Take 200 or so lively elementary school students. Sit them all on the floor of a gymnasium on a cold March morning. Then talk to them for almost an hour about early 19th century American politics.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it?
Not for Jim Weiss.
Jim's a professional storyteller. He's an acrobat of ideas, swinging from word to word to word during a performance.
He comes to a town with hundreds of stories in his head, ready for sharing.
"My wife occasionally gets very frustrated with me because I can remember 600 stories, but I can't remember where I put my car keys," he told me, grinning.
Jim told stories to students at Lamar and Reagan elementary schools Thursday and will conduct workshops for educators today.
He will present a free public performance at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Presbyterian Church, 11 N. Park St.
Watching Jim's performance at Lamar, I marveled and how he keeps so many children so entertained for so long.
His secret of successful storytelling?
"Only tell stories you love," Jim said.
"Enthusiasm is the biggest thing you have going for you. If you tell stories you don't care for, they will always fall flat."
In an age of Internet video and text messaging, why do we need storytellers?
"Our brains are wired to learn through stories," Jim said.
"Let's say I'm teaching history. I can tell you the Battle of Hastings occurred in 1066 in England, and you'll remember that for about 15 seconds. But if I tell you the story and you get caught up in who the people were and why they were fighting, it will stay with you forever.
"A story hits you simultaneously in the head and the heart. There's no more powerful combination than that."
Many of his stories are about people from other places and other times.
"People are fascinated how someone living in a very different time and place from ours can still be so much like us," he said.
"When you learn what other people really believe, you cannot think of them just as objects. As you understand people better, it becomes much harder to hate them."
Jeff and his wife, Randy, were both teachers before they turned their love of storytelling into a business 18 years ago.
He said they want to help reconnect young readers with classic stories such as "The Three Musketeers" and "Hercules."
Movie versions of classics aren't the same thing, he added.
"Do you really think anyone in Hollywood can write a better adventure than ("Three Musketeers" author) Alexandre Dumas?
Jim calls their storytelling business "a mission."
The mission, he explained, is to use storytelling to interest people in discovering - and reading - great stories about history, religion, mythology, science and culture, as well as fiction.
He said children are the perfect place to begin.
"There's nothing more beautiful than seeing the light bulb go on over the head of a girl or boy.
"Once somebody is turned onto learning, they will run with it the rest of their lives."
Rick Smith is a news and community affairs columnist. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org or (325) 659-8248.
If you go
- What: Storyteller Jim Weiss.
- When: 10 a.m. Saturday.
- Where: St. Paul Presbyterian Church, 11 N. Park St.
- Cost: Free and open to the public.
- What else: Weiss, a Virginia resident, travels the world bringing classic literature like "Sherlock Holmes" and "Treasure Island" to children and adults. For more information, see greathall.com.
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