6 June. At the end of May we went to Forbury care home to perform our stories. I felt very prepared as I had a braille script, and the sound effects were ready to go. First Callum read his poem, and he read it very well, using a very narrative tone and his rhyming poem was easy to follow. Mikey's story then followed, his was very long and I had to say quite a few lines in his, but it was a very Blytonesque story, and I think the residentS enjoyed it. Finally, I read my story. As we were performino outside, we had to make sure our voices were clear and carried well. I felt my projection was very clear, and I used a lot of internation in my voice, as I had a high voice for Grace and a slightly lower tone for Ted. The sound effects went very well. Usually, with braille readers, the braille script is hard to sight read, but I found that I could fluidly tell my story, with too much faltering. After the stories, although the residents did not properly remember our stories, they seemed happy and pleased. Marsha, who ran part of the story telling project then asked us to tell our own stories, which, although was not part of the work, still helped us to practice clear and well spoken naration.
19 June. Below is my story and final evaluation.
I feel I have gained an understanding of the benefits of a storytelling project on the ararget audience. A lot of people with dementia do not have many memories of their own, as they struggle to remember what happened. A story can provide the sences and imagery to mark a small amment of lucidity for a person. It can also recreate a memory for them, even just for a few seconds, that can make them feel more human. For some, even a smell description, or a farmyard scene, can bring baack nostalgia. Storytelling can also have a calming effect on people, as it can create gentle memories and imagery in someone's mind to distract them from the confusing hum-drum of life especially when people are dealing with memory loss.
I think I applied a range of storytelling techniques. I spoke clearly and with internation, and used slightly different tones for different characters. I also used a dream sequence that was dark and ominous, and I used a more serious tone for this. I differentiated my voice between the reality and the dream to show that there was a difference. I also used sound effects to influence my story, and to create emotion and memory. I used school sounds, farm sounds, and creepy dream music for the nightmare. I also used a waltz track in the end to tie up the story. I read the story slowly enough that it could be heard, but with no pauses that could loose the astention of the spectators. I used a simple writing structure with only two characters to make the story easier to follow, and so the spectators could focus on the words, and hopefully some knowind of memory they could inspire. As I introduced the group, I hoped that the audience were very familiar with my voice and my gentle tone which may have made it easier for them to follow my story. I used soft tones, but at a clear and audible level, so that the spectators had a chance to follow the story if they could.
I feel that I have a strong understanding of the effects my storytelling skills could have on the audience, and the ways it was adapted to fit the audience. I altered the story by simplifying the characters so that there was only two,, which would mean the audience would be able to follow the story more easily. I chose language that was formal, but descriptive, so that it was not too much of a modernised story, I also kept the piece natural and not too elaborate so that the audience could identify with it. If I was writing a piece for young adults about loneliness and being apart from your siblings, I'd talk about emails, texts, maybe certain social media, and might use more modernised vocabulary. However, instead of receiving emails or facebook messages from each other, Grace received letters from Ted, and phone calls, which the audience would have a greater understanding of. I also gathered only stimulai that I received from the group. I hoped that the bird lover would like the sound effects, and the reference to farm animals and birds. I hoped the farmer's wife would like the jam reference as that is what she told me about. I hoped the teacher would relate to the classroom sounds, and the people who were born in Brazil and Germany would like the references to their professions and traditions, for example the German Gingerbread, and the Brazilian language programmes. Some people also described their love for ballroom dancing, which was very periodic at their younger age, so I hoped the waltz would remind them of past memories of dancing. I also made sure the storyline was interesting but not too complex, and the fact that there were only two characters meant that the audience, who all suffered with memory loss, would be able to keep track of what was happening without loosing their train of thought and unfocussing.
Grace wakes up early on a hazy friday morning and gets ready for the day. She heads outside to collect the eggs from her chickens, she has 10 hens, and they'd laid a total of 8 eggs that day. After putting them in the basket, Grace heads over to the cow stall and milks them by hand, she hates the new technology available to farmers' wives like her. She sweeps the yard, feeds all the chickens, sheep, cows and horses, and tends to the crops.
She gets changed out of her farm gear and into her every day clothes, plus her flowery cooking apron. She checks the big slate clock on the wall, it was 11 in the morning already. It was time for 2 hours of jam making, Grace thinks.
In the kitchen, Grace makes a variety of jams, including plum, strawberry, cherry, raspberry, blackberry and a number of marmelades. She would sell some, and the rest, she would give to friends or she'd keep to herself!
As the day grows later and later, Grace completes all her daily duties, and by the time twilight had set in she starts to feel lonely. She wonders how her brother Ted is doing. Was he in Brazil or maybe Germany? He teaches kids, generally abroad. Grace misses him terribly. She wishes he would come home and see her. Maybe at christmas she'd see him again.
Meanwhile, Ted dismisses his class of 14 year olds in Germany. He loves teaching, it was a passion for him. He liked to see youngsters achieve so well each year. He'd spend half the year in Germany, and when summer time dawned, he'd head to Brazil for all of the summer language programmes. This left him very little time to see his Sister, Grace. Grace was 2 years older than Ted, but he'd been the one to fly the nest first. He walks home to his little Bavarian cottage which he shares with his girlfriend, and enters, kicking off his boots, ready to relax for the evening. He gets out his laptop, and gets ready to mark some essays. But instead, he finds himself on a flight finder website. It was time to see Grace.
Grace heard a knock at the door. She called out and then ran to answer. A stoney-faced man waited on the doorstep, clutching a thick letter. He gravely handed it to Grace.
"Sorry ma'am, bad news." Grace ripped open the envelope with quivering hands. It read:
"Dear Mrs Blake. I'm sorry to have to tell you that Ted died suddenly a couple of days ago. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this in writing. I'll send you somethings he'd like you to have. With love, Ted's girlfriend, Anne."
Grace screams and sits upright, she'd obviously fallen asleep on the sofa. She checks the time, 1 am! She hunts around feebly for the letter, the letter that doesn't exist. She sighs with relief and collapses back on to the couch, falling into a deep and unddturbed sleep.
Two weeks later, Grace had not heard from Ted since that terrible nightmare she'd had about his death. She'd phoneed him frequently, both at his address in Germany and in Brazil, to no avail. She began to feel lonelz, anxious and depressed. She even wrote him a few letters, again to each address, in the hopes of a response. It was now Christmas eve. Grace was carrying out her normal every day jobs. She had been given little gifts from her friends for Christmas, but now she was sat at home by the log fire. She pours herself a mold wine and sits on the sofa, feeling sad.
Suddenly, there was a cheerful knocking at the door. Grace rushed to the door, expecting carrollers or charity collectors. Instead, ted was standing there with a small suitcase, and a bouquet of flowers.
Grace screams with delight and embraces her brother, who laughs and hands her the bouquet of flowers, then crushes her in a tight hug.
"Hey, sissy! Missed me?"
Grace began to cry tears of joy. Grabbing her brother's hand, she guided him round the farm, showing him all the animals. When they were done, they sat by the fire and sampled Grace's homemade mince pies, and some of her jams, until Ted produced a delicious german gingerbread house, which they gladly shared. After a while, they started sharing memories, laughing, and just like the olden days, the happy siblings began to waltz cheerfully round the living room, viennese style, while the farm animals made their own chorus out in the snow. Grace decided this was the best Christmas she'd had in a long time, and Ted thought the exact same.
19 June. Below is a copy of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bm027QFMU0&feature=youtu.be
