I entered the big tent and sat on a wobbly wooden bench. The tent filled up, and we waited. When the charismatic storyteller started his performance, I was gripped by the story.
I saw a blacksmith, darkness, a bridge of bones, and so much more… I felt like the world outside the tent had disappeared. I was lost in the world of the story.
Time seemed to fly.
When I left the tent an hour later, I looked around bewildered. I sat down and took time to arrive in the real world again.
From this powerful storytelling experience (and later ones), I know how deep listening to a story can bring you into a slight trance.
As a storyteller, I also experience these moments with my audience.
I love it when the listeners are immersed in the story. It feels like magic, like time has stopped. Often, children exclaim: wow, 45 minutes have passed, and it has gone so fast!
The “storytelling trance” might best be described as a light, dreamlike trance listeners can experience while listening to a story being told. Faces relax, breathing becomes deep, and silence fills the room.
I do think this storytelling trance can be encouraged but not forced.
What happens in a storytelling trance? Is it dangerous? Why does it not always happen?
In the coming weeks, I hope to share what I have discovered through experience and study.
Have you experienced this also? As a listener or as a teller? What helps to get into such a state, and what breaks this trance?
Never heard of it, but deeply moved. I think the World needs her Magic back, internal and external. Would love to hear more and thank you for this sharing... 💞
Story trance is a kind of magic! When the audience is listening so intently, there is nothing but the story in the room. No fidgeting, no shifting in seats. Doug Lipman talks about “front of the seat” stories and “back of the seat” stories. Front of the seat stories are where the audience is listening in a more active way, leaning forward and joining in. Back of the seat stories are trance stories, where everyone is engaged, but internally. Fran Stallings and Brian Sturm have written about this phenomenon. I might have a copy of these. I’ll dig around for them.