Storytelling as a Teaching Technique within the "Theatrical Education" Course: External and Internal Elements

ABSTRACT: This article attempts an analysis of storytelling-reading techniques, as well as a presentation of basic rules to train storyteller-readers in such techniques. This effort is based on storytelling lessons in Education Departments in Greece, and more specifically in the Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Western Macedonia. We analyse everything storytellers need to know to present a good overall “picture” to their audience. By this, we mean, basically, dramatic concepts, such as the structure of fairy tales, the characters, and the plot. We also address issues of intelligence development, both on the side of the storytellers and of the children. We study the fact that storytelling by students in Education Departments in front of their classmates can be the first «step» in strengthening their expressive and teaching abilities. This happens in a rotating and alternating process, where everyone has the role of reader or narrator, in courses where feedback and two-way pedagogy play a dominant role. KEYWORDS: Fairy tales, Theatre, Narrative, Dramaturgy, Education, Reading, Observation Metho