STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE…

Folktales never die, they just go to sleep until they’re kissed with kindness.

The comfort zone of beginning storytellers is to find the familiar, the sympathetic.  For some performers, they embrace the ongoing saga-length possibilities of Ancient Mythology (see Zeus and his wacky relations) OR Cultural tales they heard at a relative’s knee (see the Ramayana).  For others, ‘familiar’ is the Euro- or Appalachian-folktale.

Greek or Roman myths offer still-relevant symbols of behavior & linguistic analogs for love (Venus), vanity (Narcissus), or war (Mars), among others.  The roots from which all soap operas flow.

Cultural tales carry an emotional weight, immerse you in an unique ethos of a specific culture portraying heroes, villains, and helpers.  The roots from which your roots grow.

As for folktales, I think they get a bum rap.  They are self-contained (unities of Time, Place, and Action), display memorable values (loyalty, generosity, wit), and provide archetypes and action that rivet the attention.  Animated movies and 2011-12 TV shows still love the legendary for those reasons.

Granted, the emotional attachments or environs relevant to the 21^st century audience member may be lacking.  Repeated exposure to a specific tale could result in emotional distance (if any empathy existed in the first place), loss of attention with its predictable plot, and ultimately no desire to read or see it as before.

BUT your exposure to folktales has left its mark on your perceptions and behaviors, I’ll wager.  Those ‘folk’ universal laws & ethics still guide you.

#1: Size does matter.  ‘Third little pig’ or the Mouse of Aesop’s fable proved they weren’t always outmatched.  This law takes on different context in jewelry purchases, of course.

#2: Kissing a frog is not a deal-breaker.   You can’t judge a book by its cover, either,  but making out with one is not a healthy start to a relationship.  The frog, the animal is there to let a personality shine through the warts.  See the whole person, yes?

#3: Names are powerful.  If my name was Rumplestiltskin, I’d conceal it too; or at least do a more effective job so nosy folks don’t get the best of me…via identity theft.

#4: No such thing as a free lunch.  Gingerbread houses are all-you-can-eat tasty until you have to live with the transsexual Gordon Ramsay inside. 

As performers, we also have laws--to help you appreciate the ‘tired’ folktale.

I = Go to THE source.  Many published versions lose something in translation; sharp details and weird customs become diluted or deleted over the years.  Dig deep into the culture and era that spawned the story.  Peruse multiple versions of the tale.  Everything old can become new again.

II = Acknowledge the Source.  It’s tempting to find a good thing and be appreciated for it.  You hold a monopoly on the script and praise…IF nobody knows you’re using a published version.  BUT sooner or later the truth will out & remember what happened to the wolf after Little Red’s lumberjack friend got done with him?  I’m just sayin’.  
    If the audience trusts you for the good stuff, give ‘em more (in quantity by doubling their resource & quality when you ask the author for permission to share this and another tale).

III = Identify with a character.  Many performers do this unconsciously on first read--it’s the hook for their enthusiasm; it’s the empathy that fulfills the character portrayal; it’s the spark for ensuing light bulbs over the audience noggins.
IF you’re running out of gas telling an ‘old’ tale, then find a character in the story whose perspective isn’t fully shared or understood in the traditional version.  Write the storyline (or an original one) in their words, through their eyes.  I’ve had a lot of fun with this method.

“Fractured Fairy Tales” ala the 1960s Rocky & Bullwinkle TV show, Gregory Maguire’s works (“Wicked”, among others), and many recent children’s books utilize the twist to much success.

IV = READ!  Somebody read you the stories when you were younger; then you read on your own.  You can find a lot more material, enjoy a lot more literature, know more of your ancestral culture, and challenge yourself as a writer-performer if you make a consistent effort.

Right now I’m working on a tale about finding a pot of rainbows at the end of a golden nugget.  

Jealous?

                                                            #####