Fran Stallings

While majoring in biology, I also took college courses which helped my folklore/storytelling interests: psychology, sociology, world literature, modern and pre-classical dance. Folktales remained a hobby during graduate school and a career of college teaching and research. When my own children entered school, I volunteered to tell stories to their classes. Thus started my new profession of performing stories for groups outside the family.

Since 1978 I have worked with classroom teachers to "make room" in their busy schedules for storytelling. I have discovered the unique power of live performance to entrance students into: reading on their own, retelling in their own words, creative writing, art projects, and other curriculum areas. The folktales also open doors to the understanding of other cultures. Most striking, in the teachers' view, is the enhancement of students' listening skills and attention.

My years as a biologist were not lost. Working as Earth & Sky Storytellers together with star tale specialist Lynn Moroney, I continue to teach about our fellow creatures through the medium of stories.

I tell stories to adults as well. You don't have to be little to enjoy stories! In fact, very few of the stories I use (even with school kids) are "children's" stories. Most of them come from the ancient oral tradition which developed stories for listeners of all ages.

The tales in my repertory come from Africa and the Orient, Europe, and North and South America. I have a special collection of folktales from Japan, learned during residencies there and on American tours with my Japanese colleague, Hiroko Fujita. I do a few modern authors, including a little science fiction. I am continually developing new tales and songs. Since picking up the Appalachian autoharp to provide a musical change of pace in long shows, I've been writing original songs and inserting music into the stories themselves.

My stories run from forty-five seconds to forty-five minutes. Most are five to ten minutes in length. I use no props, puppets, or pictures: the audience paints their own visual images in their own minds. When I add discrete touches of gesture, mime, character voice, dance movement, or sound effects, it is to evoke images without dictating them. Listeners are my partners in creation.

People tell me that listening to a storyteller is different from any other entertainment medium. It is an aural and visual experience involving interaction with the performer. But the most unique aspect is the active involvement of the listeners in creating the story in their own imaginations. People listen with an intensity I have rarely seen under other conditions. Each person goes away with a personal version of the story, whose creation has been a shared accomplishment.

PERSONAL DATA: I live in Bartlesville, OK, with my husband Gordon. Our children are grown. When I am not traveling the country to perform at festivals, teach the art of storytelling, or serve as an artist-in-residence in schools, I write professional articles, songs, and English retellings of Japanese tales. I also serve as Oklahoma Liaison for the National Storytelling Network.