When a copywriter decides to adopt storytelling as a profession, one discovers new stories everyday. Devangi Thakkar did just that. While taking a sabbatical from the world of advertising for motherhood, she discovered the joy of sharing stories and her love for books with young kids. We spoke to her about her journey as a storyteller.
Define yourself – the person, and the storyteller
Currently enjoying the warmth of cosmopolitan Dubai with my family, I have spent the early years of my life living, working and studying in Mumbai, Brisbane and Singapore. Becoming a copywriter to earn a living seemed like a natural choice for someone who is a wordsmith and storyteller at heart. The sabbatical from advertising happened to plunge head-first into motherhood. I now spend the better part of my (long) wakeful hours cherishing my daughter, cooking for (and with) her, traveling as often as we can as a family and rekindling my affair with books. When I am not making memories with my two-year old with paints, flour, sand and everything else around the house, we are discovering new stories through puppets and props. Becoming a story-educator with Little Readers’ Nook is an opportunity to share my love for books and stories with little children and raising young readers.
What influenced you to become a storyteller?
My daughter and the thrill books bring to our lives. Our story-time together at home has always been extremely special. She actually negotiates the number of books I must read to her before bed-time. It’s extremely heart-warming. And a tad exhausting on long days!
You are a story-educator with Little Readers’ Nook. Tell us how you your experience has been and any challenges you faced.
Little Readers’ Nook only just celebrated its fourth birthday this month. I joined the team in April this year and have been slowly working on spreading awareness of the program and building my audience here. Story-time here is often viewed as a one-off activity for children to indulge in, rather than a program to enroll for the month or term; let alone a fantastic platform to build early literacy skills. Add to it the fact that there are a few free story-time events every other week, and people give you a quizzical look when you try to explain the program and fee structure. It is a slow process, but surely and consistently I hope to overcome these obstacles by doing promotional events and encouraging parents to bring their little ones in regularly so as to reap the benefits of the program.
What are the kind of audiences you work with? Which is your favorite audience?
I mostly work with 2 – 4 year olds and 4 – 8 year olds. But I also focus on the mothers of these children, who want to encourage reading (and hopefully love for books of all kinds) among their little ones. They are worried that they don’t sit while they are being read to. And I just tell them they are not meant to. My favorite audience is the little ones who croon after me when I make funny noises and let-loose when we do sensory play activities. And yet, I cannot take it away from the older ones either. For they love making up their own stories and are enthused to share the tiniest details.
How have the stories in your life influenced your style of storytelling and the way you use stories?
I reckon it’s more of a chicken and egg situation. I love reading and listening to stories and became a copywriter, because essentially advertisements are about selling through stories narrated creatively. But having worked in advertising and indulged in writing across different media has also made me more sensitive to the way I perform my stories for different audiences.
Any particular incident/anecdote from your workshops/sessions that is special to you?
Everyday stories when parents tell me how their child was emulating my gestures while narrating the same story to a family member, or how they randomly break into a particular tune that I may have sung during one of my story-times. I simply smile and tell them, “The children are listening. Hence proved.”
Any story that you particularly love using?
Oh! Now, there are loads, but I simply enjoy ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen’. I read it to both the age-groups and needless to say they are thrilled to bits. The onomatopoeia and the walking actions through nature keeps everyone on their toes.
- Get We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen on Amazon (India) and Amazon (Worldwide)
Do you think storytelling can be adopted as a full-time profession? What would be your advice to those who want to do so?
I believe if your heart lies in it, you can make anything your full-time profession. There are not many takers for it probably, but we must be grateful for the few that we have to begin with. For they truly believe in us and in stories as a powerful medium.
Let the passion and love for books drive you, but let your performance and narration be constantly fueled by practice and a deep understanding of how to unlock your audience’s imaginations. The nature of the audience decides the narration style and techniques to be used, but it is just as important for you to listen to them as it is for them to listen to you. I like to believe that as storytellers we completely own the stories and relive the tales when we narrate them. We can transform the surroundings and carry the children far away in a distant land. It is an art, undoubtedly. And it only gets better with practice and belief in your own abilities.
Your advice to parents and teachers on why and how they should keep stories alive.
Read-aloud as often as you can, dedicate a specific time everyday to hoist your little one on the lap and bond over beautiful stories. Children love to emulate. Make time to ditch that gadget and pick-up that book lying on your shelf since ages. Yes, we have new roles and responsibilities and tons of things to do, but I always remind myself that I didn’t stop eating or showering after I had a little one, then why stop reading. And there is no better way to generate her interest in books than reading in front of her myself. Just keep at it, someday they will come around. There is a lot of curiosity out there. It creeps out slowly, but it surely does.
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Devangi Thakkar is a storyteller with Little Readers’ Nook. Read more about Little Readers’ Nook here.
Don’t Miss: We love storytellers as much as we love storytelling. On Tell-a-Tale, lwe’ve featured a lot of talented storytellers, in the past.
Are you a Storyteller? If you’re a storyteller who is actively pursuing storytelling and would like to be featured in this column, drop us a mail at contact AT tell-a-tale.com or reach out to us via Facebook or Twitter.
