Wednesday, July 29, 1992 — North Shore News - 25 3reathing life into an ancient artform NCE UPON a time, a handsome, dark-haired prince named Eric arrived in the city between the moun- tains and the sea telling children fantastic stories of famous greek gods and native legends. Soon after arriving in this magical land, he met Abegael, a lovely princess from a far away fand on another sea, Abegael and Eric fell in love and before long, began spinning their tales together — she, her own stories of life as a princess, folk tales, and medieval myths; he, thrilling tales of mystery and imagination. Together they formed their own empire, which they called the kingdom of Roots and Wings, and ordered every school in the land to devote at least one hour each day ta storytelling. The townspeople were so mov- ‘ed by their vivid narratives they’ " began telling tales of their own, and everyone lived happily ever after. ABEGAEL FISHER-LANG and Eric Gordon have managed to make their world a magical kingdom, al- though neither possesses a single Grop of royal bload. Not everyone is telling his own tale yet, but the North Vancouver couple is working on it. . Fisher-Lang’and Gordon are professional storytellers who, for the past five years, have been - spinning their yarns at Lower ~ Mainland schools and Canadian arts festivals. Their passionate Jove of story and talent for creating full-bodied characters have earned them a _ sterling reputation. Their public workshops have been called everything from illuminating to courageous to healing. Even the most conventional listener becomes mesmerized by _ their simple tales, the soothing “tones of Fisher-Lang weaving in between the deeper sound of Gordon’s voice. ; As the Roots and Wings story- tellers explain, the audience is Canada has the first... Cordon Bleu School in North America Le Cordon Bleu Paris Cooking School } Owned and Operated by Le Cordon Bleu of Paris All courses taught by professional French Chefs Basic and intermediate cuisine and Basic Pastry. COURSES COMMENCE SEPTEMBER 21, 1992 Evening Courses available. Successful completion of these courses in Ottawa will be recognized at Le Cordon Bleu in Poris and credits can be carried forward. To register please call or write: 400-1390 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3N6 TEL: (613)224-8603 FAX: (613}224-9966 Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE crucial to the storytelling process because without the listener, the narrative deteriorates into lecture. “There’s a real coming together during the storytelling,”’ says Fisher-Lang, who is dashing after children in the Vancouver Waldorf School dining room, gathering sweaters and jackets. “A real warmth develops in the room. People are often moved to tears, to laughter.” in these days of quick-fixes and short attention spans, it’s not sur- prising that oral tale-telling has sunk to an alf-time low, . Fisher-Lang and Gardon want to breathe new life into an ancient art form which some fear is peril- ously close to becoming extinct. What disturbs Gordon is that unlike other cultures, North Amer- ican society doesn’t honor its language. Part of the problem, he believes, lies in our education system. It doesn’t place enough importance on the spoken word. “The education system invests so much money in computers, technology and individual educa- tion that very often, the teacher doesn't |:ave a role as the pres- enter ariymore. And very few children hear good, rich speech at home,’’ he laments. “When we go into the schools we ask children to find stories they like, and a lot say they don’t know any. Our hearts break when we hear that. To me, that’s a form of child abuse.”’ Both say that television is largely to blame, because the constant flickering of quick images renders children passive and kills their imagination. To encourage young imagina- tions, the pair advise teachers not {0 analyze a tale immediately fol- lowing a storytelling session, but rather let the children re-enact what they’ve heard through paint- ing or writing. “Television is like a drug. Children don’t have to make links (between image and script). It’s all done tor them,"” complains Fish- er-Lang. MITCHEN CARPET ULTRA HEAyy PLUSH 6 Colours $99 99/vo. We would like to In contrast, senior audiences seem to have no problem filling in the blanks. Gordon says storytelling is just beginning to experience some- thing of a resurgence but adds that - it is still far from a healthy revival. There are currently 400 profes- sional ‘‘teflers’’ in North America, many of whom belong to the U.S. organization, the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS). “If you can say it you can join,” laughs Gordon, who is in the midst of establishing a national group north of the border. It’s difficult to assess how many of those storytellers are working in Canada, because it’s hard to gn on NEWS photo Cindy Goodman ABEGAEL FISHER-LANG and Eric Gordon of Wings and Roots Storytelling have been spinning their yarns in Lower Mainiand schools and arts festivals for the past five years. define what constitutes a storytell- er. “Storytelling is really a generic art. Some of the best tellers don’t even call themselves storytellers, like grandparents.” And it’s not just children who can benefit from storytelling. Gor- don has just begun to introduce the art form to the corporate world, Employees learn the art of the personal tale and how to in- corporate anecdotes and meta- phors into their speech. Parents interested in signing ._. their children up for a storytelling summer day camp led by Fisher- Lang and Gordon may cali 985- 5168. The next session begins Aug. 10. ROLL IN FOR GREAT SAVINGS! olours At Up To 10” OFF YLON SAXONY 8 Colours welcome ‘Ron Friend’ to our Sales staff. We Know his Many years of ®xperience wilt &dd to our excellent Customer service, 100's OF ROLLENNS $7j49/V0. HIGH QUALITY kirchen Ao VINYL From 909990. STAIN RELEAS, WYLON BERGER 4 Colours $7(999/"0.