Learn Kamishibai Storytelling

In this workshop we will explore how spoken words interact with 2D images (paintings or photographs) in performance. The interaction is under the control of the performer, who manually changes the pictures as the story progresses.

In Kamishibai, a traditional form of storytelling that originated in Japan, all the pictures for the story are contained in a wooden, theater-like box. The audience simultaneously perceives the movements, gestures and words of the storyteller and the images in the box. The questions are then: How is information distributed between image and words? In other words, how is the story divided between what is done, said and seen on stage? How do we decide on the number and nature of the pictures (realistic, symbolic, metaphoric, etc.) for the story? How do we know when the right moment is to change the picture? How do these moments affect tension, surprise and other dramatic qualities of the performance? How can we guide the audience’s attention from the performer to the image in the box and vice versa?

Since gestures and voice change as the storyteller takes on the function of narrator or embodies the characters in the story, some exercises will be dedicated to their clarity and precision.

This is a workshop for anyone interested in the basic tools of using text and image to communicate ideas, direct attention and generate an emotional impact on the audience — whether in an oral story, written story, animated film, lecture or comic book.

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Email me if you are interested in:

• A Kamishibai show for children in Hebrew and/or English.

• Learning with a group or privately.

• Have your own Kamishibai wooden box ( built to your design).

  Have your Kamishibai pictures created by Patricia O'Donovan.

Email: patod3@gmail.com