The Story Performance Handbook

By R. Craig Roney

Book Overview

The Story Performance Handbook provides specific, detailed information to help adults develop basic skills in reading aloud, mediated storytelling, and storytelling. Organized sequentially, each chapter moves the reader from the easiest (reading aloud picture books) to the most difficult (creating your own stories for telling) storytelling experience, cumulatively building story performance skill in selecting, preparing, and delivering stories and poetry to audiences. This structure allows individuals to begin reading at various points depending on their prior experience with story performance.

The text includes several features that make learning to perform stories and poetry easy to understand and manage:
* Explicit, thorough advice avoids confusion, such as how to select, prepare, and deliver stories and poetry via reading aloud, mediated storytelling, and storytelling.
* The sequential chapter organization, progressing from easiest to most difficult, and Developmental and Culminating Activities at the end of each skill chapter, enable this text to be used either independently or in conjunction with courses or workshops in story performance.
* Unique among story performance texts, instruction is based not only on the author's own extensive experience but also on empirical research related to teaching adults to tell stories.
* Specific information is easily located throughout the text: Processes are presented in bold type, numbered sequentially and, at the end of specific chapters, skill building activities are provided. Figures (which provide additional detailed information) are boxed. Examples of processes are highlighted with background shading.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805836284
• ISBN13: 9780805836288
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Price & Condition

Loved the price! The book was originally $35. I purchased it for $0.74! That's a 98% savings! It was practically new with only one faint marking in the margin.

Sharing Stories Orally

Roney's book is written primarily as a college textbook or as a guide for adults who want to begin storytelling. Although it is not aimed at a juvenile audience, it is likely to be helpful to teachers and parents who are nurturing storytelling in children -- particularly if they want to use reading aloud as a springboard to storytelling. Roney devotes nearly half of the book to reading aloud effectively. Most chapters include sections on story selection, preparation, and delivery. Practice activities and resources are also included. Only one chapter (about twenty pages) focuses directly on the storytelling craft.