REMEMBER those lazy school afternoons, nestled amongst cushions and listening to your favorite teacher tell you the most fascinating story in the world in her animated voice? Or getting lulled to sleep by the fairytale your mother is soothingly reading to you in bed? Many of us want to experience that feeling of utter contentment again but almost never get the opportunity to. Who would sit us down and tell us a story? Only children, it seems, have exclusive rights to that kind of privilege. The art of storytelling, however, is trying to break this myth. Students and visitors at the College of Business Administration girls' campus in Jeddah spent a glorious afternoon with Ilene Evans, an African-American actress, singer and storyteller from the United States and witnessed her ‘One-Woman Theater Performance' on Saturday, the 7th of February. That same evening at Jeddah's US Consulate, Ilene performed again and provided what was - in the words of the US Consul General Martin Quinn – ‘a marvelous spectacle'. Hosted by the US Embassy, Ilene is on a tour of the Middle East celebrating ‘Black History month', and will visit Bahrain and Kuwait as well. She arrived in the region directly after portraying the role of Harriet Tubman at a number of the Martin Luther King Jr. ‘History Alive' celebrations in the United States that coincided with US President Barack Obama's historic inauguration. Inspired by African-American oral narrative tradition as well as by folktales from a variety of cultures, Ilene conducts storytelling programs, theater performances and workshops for children and adults. Her performances traditionally involve dancing, singing and portrayals of a variety of characters. Renowned in America mostly for her storytelling, she not only recounts a narrative, but actually performs it with the help of beautifully evocative songs and dedicated attention to character detail. On Saturday, she performed a story about the life and achievements of Harriet Tubman – also known as General Moses – and her contribution within the Underground Railroad during the slave liberation movement of the mid 19th century. Touted by many as one of America's greatest unsung heroes, Harriet is virtually unknown amongst many in this part of the world, so Ilene's vivid portrayal provided a stirring experience for the audience at CBA. “She brought that entire period in history to life. I felt like I was actually there,” commented an excited CBA student. Harriet greeted the audience and described the harrowing experience of being sold to a ‘master' and the pain and humiliation she experienced as a slave ‘that yearned for freedom'. She recounts the point when she was escaping the South for the freedom of the North in the chilling words: “For me it was either liberty or death. If I couldn't have one, I wanted the other.” Ilene explored a variety of voices to animate her story, flitting smoothly between a vicious slave trader and a frightened slave with aplomb. Though the audience was largely quiet, they seemed captivated by the sheer power of Ilene's performance, and when the narrator Harriet finally finds the freedom she has been desperately seeking, more than a few people were wiping away tears. After the performance, Ilene was asked whether African-Americans still experienced the pain of the past. She nodded and explained that everyone must remember their history, because that was what provided ordinary people with an extraordinary identity. She also firmly believes that cultural differences are insignificant compared to the love and deep respect most people in this world have for each other. “We need to realize that we are not alone. What we share is a lot greater, I believe, than what are our differences,” she commented, gesturing toward the audience. “This is a voice from America that you might not hear…not without an invitation like this,” she added, gesturing at the organizers from the US Consulate. Ilene strongly feels that storytelling is a medium that can bridge hostilities and differences amongst people. “When we share stories, we learn what we have in common. Many of us have similar experiences that bind us.” Ilene ended by saying “I want to know your story. We share this world. We are connected whether we want to or not.” After the performance, I got a moment to speak to Ilene and asked her how she became a storyteller, “I love reading stories and I can sit and listen to stories for hours. And then I found out that people actually do this for a living,” she said, laughing. Asked whether the young generation of African-Americans realize the suffering their ancestors have experiences, Ilene replied “They won't know until we tell them. This is why storytelling and the stories of the journeys of our elders are like our lifeblood. Today, our children do not know their story and there is a great void in this that I am working hard to fill.” In part, Ilene's passion for storytelling stems from her dismay at the kind of lives many parents are imparting to their children. She thinks that the technological invasion of most children's life has made the role grandparents and often even parents play in a child's life almost insignificant. “What good is grandma if a child can watch a story on television?” she asked, adding that children these days still love being told stories and that this was the main reason why storytelling was gathering so much steam in America. She believes that the same rules apply to adults. “We need to get in the habit of listening and then speaking or making decisions. And storytelling trains us naturally for that.” she said. Ilene is convinced that the time when people en masse begin discovering their ‘stories' through the art of storytelling is not far away. “I have realized that what is needed is storytelling. Simple, straight ahead, eye to eye, knee to knee, nose to nose pure storytelling,” she commented, adding that “the recording - as good as it is – isn't the real thing.” Ilene greatly enjoyed her trip to the Kingdom and was ‘deeply humbled' by the ‘warm hospitality' of the people of Saudi Arabia. She cites classics from Arabian Nights and recognition with the work of writers like Idries Shah as definite inspirations. She also confessed to be greatly interested in discovering the oral narratives passed through generations of women in Saudi Arabia, and hopes to one day integrate them into her storytelling and theater performances. We can hope that when she does so, she will certainly grace us with her inspirational presence.
