NET Scheme News 2025 Spring issue 47

11 NET Scheme News Issue 47 10 NET Scheme News Issue 47 Tiddler Storytellers: Darren Bouwer & Harry Uden What inspired your use of live drawing performances in ‘Tiddler’? We were inspired to use live drawings in our storytelling showcase of ‘Tiddler’ to create a more engaging experience for the audience. Watching the story unfold visually in real-time adds an element of surprise and immediacy, drawing the audience deeper into the narrative. The integration of live drawings, props, and character visuals brings the story to life. This helps the audience relate to the characters and connect emotionally with Tiddler’s adventures. What advice would you give to someone exploring the use of different art forms? For those exploring different art forms like collage, painting or origami, our advice is to experiment boldly and let the medium serve the story. Consider what feelings or themes you want to share and let that help you decide what to create. The Rainbow Fish Storytellers: Darren Bouwer & Harry Uden Is storytelling only for professionals or extroverts? Storytelling is not just for professionals — it’s a universal human skill. Stories help us connect, inspire, and make sense of the world, whether shared around a dinner table or on a stage. Everyone can use storytelling to connect with others. Introverts can absolutely be great storytellers! Storytelling isn’t about volume or high energy — introverts can also create a close connection with their audience through their thoughtful way of speaking. It’s about authenticity and connection. Storytelling thrives on sincerity, not showmanship. Storytelling is only for professionals. How would you respond to this? Storytelling is about sharing ideas, feelings and experiences, which means that anyone can do it, no matter how much experience they have, whether telling personal stories, sharing cultural tales, or making up stories for fun. Tiddlick: The Frog who Caused a Flood Storyteller: Sue Bowden How do objects transform the narrative and the audience’s perception? Objects are vital in storytelling; they act as symbols, enhance themes, and bring characters to life. Objects serve as tangible connections to the story, allowing audiences to engage with the narrative on a deeper level. They can evoke emotions, represent ideas and even drive the plot forward.Objects can completely shift the audience’s perception. For example, a seemingly ordinary item can reveal hidden backstories or pivotal moments, making the story more dynamic and relatable. Incorporating objects into storytelling is not only fun and easy but also sparks creativity! I highly recommend it to everyone; it adds layers of depth and invites the audience to interact with the story in exciting ways. Give it a try! The Empty Pot Storyteller: Ravneet Kaur What did you learn about integrity from‘The Empty Pot’? How did you develop your storytelling skills? Integrity, as highlighted in ‘The Empty Pot’, emphasises the values of honesty and trustworthiness. I believe that genuine stories often resonate more profoundly with audiences. I honed my skills by sharing stories with my students and my children, learning through observation and feedback. Engaging with diverse narratives also helped me develop my style. Ultimately, storytelling is all about making connections with the audience, and anyone can become a storyteller through dedication and commitment. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Storytellers: Hannah Standring & Craig Robertson What advice would you give to aspiring storytellers? I remember telling stories to my friends, family and colleagues! Storytelling is a transferable skill which you can apply to different aspects of your life. Take public speaking as an example, many strong speakers will use anecdotes (stories) to bring their speech to life. Stories can be personal, which help to engage and form a closer relationship with your audience.Even for everyday conversation, storytelling is used. Storytelling can help you to dramatise your conversations with others — people will be much more engaged in what you are talking about if you use varying intonation, pitch, pace and pause.Try to apply some of the strategies which you explore in storytelling to both your presentations and your daily conversations. Dragon Keeper Storyteller: Luana Hasell How did you manage to turn a 360-page novel into a 3-minute delivery? A story can start from anywhere. It might be the retelling of an event, it could be a spark of inspiration or a picture, or perhaps an epic tale that spans centuries. It could be about people or places or the feelings that we have. ‘Dragon Keeper’ is a lengthy novel, but by taking an exciting extract and adapting it, another story was created. I didn’t follow the existing plot exactly, but created a slightly different tale.An extract or adaptation can also be a story. The connection in this story was created through the use of a repeated motif, in this case the rock. Using this as a key idea in the story is a good way of joining ideas and events. The Long Road Storyteller: Geoff Brown Is there a place for creativity in non-fiction storytelling? Non-fiction storytelling can be as entertaining as fiction. All you need to find is a person or event that is extraordinary. Terry Fox had a superhero quality about him which made him stand out amongst others. He accomplished something that most people would never even attempt, which is where the entertainment factor comes in. His story leaves you scratching your head, thinking how on earth did he accomplish that? Making a story entertaining, whether fiction or non- fiction, comes through the delivery. Even a really great story can be boring if not presented creatively. How the storyteller engages the audience is fully dependent on the techniques used. I thought a song was the way to go because it was different. Pete the Cat Storytellers: Stephen Cooley & Roland Smith Pete the Cat appears to be a very simple book, how would you make it relatable to older children and teenagers? Although the ‘Pete the Cat’ storybooks are written for children, these stories are relatable to teenage audiences as well. Creating great children’s literature is an artform, and the collaboration between the author Eric Litwin and the illustrator James Dean is brilliant.Litwin creates relatable stories about his unique character, Pete the Cat, who always keeps calm and carries on. Dean brings the character and stories to life through his vibrant illustrations. Secondary students can be introduced to both of these aspects of children’s literature. They can be encouraged to create their own emotionally-intelligent characters, who are able to overcome challenges by controlling their emotions and persevering; or perhaps their characters can embody different values, such as respect, integrity or empathy. The Giving Tree Storytellers: Stephen Cooley & Roland Smith Can anyone be a storyteller? I believe yes. Even a very young child can share their experience of the world or make social connections by telling stories. It is often the way our caregivers first pass on knowledge to us, and it feels like an integral part of the human experience. Of course, the quality and sophistication of our stories and storytelling can grow as we are exposed to more and higher quality examples ourselves. The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do Storyteller: Gordon Schiavon Your story is titled ‘The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do’ – what is challenging about becoming a storyteller? I was always uncomfortable speaking in front of people or doing anything on camera. Over time, I have pushed myself to keep trying in order for the discomfort to go away. Storytelling has been a great outlet for me to gain confidence and to connect with the people around me. I became a storyteller because I enjoy the interaction, the different views and the countless life experiences that other people have and share. Storytelling connects me to people and makes my life meaningful. I have discovered that anyone can be a storyteller as storytelling is a natural human ability that we all use in our daily life, from sharing our experiences with friends and family to explaining our ideas and thoughts to those who are willing to listen. Everyone has their own built-in experiences and meaningful moments worth sharing. Daily interactions give us practice using narratives to express and tell these events. They can be told through various mediums, writing, speaking, art, and dance with different styles that suit different personalities. There is no ‘correct’ way to tell a story. Storytelling isn’t about perfection, it’s about connection. Once Upon A Book (OUB) Storytelling Showcase Team NET Section Once Upon A Book (OUB) Storytelling Showcase