Girl in the Chair: Research for Storytellers

First off, the title: It's a Spider-man reference. I use it to refer to a part of my work when I help other storytellers find, research, or track down tales they are interested in. I mostly do this for our storytelling volunteers at the Világszép Foundation, but I also regularly get inquires from storytellers around the world, and I am always happy to help.

So, here is a brand new blog series about research for storytellers.

One more geeky reference

Why?

First off, research is the invisible part of a storyteller's work. When people invite us to create a new performance, they rarely ever realize how much work goes into it behind the scenes. By making this work a bit more visible, I hope to garner more appreciation for our art form.

Second, research is the tool we use to avoid ethical issues such as breach of copyright or cultural appropriation. It is important for people to be aware of the differences between folktale and literary story, between public domain and copyrighted material. It is an important topic to explore.

Third, and most importantly: I want to show my work to help other tellers. I use various research tools and methods, and I hope that pointing them out will help others can also learn to use them. Not all of it will be useful for everyone, but that's okay.

So, what is Girl in the Chair, exactly?

It is a blog series (hopefully monthly or bi-monthly, we'll see) where I take on research questions, and I publish the process of answering them in a case study.

Anyone can pose a research question (here in the comments, on Facebook, via email, etc.). I don't promise to answer all of them, but I will pick the ones that seem the most interesting, and try to showcase research methods through them.

Blog posts so far

Sisterhood of the wolf: The hunt for female werewolves

Seven blind queens raise a child in prison

Grief over a bowl of rice

Hare rescues the sun

Gathering chicory