Sue Searing, librarian at the University of Illinois, will be performing at Folk & Roots Festival’s Local Teller Showcase.
The art of storytelling is a rare talent. The process of creating an entire universe that solely exists in your mind while hoping to have others see what you see and hear what you hear is a challenge that only the best can win.
In a similar way to how a parent used to lay you in bed, making sure to tuck the sheets tight and grab that one book that opened a new world inside of your mind, if only for a few minutes, storytellers like Sue Searing stand before an audience and tell the tale of another place, another world, where we are the villain and our minds are the protagonist.
Creep inside the mind of one of the storytelling performers at the Champaign-Urbana Folk and Roots Festival on November 2. Sue Searing is a librarian at the University and will tell a tale sure to keep you leaning in for more and more during her performance.
»buzz: Can you tell me a little bit about how you started?
»Sue Searing: Well, actually, I have a day job. I’m an administrator in UIUC’s library, and a few years ago I had a sabbatical. While I was on sabbatical, as well as doing research and so on, I took a class on storytelling at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Honestly, I never even knew they taught storytelling until I was working as a librarian and I was working with the faculty and the school at the library. When I thought about it, I knew that was something I’d like to do, so when I had a chance, I did. For me, it’s a lot of fun. It’s creative, but it’s anchored in tradition. Since then, it’s become my avocation.
»buzz: How long have you been storytelling?
»SS: It’s probably been about six or seven years now.
»buzz: So you enjoy telling folk or fairy tales mainly?
»SS: Well, usually I tell a folktale, or sometimes fairy tales like the Brothers Grimm, and it just resonates for me. Some storytellers like telling personal stories, and I do a little bit of that, but I like those old ones. A lot of those stories have similar themes from culture to culture. A lot of stories were made up to explain why the sky is blue, or why ducks swim, or how the world was created. A lot of cultures do that, so to me, there’s something universal about stories, and that act of sharing a story and listening to a story is just like nothing in the world, really. It’s not like reading a book or watching a movie. Those are great too, but there’s just something special about storytelling.
»buzz: What’s the largest crowd you’ve ever told a story to?
»SS: I don’t think I’ve told a story to a crowd much above 75 or 80 people in the Spurlock Museum auditorium. Come to think of it, I’ve told stories at the Spring Festival Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and I think the auditorium holds about 720.
»buzz: How was it telling a story around that many people?
»SS: I don’t think the number of people matter. Whether you’re telling to two or 500, it’s still a connection between the teller and the listener. Some people say that’s what’s different between storytelling and acting. In acting, there’s a notion of this invisible wall between the stage and the audience, but storytellers are really connecting with people. You’re making eye contact. You’re watching how the audience is reacting to shape the way that you tell the story, just like you would if you were sitting around with a group of your friends at a restaurant telling stories. There’s a connection.
»buzz: Is storytelling something you see in your permanent future?
»SS: Yes, someday I’ll retire and then I’ll be able to spend more time telling stories. It’s not too physically taxing, so I should still be able to do it when I’m 80 or 90.
»buzz: What’s been your favorite story that you’ve told?
»SS: My favorite story is a story from Iran. It’s called “The Magic Garden of the Poor” and it’s a funny story. The way that it is constructed is very interesting, and it’s a hopeful story. I told it once and someone said that story is like a benediction. It’s just a story that makes me feel good to tell and share with people. Honestly, I started learning some stories from the Middle East when I was just so distressed about some of the anti-Muslim discrimination after 9/11. There was just so much hatred, and the way that I understood the culture is to learn their story. So, I went out to look for parts of those stories for a little while. But I tell stories from all over. I’ll tell a story from anywhere if it speaks to me. It really is fun.
»buzz: I really enjoy reading, but I never thought about actually wanting to tell stories in front of others before.
»SS: That’s funny because when I was a little girl, I really enjoyed reading. I thought I wanted to be an author. And then I realized I’m not that creative to imagine entire plots and everything in my head, so I gave it up. But when I became a storyteller I realized that any story I tell, even if it’s something from the Brothers Grimm, I have to rewrite it a little bit to make it mine and to tell it a way that I want to tell it. I can’t tell it in someone else’s words. Storytellers have to tweak the story.
»buzz: As you’re telling a story out loud, do you think of things as you go alonwg based on the feel of the crowd?
»SS: For me, because I still think of myself as a novelist even though I’ve been doing this for a few years, I tend to work on a story and practice it and at some point I’ll write it out. So, even though I don’t memorize it word for word, I have a pretty picture in my mind about what happens next and what the characters look like. But sometimes you’ll find, especially when you’re telling to kids, some audiences will be really responsive and want to participate. Then you go with it. You try to build on that. If I see someone falling asleep, I try to throw in some comedy.
»buzz: How are you looking forward to the festival?
»SS: It’s coming up next week, and I haven’t figured out what stories I’m going to tell for sure. I do have some in mind, though. I’ll be thinking about it a lot in the next few days. Last year was the first year I told at the festival, and it was a lot of fun because, you know, you tend to get adults and kids in the public library, and people come in and out. It’s not super formal like (the festival), so it’ll be fun. The other tellers are people I just love to listen to. They’re some of the world’s best.
Searing’s final words?
“Storytelling is really an art.”