Rosie Mapplebeck: Storyteller
Rosie: Teller of Stories, Weaver of Dreams
Rosie tells her own and traditional stories to all ages. She has a special fondness for the tales from the Scottish Travelling people and old ballads, which she also sings. Many of her stories are from her own experience of living among animals and birds and of magic. Her favourite tales are those where the characters make good through adversity.
She also writes poetry and short stories.
She lives in a characterful cottage in Ayrshire, (a lush verdant region of Southwest Scotland) in a wooded wildlife garden she co-created. She has a holistic boarding cattery and is a complementary therapist, specialising in distant healing and healing for animals. She keeps bees, ducks and rescue hens, cats and dogs (and the occasional pigeon).
She is an accredited storyteller within the Scottish Storytelling Network.
The Art of the Bard
Storytelling and ballad singing are among the most ancient of human traditions. Stories may be used to deliver messages, to teach lifeskills and to reflect the emotional developmental journey. In days before widespread literacy, the ability to weave tales and remember details was highly valued. The oral tradition has been (and in areas of conflict still is) used to relate news, history and politics and help unify society.
There are many layers to storytelling. A true skill will bring the tale straight from heart to heart as well as eye to eye and mind to mind.
Stories are a neutral place where the listener can, safely and with support, explore issues, values, traumas and trials. They allow humour and emotion to lift our learning out of the mundane.
Many ancient tales persist because they engage with universal human stories.
As stories are rarely 'fixed' they can be tailored to the individuals listening; going beyond entertainment into personalised teachings. Less performance, more delivery of truths.
Uses of Storytelling
Participation in storytelling develops listening and engagement skills so necessary in today's fast-moving but non-reflective society:
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It encourages full communication skills in our increasingly oral culture. (e.g.
in schools, businesses).
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It can encourage community or working groups to find a common place to work from
and to bond.
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It can be used in reminiscence and trauma work, using the teller as mediator to
encourage recall, form and self-expression.
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It can be used with the young to enrich the learning experience.
Storytelling develops listening skills; no listeners, no point in the telling: no listening, no story to tell.
Contacts
To contact Rosie about storytelling:
Email her at: info@rosiemapplebeck.co.uk
Telephone: 01292 520543. (Outside UK use +44 instead of the first 0).
To contact Rosie about complementary therapies go to:
www.keeperoftherose.com
For more information about storytelling go to:
www.scottishstorytellingcentre.
co.uk
or try the National storytelling network in the USA: www.storynet.com
or this - English and Welsh story site:
www.sfs.org.uk
Useful story resources:
www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/
index.html
For help with financing storytelling ventures and delivery,
also promoting stories in learning go to:
www.scottishbooktrust.com
Website by Roderick Hoffman: rhoff10350@aol.com