Free Articles by Jenni Cargill

Articles and stories on this site are copyrighted however they may be freely reproduced as long as the source is acknowledged and an active link made back to this site www.thestorytreecompany.com.au

Frightful Witches and Kissable Toads

As a professional storyteller, I have to confess my prejudices. I am totally and passionately in love with the genre of folktales. Yes, there are folktales that are boring or overly violent or model terrible values. These
are the toad stories and yes, sometimes one has to kiss a few toads before finding the princes and princesses of story. (read more ...)

Storytelling from the Heart: Casting the Golden Net

After ten years of working professionally as a storyteller, I began teaching through the thriving local adult education system. We worked on vocal variation, sound effects, character voices, use of props and a little mime. But we also worked a lot on the inner critic, by doing three things: a creative visualization, practicing something called "Casting the Golden Net" as well as doing an exercise designed to cultivate a witness consciousness.
This can be used to counteract free-floating performance anxieties. The latter two are exercises I learnt while studying full-time at The Drama Action Centre in Sydney. (read more ...)

Interview with Master Storyteller Brian Hungerford

Printed Swag of Yarns
For those of you who don't know Brian Hungerford, he has been described a national living treasure. He is without doubt a master storyteller with a very devoted following. He has told stories in 19 different countries for UNESCO, FAO, the BBC and the British Council. He is also a writer and playwright.

Inanna is the older sister of the Goddess Ishtar. Her Descent to the Underworld is thought to be the mythic source for the famous “Dance of the Seven Veils.” The songs and hymns to Inanna were written down in about 2000BC. (About the same time that the sun worshippers in Ireland were creating the mother mounds at Newgrange where the triple spiral is inscribed.) More hymns and prayers, poems and stories of Inanna have been discovered than of any other Sumerian deity. Like many fertility Goddesses, Inanna was constantly in cycle like the moon, the seasons and nature. She began the year as a young woman, matured into ripe woman, married, then grew into the crone or wise woman, to be reborn a young woman with the New Year.

Background Notes for Storytelling Workshop with Jenni