Everybody Has a Story
BY LUCRETIA VOIGT CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The award winning novelist Ursula K. LeGuin said it best: "There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been

no societies that did not tell stories." From the

"Epic of Gilgamesh" through the genius of William Shakespeare and onto the folkstories of Mark Twain, stories have educated and entertained. With the advent of the technological age, however, storytelling runs the risk of becoming a whisper in the woods.

According to Lizbet Carroll-Fuller, co-founder of Nantucket Lighthouse School, "Story is important on a lot of different levels. At [the Nantucket Lighthouse School], the children learn of slavery through the story of Harriet Tubman. In order to facilitate learning, you need to create a context. Children also learn through their feelings, so through a story like Harriet Tubman's, they're inspired by her courage, strength and resourcefulness. They are then awakened to that within themselves, aspiring to be courageous, brave and strong."

Recognizing the importance of storytelling led the Nantucket Lighthouse School to begin the Nantucket Storytelling Festival six years ago. The festival has grown from a week-long event at its inception to this year's celebration with events sprinkled throughout the year. On Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Lighthouse School on Rugged Road and on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Atheneum's Great Hall on India Street, award winning storyteller Katie Latimer will weave her storytelling tapestry as part of this year's festival.

Latimer began her storytelling career at the age of 13. Homeschooled and relatively shy, she began taking drama classes when she was 11. Hearing "Tulips" performed by storyteller Jay O'Callahan lit the storytelling spark in Latimer.

"I just picked it up and for the fun of it started performing it," she said. "Next thing I knew I was on a roll. It was almost accidental."

On a roll she was, winning the National Youth Storytelling Olympics in 1998. By the time she headed to college she had already been performing for five years. She has continued honing her storytelling skills.

"I tell a lot of stories that are funny, that are quickwitted, stories that are more fast-paced or funny than stories you might hear from other storytellers," she said. "Even if I'm telling stories to children I look for stories that will also entertain adults. I want to make sure I'm not bored telling a story, even if I'm telling it to a six-year-old."

Latimer's performance on Friday evening is a family affair, with stories for children of all ages. On Saturday, she will perform Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" to get teens and adults into the Halloween spirit. Both events are free and are sponsored by the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation and the Nantucket Arts Council.

Latimer knows the power of storytelling and has seen it transform children much as it did her. "I'll be going into a school to perform for several hundred kids. The administrators will say, 'Come in. It's supposed to be an hour performance, but if you can't hold their attention for that long, feel free to end early.'At the end of the performance, the adults are shocked, usually saying they've never seen the children sit for that long. I think we underestimate children's abilities. You have to give them something worthwhile."

Latimer has traveled across the country, telling stories and mesmerizing audiences. "It's interesting to me how [the audiences] change across the country," she said. "I see an appreciation of [storytelling] growing as they use it in schools, and as people see the negative impact of television."

She is quick to point out, however, that storytelling is in jeopardy of becoming as rare as the right whale. "Storytelling is not attracting that many new performers and new storytellers," she said. "There are sort of a few throughout the country that are relatively well-known, fabulous storytellers that are older and are not being replaced. My concern or hope would be that storytelling can attract new storytellers."

Just as Latimer was bit with the storytelling bug at the age of 13, she knows how it can get in your blood.

"I want to show kids that storytelling is fun and exciting - and isn't always what you think it is." She knows that children are the next generation of storytellers, the Mark Twains and Katie

Latimers of tomorrow. I

Katie Latimer will perform her storytelling magic on Friday, October 26 at 7 p.m. at the Lighthouse School on Rugged Road. On Saturday, October 27 at 8 p.m. she will perform Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell- Tale Heart" at the Atheneum's Great Hall on India Street. All events are free and open to the public.