CHENNAI:We all like listening to stories. And at times, we like narrating stories. Stories from our lives – stories of joy and sorrow, stories reminiscing the halcyon days, stories from our childhood, adventure stories and stories with a moral are narrated to the listener with an objective of conveying a message, especially if the narrator is a parent or a teacher. However, there are episodes that we do not like to share. Some real life incidents remain buried so deep within us that we prefer not sharing them with friends or relatives, with reasons aplenty.
“The idea is to share your problem with others. And this can best be done through a story recited in the second person narrative,” says Eric Miller, the director of the World Storytelling Institute, who has organised a two-day workshop on ‘Storytelling for Healing’ starting February 21 along with his wife Magdalene Jeyarathnam, director of Chennai’s East-West Center for Counselling and Training. The workshop, which is a standalone module within a larger course on using the Arts for Therapy, will begin with discussing about children. “This workshop is primarily for parents, therapists, counsellors and psychologists. But anyone interested can participate,” says Eric, adding that depending on the number of participants, they would be dividing them into groups and allowing them to curate a story. “The workshop is going to be all about metaphors,” he explains.
The workshop, which will discuss ways to handle a challenging situation that one might encounter in one’s life, will have Eric narrating folktales as well. “My wife and I will be moderating the workshop and we will continue with the ancient Indian tradition of telling folktales. And these folktales will focus on therapeutic methods of healing. It is not a performance,” says Eric, who has a PhD in Folklore.
For details about the workshop, call 98403 94282.