Storytelling - The Third Doll

STORYTELLING

*Folktales *Legends *Myths *Personal Stories

About Diana

In 2016, I stumbled across storytelling as a performance when I attended an event at the South Mountain Community College (SMCC) Performing Arts Center. I took my first class, “The Art of Storytelling”, that fall to help me with my writing and soon realized that the oral tradition of storytelling came much more naturally to me than writing ever did - it literally gave me a voice. I continue to study storytelling and perform, and am now teaching “The Art of Storytelling” at the SMCC Storytelling Institute. I have performed live for the Storytellers Project, at the From Darkness to Light Holiday event, and I also produce my own monthly show under the name of "The Third Doll".

Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, I am a first-generation American. I craft and tell personal stories of growing up and family interactions, as well as Pakistani folktales with female protagonists. Having been raised a Zoroastrian, I have ancestral roots in what was previously Persia and I tell legends and myths from the “Shah Nameh” (Legend of the Kings) and the “Bundahishn'' (the Creation Story).

Through storytelling, I hope to touch people's hearts so we can see our common humanity.

Why Third Doll

During my journey as a storyteller I heard and read various versions of the story “The Three Dolls”, a wisdom tale from the Indo Sub-Continent. To prove his wisdom, a king is given three identical dolls and has to figure out how they are different from each other. Neither the advisors and wise men in his court nor the jester can tell how they are different. Finally, the storyteller from the village is summoned and she shows the king how each doll is different by passing a hair through the doll’s ear. For the first doll the hair disappears and she explains that the doll is like the advisor who has to keep secrets. The hair goes in one ear and comes out from the other ear for the second doll who, like the jester, hears things from one ear and lets it go out the other. When the storyteller passes the hair through the ear of the third doll the hair comes out through the mouth. The third doll is the storyteller who listens and then tells.

In Morgan Schatz Blackrose’s version, she explains that the storyteller is “beholden to pass on” these stories and only through their retelling can these stories be kept alive. In the version that I heard Elizabeth Warren tell, the hair comes out through the third doll’s mouth with a little twist to it.

To watch me tell my version of the story The Three Dolls click here

Portfolio

To hear me tell a story click here to be directed to my video library.

FAQ

Q: What is storytelling?
A: Storytelling is an age-old tradition found in cultures all over the world, of orally telling a narrative to a listener(s), face-to-face so that values and practices of that culture can be passed down from generation to generation. With the advent of writing these stories were written down to preserve the cultures. However, storytelling continues to be an oral tradition.

Q: Isn't everyone a storyteller?
A: While everyone has a story to tell, everyone is not a storyteller. Just like in any discipline in which the skill is learned and practiced, in storytelling the storytellers study the skills and techniques of telling and practices and receive feedback from peers and teachers to hone their skills. Click here to read a blog by Liz Warren applying the analogy of a good cook vs a chef to storytelling.

Q: Are there different types of stories?
A: Yes. The most common types of stories are fairytales, folktales, legends, and myths. Storytellers also craft personal stories that share how an incident in their life brought about a change in them. There are also stories that are based on fact that tell of a historical event, or about a particular moment in a person's life, be it a famous person or a family member of the storyteller.

Contact

If you would like to be added to my mailing list so that you receive an email notification of when I will be telling, please send me your name and email address.

deedinshaw@gmail.com