Jalea told a story about when she was seven years old and she was allowed to pump gas for the very first time.
Oh, she was excited, feeling like a grown-up at the service station gas pump. She said she was nervous; Her hands were sweating when she got distracted. Gasoline went everywhere. On the car, on the ground, even splashing onto her face.
Grown-up relatives came to her aid, washing her eyes and mouth with milk. She recovered, shaken but all right. She said the moral of her story is “don’t try to grow-up too fast.” Savor every moment of childhood.
Jalea a student at Florida Gulf Coast University, was one of several classmates who took center stage in early February at “The Elephant,” a monthly open mic story swap held in the university’s Wasmer Art Gallery on campus at the FGCU Bower Arts Complex.
Dr. Joel Ying, familiar to Florida storytellers as the current president of the Florida Storytelling Association, is producer and moderator of The Elephant. He also teaches “Storytelling as Healing” at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Joel is introducing a younger generation to storytelling. He is a co-producer of The Florida Gulf Coast Storytelling Series which presents oral storytelling as a performance art, community art, healing art, and an essential life skill.
The monthly Elephant swaps are free and open to the public as well as FGCU students.
During the February story swap several students from Joel’s class came to listen and to tell.
The theme was “Consequences” and Joel kicked it off with a story about a “box” that held his treasured possessions and memories. The box and the memories traveled with him when his family moved from place to place.
Other student tellers, Soozi, Sevin, JaNaya, Lynn, Raphael recounted personal stories that ranged from dating to being on a reality show. Sevin impressed the audience by recalling how his family was on the reality show “Wife Swap” in the early 2000s when he was a small child.
Also telling that night was Lynn Jaffe, a new member of the Florida Storytelling Association, who shared a touching memory about a dog that she gave her late mother. And Walt Belcher, of The Storytellers of Old Tampa Bay, told a tall tale about spending the winter with a hibernating bear.
Joel says the students are learning the value of sharing personal stories in the oral tradition.
Storytelling events at FGCU are co-produced by Joel and Prof. Lori Cornelius for the Dept of Language and Literature and the Dept of Integrated Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, and sponsored by the Seidler Foundation, Wasmer Art Gallery, and the Florida Storytelling Association.
You can see this recent episode of The Elephant at FGCU Open Mic “Consequences” 2-8-22 – YouTube
Future storytelling nights include “Poetic Justice” on March 1, and “Art for Art’s Sake” on April 6. For more information on upcoming story events at FGCU go to: FGCU Storytelling Series – Dr. Joel Ying, MD.
Set for Mar 2 – Workshop / Performance with Q&A (Diversity & Inclusion), Sue O’Halloran
Tue Mar 29 – Performance with Q&A (Creative Non-Fiction), Robin Schulte
Wed Mar 30 – Performance with Q&A (Fractured Tales), Mary Lou Williams
Wed Apr 6 – Performance with Q&A (Healing Stories), Linda Schuyler Ford
Wed Apr 20 – Student Showcase @Veteran’s Pavilion
Fri Apr 22 – Storytelling Salon “Earth Day”