What's the Story with Storytelling?

David Crabb / Performer, Producer & Storyteller

I think a lot of people equate the word "storytelling" with two things. One: their childhood. And two: an obnoxious uncle. The fact is, storytelling is a part of our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. Here's an example:

Think of the idiot you're forced to work with at the office. Now think of how you have to communicate an idea to this person. Do this, then this, then this... and it'll eventually (hopefully) lead to this. That's storytelling. And that's you, the storyteller, exercising your ability to connect the dots of the universe.

My mother, Judy DeCroce, was the first person to teach me the tricks of the trade. As a real-life professional storyteller, my mom would travel from school to school performing a series of bizarre, engaging and surprisingly morbid stories to students and teachers all around our home city of Rochester, NY. From children to adults, everyone fell under my mother's spell of imagination. She would transform onstage, becoming her characters, evoking a world that existed solely in the minds of the audience—leading them down whichever path she chose.


Judy DeCroce & Tina (Shumway) Fenton / Founders of the GOAL Program in Rochester, NY

My mother was also a teacher, who, with her creative partner Tina (Shumway) Fenton, founded a curriculum in the 70's called the GOAL Program, in which they used the power of storytelling to immerse children in the educational experience. The GOAL Program, like other sister methodologies like Montessori, allowed students (in this case 4th and 5th graders) to understand the world around them by learning how to connect the dots. Storytelling became part of everything the children learned and helped them build a thread between the past, present and future.

Many of the kids my mom used to teach have sought her out years later (yes, she's on Facebook) to tell her how much they loved her classes and what they remember most. And in each of their stories, one resounding comment always shines through—that hers and Ms. Shumway's classes were the only ones they remembered from their childhood—that if someone were to ask them to name something they learned in school, they would always return to those magical years as 9- and 10-year-olds.

Seeing as how (thankfully—for sanity's sake) I wasn't in my mom's school, and since I can barely remember anything about my pre-college school days, other than which teachers were hot and the opening sequence of The Heart of Darkness (now there's some 7th Grade reading!), I'd have to say that my mother must have been doing something right. It probably isn't surprising that I would eventually become a storyteller myself, or that I'd link up with a fellow storyteller like my mom did with Tina.


David Crabb / Storytelling Live at The Pit in New York City

My friend, co-producer and songwriting partner, David Crabb is a natural performer, a magnetic presence and one of the funniest people I know. He recently performed a story called "She" at The Pit in New York City—one which I'd heard bits and pieces of for years, but now finally got to experience the full, hilarious version of. "She" is classic David. It recounts the second half of his high school years in San Antonio, TX, and the sordid adventures of he and his eccentric partygirl friend, Roxanne.

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"She" a story by David Crabb / Live at The Pit in New York City >

"She was my best friend when I was sixteen and she was twenty," he says, "so she was like that first older friend you have that gets you into 'adult trouble' instead of 'teen trouble.'" David's story reminds me of everything I loved most about high school and the absurdity of navigating the outer edge of an adult world.

When you hear their stories, people like David and my mother may seem like they're one of a kind—which they are. I remember thinking after hearing David's story, "Wow, do I have anything that would even come close to that?" The answer: Sure I do. And so do you. The non-fiction of our everyday lives will always be infinitely more interesting than the fiction tables at Barnes & Noble, and the more we share these stories with others, the better storytellers we become. And that can have a huge effect on everything we do—from the roles we play at work to the relationships we have with our friends.

And the good news? Everyone loves a story. So let's hear what you've got. Comment back to this post with one of your favorite stories and I'll feature my favorite on THE SILVER THREAD.

Sparrow Hall (of The Silver Thread)

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