by Jack Porcello
This, and perhaps the next few months' articles will incorporate passages from my soon-to-be-released book "Air-tistry" which should be coming out in February. These passages will be altered a bit, so don't feel that you shouldn't buy the book!
This excerpt is from the chapter dealing with my introduction to balloon sculpting in 1989. I initially used them to accentuate my storytelling routines. Now I use balloons as entertainment in and of themselves, as well as in storytelling and in my ministry work.
I hope these short bits provide you with some entertainment, information, and encouragement as you continue on in your quest to bring happiness to those around you! Remember, this whole life can be a party, so long as we bring the right decorations and attitude!
Think back to a time before computers, telephones, televisions, radios, recorded music or videos, even printed text. Consider a civilization without a printed language. Each evening, seated around the fire, members of the village wait with enthusiastic expectation as one prepares to share. The storyteller. Perhaps just for that evening, perhaps just for the next hour, maybe even the next five minutes. What we have come to know as “open mike” performance was once just the average night's passing. There were no anxious thoughts. No embarrassment or self-consciousness. Just a desire to entertain and be entertained.
Two thousand years ago we communicated at the speed of hand messenger, traveled at the speed of horseback, and chose our environment as it suited our needs. Two hundred years ago the same could still be said to be true. In the last few decades we communicate at the speed of light, travel at the speed of sound, and mold and fabricate our environment to meet our needs. I have nothing against technology, mind you. Technology is a good thing. If I felt otherwise I would not be at this computer typing (processing) these words. But as we advanced technologically we lost a bit of heart. Now we want entertainment to “happen to us” instead of being involved in it. We've lost track of “interactive.”
What I and countless other storytellers like me desire to accomplish is the return to simpler entertainment. We want to draw our “audience” into the show. We want them to be entertaining as well as entertained. I hope that is why I get repeat business. Perhaps it scares some audiences away. In the end, I believe I have done something special.
I hope to draw you into the exciting and rewarding experience of drawing your audiences into your performances.
When I began storytelling I had the extreme fortune of living in an area resplendent with artists of the spoken word. Masters of oral tradition abound in the region around Rochester, NY. From them I was able to glean so much wisdom and knowledge, their examples were my education. One drawback. As I began to tell professionally my competition was tremendous! Ok, I need something different. Puppets? Well, it works well for some, but not so much for me. Exciting foreign accents? Nope, couldn't pull that one off. Then, one day, on a waterfront, I see a man twisting balloons into simple creations. Well, says I, if one can make simple creations out of one or two balloons, perhaps one could build entire fantasy worlds and experiences out of a lot of balloons! So I began small. A book, a bag of balloons, a search on the internet. A balloon mailing list? Ok, I'm in. Wow, its administrator lives right here in the Rochester area? We must get together. And so I met Larry Moss, who opened my mind to these wonderful possibilities in the world of balloons.
Now, how to bring the balloons together with the telling? Well, before getting to that, perhaps we should cover a few simple steps that I go through whenever I develop a routine.
Next month: Choosing Text
See my website for more information, or you may e-mail me at info@airtothekingdom.org.
Until next time, I remain *Air-tistically* yours! Jack