It's
hard to think, or write, or even talk about anything right now, while so many
of us in this region are whirling off balance over the sheer devastation caused
by Hurricane Sandy. But as I have been moving through my days this past
week, what has caught my attention, as it almost always does (me being a
storyteller, after all) are the stories people have and are sharing. This
even is so large and so all-encompassing for those of us in this area, that
everyone has a tale to tell. Whether it be stories of complete safety, or
utter destruction, people seem to be yearning to share what their lives have
been like in the last seven days. I have seen time and time again this NEED, this absolutely primal need, to express what is in us, by way of
a story.
In the last year, I have been dazzled on so many
occasions by how much storytelling is about relationship. The
relationship the teller has to the tale, the tale to current events, the tale
to the audience, but the
big one I keep coming back to is the relationship between the teller and the
audience. The
way there really isn't a story until there is someone to hear it, before that,
what is it? It's a series of events. But when there is someone to
listen, someone to "hold" the words, the images, the experiences -
THAT'S what makes a story come to life, whether it be a folktale or a person's
saga of seeing their belongings blow away in a storm. It's the listening,
as much as the telling - it's the communication between the teller of the tale
and the listener - its relationship between one human
being and another.
That's why storytelling has been around so long,
and always will be. Nothing electronic, nothing on our beloved i-phones,
i-pads, or i-pods, that we were so desperately trying to charge this week (and
I was as STRESSED out about this than anyone - believe me!!) can replace this
basic human connection, this basic need - to be heard, to
express, to communicate. As we all struggle to get back to
"normal", I think it might be nice to - along with remembering to be
thankful for light, heat, water, plumbing, and public transportation, to
remember that along with these things - and food and water - that there is a basic
need in us all to have our stories told and listened to. To communicate what is in us, to those who are around us, and in this
beautiful way, we make community.
JULIE PASQUAL is a self-proclaimed
“creativity junky” whose first art form was dance. After graduating from New
York City’s High School of Performing Arts, she danced and sang in numerous
musicals across the country and Off Broadway. She has acted in everything from
Shakespeare to the work of young playwrights in NYC high schools. Along the way
she learned stilt walking, clowning, American Sign Language, and how to tell
stories.
Her storytelling work encompasses all her skills as a performing artist, as she brings every aspect of a story to life. Her stories have been heard in such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Jersey Storytelling Festival, and in schools, libraries, bookstores, hospitals, radio and private events across the tri-state area. As an artist for Hospital Audiences Incorporated, Julie performs in halfway houses, drug rehabilitation centers and senior citizen homes.
Her storytelling work encompasses all her skills as a performing artist, as she brings every aspect of a story to life. Her stories have been heard in such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Jersey Storytelling Festival, and in schools, libraries, bookstores, hospitals, radio and private events across the tri-state area. As an artist for Hospital Audiences Incorporated, Julie performs in halfway houses, drug rehabilitation centers and senior citizen homes.