Biblical storytelling is more than just “telling the story.” It is a discipline in which the storyteller takes a passage from the Bible, studies and reflects on that passage, and then tells it in a way so that the hearers may best connect with the story as well.

History

Biblical storytellers place themselves in line with the

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

of the Biblical time-period, understanding that the normal mode of engaging with the Bible during this time was through the public reading of scripture or in the retelling of stories. Modern Biblical storytelling as a discipline may be traced to Tom Boomershine, a longtime professor at

United Theological Seminary United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. Founded in 1871 by Milton Wright (father of the Wright brothers), it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1946, members o ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

who experimented with the idea of memorising stories in the Bible and performing them during his years in

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. In 1977, he together with Gil Bartholomew (now Adam Bartholomew) then went to begin the Network of Biblical Storytellers (NBS). Biblical storytelling guilds began to form internationally, with one forming in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1990, one in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1996, and later ones in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Boomershine was also the founder and former chair of the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media group in the

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

, which researches the art and practice of Biblical storytelling in the ancient and modern world as well as how different media have been and continue to be used to disseminate Biblical material.

Techniques

Internalization

The term

memorization Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information. The scientific study of memory is part of cognitive neurosc ...

is rarely used when describing storytelling because it usually is taken to mean

rote learning Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, as ...

. Instead the process is described as 'internalization' or 'committing to deep memory'. As a result of this process the general expectation is that the storyteller will be able to tell the story with 95% content accuracy and 75% verbal accuracy. Techniques may be used as follows: #Making sure the script is easy to read #Breaking up the story into scenes #Identifying key words and phrases #Identifying locations #Investigating and understanding characters #Tracking the emotional journey #Understanding how the story functions in the wider context

Presentation

Presenting a story from the Bible borrows many techniques from

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, yet in many ways it is quite a distinct art form. Instead of solely taking on one character, the storyteller describes the entire scene in the imagination of the audience. Because storytelling is usually done without many

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

or sets, this requires the storyteller to visualise the scene of the story in order to describe it physically whilst telling the story. A number of techniques may be used: #Locations - Using consistent places in the space for locations and characters in the story. #Reacting - Acting as an emotional guide for the audience. #Gesturing - Pointing or gesturing to show the audience where objects are in the imaginary scene. #Miming - Interacting with things or characters to give them a tangible reality. #Acting Out - Demonstrating events or actions whilst talking about them. #Characterization - Using different tones of voice/accents or different stances to distinguish different characters and to give them depth and meaning.

Types

Single person performances

Much of Biblical Storytelling is done as a single storyteller learning one story from the Bible and performing it: * when the Bible passage would normally be read (e.g. in Church meeting) * as a special drama for an occasion (the death and resurrection of Jesus for an Easter event) * in a meeting of storytellers to share stories

Epic storytelling

At events where storytellers are gathering together, an ''Epic Storytelling'' may be set where different parts of the longer story are distributed to those coming together before the gathering and the epic story is told at the event with each of the storytellers telling their sections.

Ensemble storytelling

In a theatrical Biblical Storytelling performance with multiple storytellers, there may be only one ''speaking'' storyteller at a time, so the other storytellers may be used to enhance the telling in the following ways:A workshop on Ensemble Storytelling by The Backyard Bard
/ref> * by being non-verbal characters in the scene * to be part of the set * lines could be distributed or said in unison for dramatic effect * by adding a soundscape (e.g. cheering, mourning, laughing or making sound effects)

References

External links

GoTell Communications
�� A site developed by Tom Boomershine providing resources for Biblical storytellers or anyone wanting to learn Biblical stories by heart.
Dennis Dewey
- A Professional Biblical Storyteller
The Backyard Bard Website

One Man Show Ministries
��a Christian Drama Ministry featuring Costumed Monologues
Bible Storyteller
- a free app of Bible stories by Biblical storyteller Gavin Owen in text, audio and video formats
Great Stories of the Bible
- an index of bible stories in the Old & New Testaments, along with audio {{DEFAULTSORT:Biblical storytelling Bible education Christian performing arts Storytelling Oral literature