Why storytelling?
Storytelling connects the past with the present, and the present with the future.
When I tell a story that may be hundreds, or even thousands of years old, I make a strong and vital connection with listeners. We travel together. The story guides us, taking our thoughts out of the here and now into a timeless space. Imaginations flourish and emotions engage.
You see it on the faces of listeners. They are highly focused, but completely relaxed, trusting in the story and where it might take them.
Storytelling speaks to everyone.
While my storytelling flourishes in the realms of “Language Arts” - at schools, libraries, and festivals - there are many other audiences I love to meet. People who may not have sat and listened to a story told “without a book” for decades. I might perform at a business conference, a board retreat, a museum symposium, or a wine tasting.
“ Tom Lee makes traditional storytelling a cultural option for ‘urban-oriented’ adults.”
There’s a compliment I hear quite frequently from listeners at events like this. They approach, slightly wide-eyed, and say “Do you know, I really enjoyed that!” The surprise and delight these listeners share always affirms what I know to be true. Storytelling speaks to everyone,
Ancient stories for modern listeners.
Research is my passion. People have distilled the human experience into stories for millennia. Being one small part in that long chain of voices thrills me, and often challenges my world view.
When I tell a story, I hope to catalyze dialogue. Every audience brings their unique lived experiences to the stories they hear. My responsibility is to listen as much as to speak.
A museum curator I worked with once described my performances as “so relaxed and inviting, it’s easy to forget how much research you’ve done. It feels like you’re telling the audience something they’ve always known, but just might not have thought about yet.”
Those are words to live by.