Storytelling in Participatory Arts with Young People

"A detailed and thorough reflection on the practice of participatory storytelling, this book is suitable for students, researchers, and practitioners who will find it a truly valuable resource. The writing is steeped in the practice of storytelling with young people and demonstrates the deep and sustained level of understanding and knowledge that this can offer. Stepping back from practice to examine the relationships between storytelling and theatre, and applied theatre in particular, makes this book really useful to teachers and researchers in these fields. The book successfully contextualises participatory storytelling work with young people within broader considerations of story and performance and the relationships that are constructed, challenged, and sustained by the acts of telling and listening, creating a valuable new tool for an analysis of storytelling in action."

Dr Alison Jeffers, University of Manchester, UK

This book draws on the author's experience as a storyteller, drama practitioner and researcher, to articulate an emerging dialogic approach to storytelling in participatory arts, educational, mental health, youth theatre, and youth work contexts. It argues that oral storytelling offers a rich and much-needed channel for intergenerational dialogue with young people.

The book keeps theory firmly tethered to practice. Section 1, 'Storyknowing', traces the history of oral storytelling practice with adolescents across diverse contexts, and brings into clear focus the particular nature of the storytelling exchange and narrative knowledge. Section 2, 'Telling Stories', introduces readers to some of the key challenges and possibilities of dialogic storytelling by reflecting on stories from the author's own arts-based practice research with adolescents, illustrating these with young people's artistic responses to stories. Finally, section 3, 'Story Gaps', conceptualises dialogic storytelling by exploring three different 'gaps': the gap between storyteller and listener, the gaps in the story, and the gaps which storytellers can open up within institutions.

The book includes chapters taking a special focus on storytelling in schools and in mental health settings, as well as guided reflections for readers to relate the issues raised to their own practice.