Myth and Voice: Immersive Storytelling in Community Arts
Myth and Voice: Immersive Storytelling in Community Arts
Exploring Community with Classical Myth!
The ‘Myth and Voice’community arts project, led by Dr Efi Spentzou, consists of a wide variety of informal participatory workshops fostering collaborative and contemporary re-imaginings of ancient mythical stories from the Greco-Roman world with present-day resonances. The project works in a variety of temporary and/or drop-in settings and groupings that offer those curious to be involved the opportunity for new encounters with the potential for surprise connections: after school storytelling clubs, special student mentorship schemes, girls’ informal leisure spaces, refugee welcome centres, public festivals, community halls, recently qualified teachers’ reflective spaces etc. The experience and activities are diverse, flexible and adaptable to a diversity of groups, their needs and style.
In our Myth and Voice story circles we support one another to (re)tell classical myths in mind maps, collective poetry, diary entries, pictures, movement, debate, round robin art, collage, improvisational theatre – as appropriate. We co-create new imaginings that speak to contemporary social realities, our own environments, occupations and circumstances. In the ‘Myth and Voice’ workshops everybody and nobody has privileged rights over the retelling of these ancient mythical tales, leading to storytelling that undermines transactional, hierarchical or exclusive forms of community.
For a window into this ecosystem of collaborative and playful storytelling please checkhttps://mythandvoice.substack.com/ which includes a reflective journal, information about long-term Myth and Voice partners and about the student volunteers who have co-created first versions of the workshops, a virtual exhibition of artistic outcomes from our workshops and more.
And if you would like to be involved in this community of storytellers, please contact Efi atefi.spentzou@rhul.ac.uk.
The advantage of using Greek myths is that these stories are distant, but still relatable. In their distance, the stories provide supported spaces for experimentation, reimagining and role play. They provide a scaffolded environment and yet one which is free from set expectations and open to the imagination and in which participants can cultivate empathy with the many ‘Others’ within their myth through the processes of retelling. By ‘digging into’ the evidently fictional environments of the myths, participants are gently nudged to also engage with dilemmas and challenges with contemporary resonance.
We aspire to have a little something for all tastes and all characters in our workshops, for those, for example, who might like a flight of imagination, and those who like to dig into things and follow them through, and those who prefer to draw or project a more embodied expression. ‘Helping hands’ are there throughout the experience to make sure everyone is comfortable. Listening is as much important in Myth and Voice as speaking as participants are invited to support each others’ voice in a fun community of storytelling.
Storytelling is social capital. The myths provide motivation for our participants to articulate a voice which, without being confessional, can bring to the fore their tacit knowledge and legitimate their views and experiences in the eyes of their peers. Exploring and questioning powerful figures from a distant world, our participants develop impactful practices and a readiness to challenge the status quo. The workshops offer participants opportunities to build relationships of trust and mutual respect as they curate and develop each other’s voices in a process of collective storytelling.
Dr Spentzou and the volunteer students in the first ever co-creation meeting of Myth and Voice.
