Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
Several years ago I was presenting a storytelling workshop at a small college in Ohio. In the theater department I saw a tiny poster that was a huge inspiration. On the poster were 100 pictures of the same man's face, 10 x 10, but no two pictures were the same. The next morning while brushing my teeth I tried making one hundred faces. Well, I tried to make as many faces as I could. I worked with a broad range of emotions. Then I challenged myself to attempt subtle variations on a theme: from sad, to blue, to downright depressed; from happy, to excited, to overjoyed!
This is a really fun game that you may want to try. Make sure you close the bathroom door so your family does not think that you have lost your mind!
Sometimes when I am leading a workshop, I will ask the participants to turn to a partner and play a little game called "Face Dances." Before the game, I invite all participants to do the yoga stretch called the lion's growl. I ask them to take a deep breath and jut out their lower jaw. Then open their mouth, eyes and face as wide as possible, and let out a deep belly growl. We do this three times, remembering to breathe deeply. The game begins with one partner silently expressing a clear emotion with his or her entire body, but with an emphasis on facial expression. The partner then responds silently with a different but related expression. This is passed back and forth a couple of times. As time and interest allow, partners could trade and try other expressions.
The next step in this process is application. Think about a story that contains strong emotions; most do. How could facial expressions enrich the telling? When you change character in the dialogue of a tale, how could your face tell us who is speaking? When you are singing, how is your face conveying the feeling in the lyric? In all three instances rehearsal in front of a mirror is a valuable technique. In the mirror you can see if the facial expression is adequate or exaggerated. You can practice the subtle nuance in a sly smile and the outrageously wide watermelon grin and wink. Try them both. Gently lift your eyebrows and turn up one corner of your mouth in a half smile. Think a devilish thought to add to the effect. For the opposite extreme, wink and smile with your whole body.
Once you have mastered the technique it is important to move beyond mere technique. Check in with your heart to ensure that the feelings and expressions are genuine and honest. A simple idea from acting is to remember a time when you felt the same emotion as the character you are portraying. Draw on that experience, allowing your feelings to mingle with the emotions of the character. Look into the faces of the audience to appraise their responses. The eyes of the listeners will always reveal their feelings. If they are with you, you can delight in that most human of emotions, empathy. If they are not with you, well, try something else.
To give you an idea of the effectiveness of facial expressions in a story, allow me to share a piece of a story in which a man is walking down a path and falls from a cliff... He grabs onto a limb. He looks up and a tiger is growling, licking his jowls. He can't climb up to escape. He looks down.... (here, I make a drop-jawed gasp) ...it is more than a thousand feet to the bottom. The moment of pause and the facial expression give the audience a chance to imagine and empathize. It conveys much more than words can say.
As you begin telling stories, experiment with facial expressions and body language. Put your entire self into the story, into each character. It should not come across as hollow technique, but genuine heartfelt emotions. Facial expressions can become a powerful tool in your repertoire that enables you to pluck upon the heartstrings of your listeners. Open your eyes wide or wrinkle your nose, twist up your mouth or stick out your tongue! In the context of the story, forget what your mother told you and make faces at your friends!
