Bringing Storytime Alive with

Acting Techniques

An Interactive Workshop with

Christi Underdown-DuBois

& Pete Turner

What not to do...

Banish Shyness. Literally.

The Importance of Warm-Ups:

"The body is your instrument and tool, just like the book you are going to present."

Let’s Get Physical

Let’s Get Vocal

Let’s Get Emotional

Physical

Spine RollSwingFront - Back - All the Way Around !Big & Small

Vocal - ProjectionOooo’sYawn (Temple Mandibular)Na Na NaMa Na La Tha Va ZaTongue Rolls & Lip Rolls

Vocal -DictionRed Leather Yellow LeatherToy BoatRubber Baby Buggy BumpersNat's knapsack strap snapped Bruce bought bad brown bran bread Pacific Overtures...

Adapted from Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim

Please, Hello, I come with letters from Her Majesty Victoria

Who, learning how you're trading now, sang "Hallelujah, Gloria!"

And sent me to convey to you her positive euphoria

As well as little gifts from Britain's various emporia.

Tea? For drink? I thank you. I think.

Her letters do contain a few proposals to your Emperor

Which if, of course, he won't endorse, will put in her in a temper or,

More happily, should he agree, will serve to keep her placid, or

At least till I am followed by a permanent ambassador.

Her Majesty considers the arrangements to be tentative

Until we ship a proper diplomatic representative.

We don't foresee that you will be the least bit argumentative,

So please ignore the man-of-war we brought as a preventative.

And speaking of the man-of-war That's anchored rather near the shore,

It's nothing but a metaphor That acts as a preventative.

Hints to Helpa.k.a. The Yellow Brick

RoadBody as a Tool

Ping Pong Lead

Posture & Gestures

Body Leads

Standing vs. Sitting

Placement of Voice

Sean Connery vs. Other Scottish vs. Irish vs. New York

Droopy

Laban’s Effort Shapes

Practice Practice Practice~ make the story your own

~Read the Story AloudRead from the Side and Upside DownFind the Arc of the Story, the Rhythm, the Trouble SpotsCheat Front

Audience ~ Taming the Wild Pony

Memorize First and Last LineMake Eye ContactPersonal Space as a ControlLaugh with ThemInteract with Questions

Story~ Text Analysis

Honor the author and honor the story. Try to make choices that emphasize, not detract from, the story.

It's always more about the story than the performer. Lose your self-consciousness and ego.

Story ~ Text Analysis

Find unique elements & Author’s voice

Repetition of words or elements

The Rule of Threes

Sound Effects & Onamanopia

Poetry & “Tasty Words”

Graphics

Story ~ Text Analysis

Find the Main Character’s Arc and the rhythm of the story.

The Arc of a Character is that Character’s Journey and how they CHANGE.

Story ~ Text Analysis

ACTS:

Beginning,

Middle

& End

PLOT POINTS:

Where the Action Changes

Story ~ Text Analysis

Rhythm!Find the places that speed up & slow down Don't be afraid of silenceDon’t go too slow either!

Story ~ Text Analysis

Find the Problem SpotsTough words & odd phrasingSentences that break over pagesPictures that differ from text

Story ~ Performance

Stay in the moment in the story.

Live the story with the characters and the children who are hearing it for the first time. 

Try not to project the next moment.

Story ~ Performance

Emphasize Important Moments with all the tools from our warm-up

“Pronounce” those Moments

Sources

Best Read Aloud Picture Bookshttp://www.mnstate.edu/cmc/BestReadAlouds.cfm

ICDL - International Children’s Digital Library

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

opening graphic is poster from Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein

o  Aardema, Verna; illustrated by Petra Mathers. Borreguita and the Coyote. New York, NY: Dragonfly Books, 1991.

o Breathed , Berkeley. Goodnight Opus. Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Company, 1993.

o Breathed , Berkeley. Red Ranger Came Calling. Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Company, 1994.

o Bunting, Eve; illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. The Bones of Fred McFee. Orlando, FL : Harcourt, 2005.

o Cinderella. (Octopus Pop-Up Picture Stories) London, UK : Octopus Books Limited, 1980.

o Cowley, Joy: illustrated by Robyn Belton. The Duck in the Gun. London, UK : Walker, 2009.

o Cronin, Doreen; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Duck for President. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2004.

o Duran Ryan, Cheri; illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Hildilid's Night. New York, NY : Macmillan, 1971.

Books we like to use for story times

o  French, Jackie; illustrated by Bruce Whatley. Pete the Sheep Sheep. New York, NY : Clarion, 2004.

o Ga'g, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New York, NY : Scholastic, 1956.

o Hort, Lenny; A N Afanasʹev; illustrated by Gennadiĭ Spirin. The Fool and the Fish. New York, NY : Dial Books, 1990.

o  Jagtenberg, Yvonne. Jack's Kite. Brookfield, Conn : Roaring Book Press, 2003.

o Leaf , Munro; illustrated by Robert Lawson. The Story of Ferdinand. London, UK : Viking, 1936.

o Lionni, Leo. Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. New York, NY : Scholastic, 1969.

o Mack, Stan. Where's My Cheese? Pantheon Books, 1977.

o Orleans, Susan; illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Lazy Little Loafers. New York, NY : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008.

o Slobodkina, Esphyr. Caps For Sale. Reading, MA : Young Scott Books, 1968.

o Snow White. (An All-action Treasure Hour Pop-Up Book) Czechoslovakia : Brown Watson, 1983.

Books we like to use for story times

o Steig, William. Brave Irene. New York, NY : HarperCollins, 1986.

o Thompson, Jill. Scary Godmother. San Antonio, TX : Sirius, 1999.

o Ungerer, Tomi. Crictor. New York, NY : HarperCollins, 1986.

o Ungerer, Tomi. The Three Robbers. London, UK : Phaidon, 2008.

o Ungerer, Tomi. Zeralda's Ogre. New York, NY : Delacorte Press, 1967.

o Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Hartford, CT : Atheneum, 1972. 

o Waddell, Martin; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Farmer Duck. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 1996.

o Willems, Mo. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2003.

o Willems, Mo. Edwina, the Dinosaur who didn't know She was Extinct. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2006.

o Willems, Mo. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. New York, NY : Hyperion, 2004.

Books we like to use for story times