It’s story time - The long and short of storytelling
Published:Tuesday | October 1, 2019 | 12:00 AMKimberley Small /Staff Reporter
Storytelling is the simplest and perhaps the most compelling and pervasive forms of dramatic activity. That may be why ‘Long Story Short’ has quickly blossomed from just an idea into a celebrity-supported monthly event.
Conceptualised by actor Daniel Edwards, the event was developed as a haven for creatives of all sorts to share their authentic Jamaican experiences – in story, and in three minutes or less.
For Long Story Short’s second instalment, scheduled for Saturday, October 5 at Grosvenor Galleries in St Andrew, film-maker Kurt Wright, popular disc jockey DJ Boyd, and media personality ‘Kiki’ Thombs will be among the guest storytellers, while author Tami Tsansai, fashion designer Charl Baker, and actor Ramon Walker are among the storytelling contestants.
“Daniel has banned me from preparing anything! I think a lot of us are going to cheat,” Kiki joked.
The media darling was invited to participate as an acquaintance of the event’s organiser, who issued preliminary guidelines.
To assure as much authenticity as possible, “he doesn’t want us to sound like we’re reciting a poem or anything. He wants it to be authentic. And it’s a story. We tell stories to each other every day – whether it’s something that happened, or encounters we have during the day,” Kiki told The Gleaner.
So, when a couple shares with each other the happenings of their day, or when a grandmother shares a recipe that her grandmother told her, or when someone loudly remembers the building that was once a bakery and is now a bank; or a film, a play, a novel, gossip or heresay – “everything has stories,” Edwards said.
Long Story Short was launched last month with weekly executions in mind.
“I was a little overly ambitious at first. I used to do events, but it’s been a while. I forgot how much work and energy it takes,” Edwards said.
He told The Gleaner that he has noticed a welcomed response to this approach to storytelling. He hopes the event will grow, and Kiki hopes more and more storytellers join the activity with boldness.
“As it grows and evolves, I want persons to come in, unafraid of the taboo, and to share their stories on it,” she said.