Staying on the funny side...of Spontaneity

Today I decided to have a moment of spontaneity with my toddler, which is unusual for me to engage in things I can’t spell. Usually I like my spontaneous moments to occur on weekends - not during those precious work hours when I could be sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. But when Junior asked me for the 147th time if he could do bubbles, I stopped typing, looked up, and much to his surprise and mine said yes, and we ran outside before I could change my mind. No coats. No shoes. No sunscreen. We just ran out into the glorious sunshine and, despite that moment where I tripped down the stairs, it was like a scene right out of a movie. Until we started arguing over the bubbles – who was going to hold the jar – who was going to blow – who would get to eat the half-eaten candy bar we found on the ground. And what started as a sweet mommy-and-me project of love and togetherness that belonged on the cover of Good Mommy Magazine, quickly spiraled into a devil-mommy-spanks-kid-in-the-front-yard moment that belonged on the cover of Moms Who Shouldn’t Be Magazine. So much for my sweet-lady-next-door image which, according to my husband, disappeared a long time ago somewhere between the time I threw a pot roast at him as he ran to his car and the time I accidentally posted my labor pictures on MySpace.

And so our bubble blowing fiasco ended as quickly as it had begun when Junior spilled the entire bottle of bubble liquid on the ground which left us with nothing to do but just sit – at least that was my plan – to lounge under the oak tree while he lay his head on my lap and I read him excerpts from articles I had written. His plan was to sprint down the driveway and collide into the car in rapid succession (yeah, I’m thinking trade school), see which bricks on the side of the house were loose, dig for worms, and lick bark – all of which he found great delight in while my rear end lost feeling on the cold cement porch, my eyes itched, the wind kept blowing my hair into my lip gloss, I got a bug in my teeth, I was reminded of everything in the yard that needs to be done, and I swear I could hear the whisper of missed opportunities on the breeze. Then the rabid squirrel jumped out of a bush and sent both of us running into the house in a fit of hysterics. I probably shouldn’t have pushed Junior down on my way to the front porch.

We were both sticky with bubble juice and had to break routine and take a bath in the afternoon (no, not together, they won’t let me do that anymore) and I was so worn out that I crawled into bed with him at naptime - the rest of my work day ruined. No emails answered, no phone calls returned. And as he was curled up against me, his hair still wet from his bath, his arm thrown around my neck, he whispers, “That was fun Mommy” and fell asleep. And my heart great three sizes that day. And somehow I knew that even in my wrong way, I had done the right thing - that years down the road I wouldn’t remember the lost hours of work. I would remember him laughing and running in his bare feet. Before he stubbed his toe on that rock.

You probably don’t have a toddler. You probably don’t work from home. But I’d bet you, like me, miss some of the precious spontaneous opportunities to jump up and go blow some bubbles. Let’s don’t do that anymore. Okay?

(PS Who decided a thirty-seven piece, multi-faceted, battery-operated, monogrammed bubble set with retractable pieces and a matching keychain should be fifty-nine cents at Target – but toilet paper costs me four dollars? I guess the same people who decided to charge us for air at the gas station.)

On Passion...

PASSION CAN'T BE BOUGHT, GIVEN, ACHIEVED,OR FAKED. BUT PASSION CAN BE FOUND.
I quit my job to follow my passion - professional storytelling a career path that offered no money, no ladder to climb, and no books telling me how to do it. But I was lucky because I had something more important than talent. I had passion something that can't be bought. But it can be FOUND. In every single one of us there burns that blue flame of passion. It's just buried deeper in some - underneath life's obligations, fear, insecurities, and negative forces. So how do we get to that inner flame?

FIND THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR HEART SING
Get away from the noise. Sit down and think. What brings you joy? What do you love to do more than anything? In what can you lose all sense of time and surrounding? Is it shopping? Is painting children? Is it food? Is it reading about Greek mythology? Don't think about what this would mean or what it should be. This is about you. And know that it probably won't be one thing. Passions are often a culmination of many desires.

DON'T LOOK AT THE WORLD AND ITS BOXES
So often I hear someone state their passion and immediately discard the thought because they see it in only one box. You make a mistake if you cut your dream off at the pass. I would dare to say that ANY passion can be turned into a lucrative career if you are willing to see outside the box that the world has created. I once knew a guy who really wanted to juggle. That's right - balls up in the air. That was his passion. But he kept hesitating because there's no money in juggling. What would his parents think? And he didn't like kids. He felt it was a lost cause and many would probably have agreed with him. But he didn't stop. He had passion. Now he has put together a program for corporations on how to deal with the many balls we juggle on a daily basis. He gets paid very well. He loves what he does. And guess how he spends the majority of his time at work? Juggling.

IT'S NOT ABOUT TALENT
Too many people ignore their flame because they think they're not good enough. Chances are strong that you are, and if you aren't, then you'll deal with it like a grownup and find another way to do what you love. It just takes some creative thinking. I've seen example after example of people who excelled at their business - not because they were the most talented - but because they were the most passionate.

SEE IT
Don't just say it. See your dream unfolding. There is tremendous power in visualizing.

SAY IT OUT LOUD
There's something about saying it out loud that makes it real, even if there's nobody to hear it.

DEVELOP A SUPPORT NETWORK
Tell people you trust. It makes you accountable. Keep in mind that there are many people who, knowingly or not, will try to sabotage your dream. Many people are secretly afraid or even jealous of your courage. They want it so desperately themselves and are so afraid to find it, that they make themselves feel better by diminishing yours. That's why it's so important to find that network of people who will support your dream, and hang on to them for dear life. They will get you through those many moments when the negative forces overwhelm.

EMBRACE THE REJECTION
Use what is constructive and learn to let the rest roll off of your back. Learn to get back up. True success doesn't lie in those moments when you finally reach the finish line. Success is in every one of those moments when you have the courage to get back up.

TAKE A BREATH AND JUMP
Just close your eyes, have faith in the unseen, and jump. You may not have anything to lose. You may have everything to lose. But you will never regret the jump.

Putting Stories Together to Make a Show

PUTTING STORIES TOGETHER
TO MAKE A SHOW

by Kelly Swanson
President, North Carolina Storytelling Guild

November, 2006


Somewhere along the way, I have realized that people are more interested in buying a show, than in buying Kelly Swanson the storyteller. Especially if you give your show a cute and catchy title like “It’s all fun and games ‘til the hair gets messed up.” Please don’t use that title for your show. I’m already using it.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it makes sense to talk about how to put stories together to form a holiday show. Christmas is usually my biggest season with the number of holiday parties (churches, businesses, private parties, etc) that are looking for entertainment. So I’m going to show you how I put together a Christmas show. You will find that this process can be easily applied no matter where you take your storytelling.

I’ve made a list of the process that I go through to put a show together. I am using Christmas as an example, but you can see how it would work no matter what your theme.

Start by thinking where you plan on taking your show, and what kind of audience you want to target. For the sake of example, let’s say that you want to do a show for kids. You will probably have to be more specific than that because performing for toddlers requires something different than performing for fifth graders. Let’s say that you want to reach a wide span of ages. So we’ll focus on first through fifth grades.

Then think about what kind of message or theme you would like to have. In this case we have already decided that it’s Christmas. I can tell you right now, that you may have trouble selling that to the schools so you might want to call it a holiday program. Or call it a Christmas program and sell it to churches. It’s up to you.

Decide on a message or a common theme that you want to have in your show. I’m going to choose “Christmas around the world” as a theme for this example. If you want to use that theme, go ahead. If everybody did a show on that theme they would still be different because we would choose different ways to do that. So our theme is Christmas is around the world, and we want to show how children in other cultures celebrate Christmas. Not all cultures celebrate Christmas. So you may decide to change your theme and do something about holiday traditions in other cultures. Or do something different – like Christmas through the ages in America – the traditions back through time. Your options are endless.

Now decide the length of your show. I would suggest 45 minutes - no matter what you do or where. And I would recommend that you do not do one story that is 45 minutes long. I suggest that you do short pieces (all five minutes or less) and piece them together. You might want to have some extra stories ready in case someone asks you to perform longer. And because you are putting short pieces together, you have the flexibility to take away pieces if there are any last minute scheduling changes, or if you are asked to do a thirty-minute show. There have been cases where I was about to walk on stage and was told that I needed to cut ten minutes because we were behind schedule. Be prepared to be flexible.

Now choose stories that represent your theme. Find stories about how children celebrate Christmas all over the world. Look in libraries or on the internet. If you have relatives from other countries, ask them, and you will have some personal stories in there too. You could talk about food, costumes, songs, toys, parades, Christmas hymns and where they originated, etc.
Find things to put in between your stories that will break them up yet tie them together as well. You may want to read a poem, sing a song, do a dance, etc.

Find other things that will make your show interesting and/or educational. If you are good with Power Point, bring pictures. Dress in costume. Bring props that represent the different areas of the world. Have music playing in the background. Do an audience participation game. Ask them questions. Bring a doll from each area you talk about. These are just ideas. I’m sure you can come up with others.

Put your stories together so that there is a good balance. Alternate the funny with the serious. Don’t do two long stories and then three short ones. Do a short, a long, and then a short.

Now learn your stories and practice your show

Give it a catchy title that will make people want to come. I kind of like “Christmas Around the World” as the title. But you can choose whatever works for you.

You might want to design some sort of picture to accompany the title. Clip art is fine. Or try drawing something yourself. Be careful with clipart and make sure that it is not copyright protected.

Write a one-paragraph description of the show that will make people want to come
Do a flyer or a brochure or a postcard about the show and send it out to groups who may be interested. People starting booking for Christmas shows in early October all the way through November.

Decide how much you want to charge for your show and how much you are willing to negotiate
If you have the means, tape the show on your laptop, burn it on CD, and make copies. Put on a cute label with your contact information. Sell the CD at the event.

Ask clients if they have the means to videotape it. Wouldn’t it be great to get it on tape? Then you can sell it at all of your future events, year after year.

Once you have performed your show ask your client to write a testimonial letter about that show (referencing the show in their letter) and then you can send it with your flyer the next time you try to sell that show.

Now wasn’t that easy? Good luck putting together your own show.

Kelly Swanson

It's all fun and games 'til the hair gets messed up

www.kellyswanson.net