Dutch storyteller engages listeners' imaginations
Keiko Watanabe / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
What happens when a dying villain seeks help from his former victim? Or when a widower realizes that his wife is still alive? Or when a brother learns that his brother has betrayed him?
You could ask Dutch storyteller Wim Wolbrink, but he would probably throw the questions right back at you.
At a highly interactive lecture at a public hall in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, earlier this month, Wolbrink explained that storytelling is a participatory medium, one in which listeners must use their imaginations as much as the storyteller does.
"First people are [merely] receptive. But, as you can see, it's so nice to see the participants get involved with the energy of a story," he said during a break.
Although titled as a lecture, Wolbrink's presentation did not allow the audience just to sit quietly and listen. At one point he had them singing in polyphonic fashion and later asked them to present ideas about how a story he had introduced should end.
This is the fourth annual summer tour of Japan for Wolbrink, who has been telling stories for more than 10 years. He first arrived in Japan in 2005 and mainly through word of mouth his vocation quickly gained popularity. This year, he is touring the country for two months, giving lectures, performances and seminars at schools, temples and community halls. (225 words)
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