Finding the slipper that fits
Who knew that I could have a dream life immersing myself in stories?
In August 2020, I was ready to die.
I saw no way out of a career that had destroyed my soul.
It was in this dark place I rediscovered a deep love of fairy tales and discovered that people could actually work as a storyteller, that I could actually work as a storyteller and as an amateur researcher of folk and fairy tales. All I wanted to do when I was little was to be IN the books I read and wished that I could get everyone to be in books too. Little did I know it would take 45 years of my life until I found my dream job. I’ve found a slipper that fits!
“It really is a spiritual process, choosing a story. And, in fact, I suspect the stories choose us.”
Stills from my performance with FEAST, video is linked below.
Flash forward to 2023 and I have just completed an eight-month storytelling mentorship with FEAST. I had terrible performance anxiety in the lead-up and my rehearsal telling was better than the final, but as NSW storyteller Anna Jarrett says: “The story is a living being - believe in the story, let the story tell itself.” And I did.
I worked with Christine Carlton to work on the story of Yexian: the Chinese Cinderella. During the course of my research for the story, I was so engaged with it that I published a book about it. The book contains a history of the story in English, two retellings, and some beautiful artwork by Erin-Claire Barrow. The story hadn’t really been updated into English since the Ai Ling Louis picture book of 1981, and even that was a later translation, not the original.
“Yexian has a series of unfortunate things happen to her, and it is magic that brings her hope and ultimately lets her decide her own fate. And I think that’s her legacy in my life: that the magic of life is that we get to choose.”
Anyway, back to my dream job! I have spent hours on this work - the book, the story, the rehearsals and for that I don’t get paid! Of course, I make a small profit from the sale of the book, but everything I’ve done in storytelling thus far has primarily been unpaid. If you would like to donate here, I’d really appreciate it. But I wouldn’t swap this path for anything. I love immersing myself in a story and then seeing how the story affects the audience, how it speaks to something deep in their soul. And I hope that in my telling that comes across. That is why I research; I want to find the soul of the story - its essence - and then be able to express that to the audience, I want them to feel the original intention of the story, not just to be entertained. I want to feel the story in my bones before I share it with others. Our world is so broken and disconnected, that telling stories to audiences is a quiet revolution of peace and transformation by touching hearts, by finding a resonance that alights something in another person’s soul. This work, it’s spiritual work.
With the mentorship now over, I’m finding that there is an empty space. I’ve enjoyed it immensely but it’s all been leading up to here. I get to let a new story come into my consciousness, a new adventure, a new story to dive deep into and hold space for.
It really is a spiritual process, choosing a story. And, in fact, I suspect the stories choose us. I don’t know why Yexian chose me, but I know she’s had a lasting impact on me and my life. Yexian has a series of unfortunate things happen to her, and it is magic that brings her hope and ultimately lets her decide her own fate. And I think that’s her legacy in my life: that the magic of life is that we get to choose.
So, now I sit in the bliss that is the completion of a long project and await the arrival of another character who will fill my life, dance around my consciousness just waiting for the right time to choose me, so I can be the channel for their self-realisation. And hopefully, allow me to light up their life, mine, and that of those who hear it. Here is the video of Yexian, may it light up your life too.
