head back to the storytelling ceilidh (gathering).  

Storytelling Centre for the Ceilidh


A storytelling ceilidh is a Scottish gathering that involves singing, dancing, and, in this case, storytelling.  The Scottish Storytelling Centre hosts a few each month, and we were lucky enough to be around for this one.  They feature one main teller who opens and closes each part of the evening and introduces the other tellers from the audience, almost as if he were an emcee.  It lasted almost two and a half hours and included stories, songs, and poems.  I really enjoyed the featured teller’s stories as well as the offerings from the guest tellers.  At the beginning, the featured teller passes a book around and audience members can sign up if they have something they wish to share.  Not everyone will be able to share on crowded nights (like this one was), but he tried to vary the line-up with stories and traditional Scottish songs, a lady playing the Celtic harp, and a woman reciting poetry.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time listening to the stories.  One man even combined storytelling with improv skills and asked for input from the audience about setting and plot points.  He then built the story around this input.  It was hilarious!

Featured Storyteller
One of the Guest Tellers
Celtic Harp


The centre, itself, is quite interesting with a story wall that showcases Scottish stories in dioramas for kids to interact with by opening and closing, sliding, etc.  


 



 






Interactive Stories
Exhibit that shows the importance and tradition of storytelling in Scotland




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