‘What is a world without stories?’
Actors share Zulu folk tales, African-American history with fifth-graders
Texarkana Gazette
Two actors with the Bright Star Touring Theatre Company drew laughter from children in Texarkana Friday as they entertained and educated through African folk tales.
“Celebrate,” a program by Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana and Texarkana Museum System, was held at the university’s Eagle Hall.
The daylong program featured lectures, readings and three performances by the Bright Star Touring Theatre Company.
Bright Star does a number of Black History Month performances across the country including the one on African folk tales.
Many of the folktales were stories from the Zulu people. The first story was actually about where stories come from.
The actors portrayed a couple who worked all day weaving baskets, tanning animal hides and carving objects from wood. They wanted to take a break from work by telling stories but had run out of stories to tell.
The couple listened to the wind for stories but didn’t hear any.
“What is a world without stories? It’s like a zebra without stripes. Like a giraffe without a neck,” was a line from one of the stories.
The children in the audience laughed at the image of
a giraffe without a neck.
The couple in the story eventually swam to the bottom of the ocean where they met a character who promised them stories. They traded one of their carvings for a sea shell that held all of the stories in the world.
Another story they performed was about the animals of the forest competing to be the King of the Forest.
The tiny mouse was not physically strong but outsmarted the elephant and the bore for the title of king.
The program began at 9 a.m. with Bright Star Theatre’s performance of “Jackie Robinson,” a biographical tale of the life of the first black Major League baseball player, followed by the lecture “The Life & Legacy of Jackie Robinson” by Dr. Andrew McGregor.
The afternoon session began with the performance of African American Folk Tales and selected readings by the Literacy Council. The last performance of the day was at 6 p.m. with Freedom Songs performed by Bright Star.
Many of the performances were intended for a younger audience. African American Folk Tales were recommended for grades Pre-K to fifth grade, Jackie Robinson for Kindergarten to fifth grade and Freedom Songs designed for grades three to adult.