Young Performer Practices the Ancient Art of Storytelling

The Cleveland Jewish News, March 17, 1989

Storyteller Doug Lipman strides across the pulpit of Fairmount Temple, guitar slung over his shoulder, to begin his presentation which, this evening, is "The Soul of Hope: The Mystical Tales of the Baal Shem Tov."

He wears a bright green shirt, suspenders, and black pleated pants, but the bearded young man says his dress is the least important part of his shtick.

"My job is to become invisible. When you see me, you are not seeing the story," he says.

For the next [120] minutes, from the images in his own mind, he will try to create images in the minds of the audience. His tool of communication is "oral language," which includes not only the spoken word but tone, posture, gesture, physical position, eye contact or lack of it, timing, rhythm, and intonation.

Storytelling is a grass roots activity because everyone has a story to tell, Lipman says. At the same time, it is an art form whose best practitioners are very powerful. "They can change your life and are worth plunking down your $10 for," he says. "Storytellers deserve the respect given to other artists."

Lipman started his career as a folk musician who also told stories as part of his act. Then when the demand for folk musicians plummeted in the 1970's and the market for storytellers expanded, he made "a quick decision" to bill himself as a "storyteller with song."

"Around 1977, I put out a shingle, 'storyteller for hire,'" he quips. Since then, from his home base in Somerville, Mass., he has been crisscrossing the country performing for all age groups at schools, festivals, community centers, churches, temples and radio stations. He also conducts workshops and courses. Recently he was in the Cleveland area to perform at Fairmount Temple, Beth Am, and the Ravenna public schools.

Lipman estimates that about one-half of his work is on Jewish themes. The other half deals with folk tales from other countries, personal stories, and many folk stories from the Southern Appalachian Mountains. His Jewish stories, he says, have brought him closer to his roots, for he grew up in an assimilated Jewish home in the Chicago area.

Lipman says he is often asked what a Jewish story is. He defines it as a story told by a Jewish storyteller that is influenced by the Jewishness of the storyteller. He explained, for example, that if a Jewish storyteller relates the story of Cinderella, it does not become a Jewish story. However, if the Jewish story tellers infuses Jewish values into the story, then it becomes a Jewish story.

In the Jewish stories he tells, Lipman focuses on the image of the male. [But see "The Chicken Woman" on Folktales of Strong Women--Doug.] Rarely in Jewish stories does the male protagonist win through violence, which is common in other kinds of stories, he says. The Jew prevails because of wisdom, cleverness and non-violence in the face of what seems to be an impossible situation.

His favorite story "is always the one I am working on at the moment," he replies. However, he does have a special feeling for "The Forgotten Story: Tales About Wise Jewish Men."

Lipman often performs for non-Jewish groups who, he says, respond well to his presentations of Jewish stories. "When you go to another culture, you tend to think you should tell the stories of that culture; what you should be doing is telling your own stories," he says. "Where you have come from, not where you are coming to, is important."

He relates that once when he was performing at a festival in Texas and realized he was almost the only Jew on the bill, he had to overcome his own fear of exposing himself as someone different from the audience. "Once I overcame the fear and opened up my heart to them, they returned the favor beautifully," he said.

Storytelling has been popular among all cultures down through the millennia, but because of recent upheavals in society, Lipman says, the art declined in the last few generations.

Storytelling is now enjoying a revival, he adds. Lipman's theory is that today's youngsters have been raised by the first generation of parents who grew up on TV and took it for granted. "The next generation starts to notice that something is missing from their lives and that is a chance to actively use their imaginations. Storytelling fulfills that need. This is similar to what happens when you read a book."

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Copyright © 1989, The Cleveland Jewish News.
Reprinted by permission

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Doug Lipman
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