Tell Me A Story (and Let Me Be a Part of It)

It's no secret that I L-O-V-E stories. Stories of all kinds. The Glossary of Narrative Terms at the website books.openbookpublishers.com, gives this definition:

STORY -- “A complete chronological sequence of interconnected events.”

No matter the medium, I love diving into a story to follow those interconnected events and understand their complexity. I enjoy watching the plot unfold, seeing what conflicts must be tackled, and learning how they are resolved. I like to follow characters and discover what happens to them throughout the many twists and turns of the narrative. I enjoy watching how the various characters interact, how they respond to challenges along the way, how their personalities and behaviors evolve.  I enjoy feeling the style and atmosphere of the story, absorbing the nuances of different scenes and settings.

Perhaps you can tell, I am a big fan of stories. I enjoy the story that is told in person, the story that is written, and the story that is acted on stage or screen. Most people in my life enjoy hearing a story firsthand. They are kind enough to listen when someone has a story to tell. But, there are people in my life who aren’t interested in reading books. There are people in my life who don’t care to watch movies or streaming series. That is hard for me to understand, because I LOVE being swept away into another time and place thorough a riveting story, feeling the feels, and going along for the ride.

Story Told in Person

Dear Reader, are you a prolific storyteller? Are you a receptive audience?

When I hear someone share a relatable story, I embrace the emotions and identify with the person who is telling the story. Back when I was in my early 20s, I was in a training class for my new job. Within the training group, we strangers in the class had several days of bonding exercises as we learned how to navigate our new positions within the company. During a speech-making exercise, I remember an older man who told a story about his days as a college student at Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt (Vandy) is known as a top-notch school with stellar academics. Their athletics programs? Not so much.

To paraphrase this man’s story: It was (American) football season, and Vandy, being the consistently worst football team in the league, was going to play University of Alabama, the perennial powerhouse football school whose coach was the legendary Bear Bryant. With tests and exams looming, this guy decided that he would not waste time going to the football game on Vandy’s campus, because he knew that his team would be destroyed during the game, probably humiliated. A certain loss. And, besides, he would have full use of the library to study all by himself while everyone else was at the game. Get a lot of work done, he would. (I’ll remind you that this was back in the old days, before personal computers, internet, or smartphones. While he slaved away studying in the library, there was no way for him to catch up on the score or check in to see how the game was going.) This diligent student got to work and busied himself with his academic tasks. But, a few hours in, he heard an earth-shattering roar from afar which burst across the silence of the library. Like, he could hear it even through the closed windows.  As he ran to the nearest window to look out, he saw fans, and fans, and more fans--fellow students and alumni-- crazily and noisily celebrating as they walked from the direction of the football stadium. No one knew how, but Vanderbilt had beat Alabama at football. Mark this date in history, folks. The miracle of 1969.  In our training class, this fellow was telling us the story, several decades later, with all the angst of having missed out on the biggest event of his college career. Forever being left out of memories of the monumental victory shared by so many. Where you there? Did you see it?? No, no, I was studying in the library.

That’s the kind of story I’m talking about. It draws you in, so that you feel the emotions. While I remember virtually nothing from that training class in the 1980s, I vividly remember that guy’s presentation. His story was completely relatable. And memorable.

Story Told in a Book

Dear Reader, are you an author? Are you an avid bookworm?

When it comes to reading, I have an on-again, off-again relationship with books. I am a big fan of reading, and there are so many things that I love about books. The problem, though, is me. When I start to read an enthralling story, I am all in. I become a fly-on-the-wall character in the book. I immerse myself into the environment and identify with the other characters.  I start to think like them. I start to use their dialect in my head. I find it hard to pull away. It becomes difficult for me to separate Storyworld from Lifeworld.  I channel myself into the setting, the plot, and everything. Which is completely exhausting. It really wears me down when I am so heavily involved in the storyline.

Not only that, I find it hard to put the book down because I want to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. To the extreme.  When I am engrossed in a book, I forgo conversations, errands, meals, sleep—all those things that might interrupt me and pull me away from the action. It is not a good thing.

When my kids were younger, we were big fans of the Harry Potter series of books. One daughter and I even made a midnight bookstore run to buy Book 7 of the series the night it was released at 12:01am. With book in hand back at home, we started reading together. After a few chapters, I played mom, closed the book, and sent her off to bed, because it was the wee hours of the morning. My daughter made me promise that I wouldn’t continue to read.  Yall, I just can’t help it. I need to know what happens.  I read several more chapters, then forced myself to put the book away and go to bed. I DID NOT admit to her what I had done. The next day, we picked up where we left off and I reacted appropriately, as if I was hearing the story for the first time. I eventually confessed, and let me tell you, she was not one bit surprised that I couldn’t control myself.

As a kid, I read voraciously. I was the kid who, nose buried in a book, held up my index finger to silence my family members until I got to a stopping point in the action. As my parents so often reminded me, I missed seeing many a drive-by road trip attraction as I failed to take a break from reading and look out the car window when they called out the sites. As an adult, life became complicated and busy, and I had no time for reading. I know that if I could read casually, I might have made time for books. But, we all know that I can’t read casually. Other than helping with homework assignments for my kids, I put books away for several decades while I tended to life. That’s what I said. Decades. Now, retired with fewer people in my house to worry about, fewer deadlines and responsibilities, I have started reading again. And I am jumping into books headfirst, I am happy to say. I hope I don’t regret it.

Story Told Through Acting (The Performing Arts)

Dear Reader, are you an actor, or a film professional? Are you a cinephile or movie buff?

I also love to watch stories unfold on the screen. In the first place, I love stories. In the second place, I take great pleasure in seeing the story come to life. It’s completely different than imagining the action in your head. I’m fascinated by the process of creating a story and then having it acted out.

I have enjoyed many screen series recently as I flit about through free trials of different streaming services. It takes all my willpower to watch only one or two episodes of a captivating story, when I notice that all 12 episodes are sitting there on the menu. I try so hard to pace myself and let the story tell itself, when, all the while, I am tempted to click ‘next episode’ again and again. That whole thing about FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. While watching, I insert myself into the action, becoming an attendant in the Queen’s court, or a rancher in Montana, or a comedienne in a smoky dive club. I’m all in. Entirely absorbed. Bringing the story to life on the TV screen or movie screen seems like magic to me. Completely enchanting. What I wouldn’t give to be a part of that and see how life is breathed into a story.

When I was in college, I took a class from the English department about Analyzing Movies. It was my favorite class of all time. We watched movies, analyzed the stories, studied the characters, evaluated things like camera angles, movie scores, product placement, prop choices, etc.  I’m not particularly wowed by actors or the whole Hollywood image, but I am rather wowed by the details and mechanics of pulling a movie together, telling the story on the silver screen.

Where we live in the state of Georgia, the movie industry has really taken off. Georgia has courted the film industry, studios have cropped up, and movies & shows are constantly being filmed around these parts. It’s quite common for us to see hush-hush sets around town where movies and shows are being filmed. Like the local mall that was turned into ‘Starcourt Mall’ for the Stranger Things series a few years ago. For all intents and purposes, when filming is under way, the public is not privy to any of the goings on. But, we can see that something is happening when we drive by.  Remarkably, back when the Hunger Games trilogy was being filmed in Georgia, my son was actually cast to be a background extra, but had to forego the opportunity, because he couldn’t get off of his regular job for the day.

I am thrilled that I have just made it through the first cut to be a background extra in a new movie that is being filmed here this spring.

The casting agency keeps sending me ‘hang in there’ emails that tell me that I am still under consideration to be selected for a particular group of extras. Also, emails that tell me to be sure that I don’t cut my hair--I need to have the right look.  I’m holding my breath that I will make it onto set, because I SO want to participate. People tell me that a movie production day is long, repetitive, and rather boring. That’s ok, I just want to be part of the story. I want to see the set, the actors, the cameras, the action. I don’t have any wild notions of seeing anyone famous or of being discovered or anything. I just want an insider’s view of a story coming to life on the big screen. I want to understand some of the process. And participate just a little bit.

And, if I make it in, I will finally be a real, true, living, breathing part of a story. Not only in my imagination. In the flesh.  I would love it. What do you think about that, Dear Reader? Keep your fingers crossed for me.