‘Storymob’ brings kids’ classics to life
Children and grown-ups join ‘wild rumpus’ for the pure joy of storytelling, literacy and fun
Led by a small boy beating a tiny drum, about 100 raucous kids and grown-ups descended on Nathan Phillips Square to roar their terrible roars, gnash their terrible teeth and show their terrible claws.
“Let the wild rumpus start!” they declared.
The “rumpus” they were referring to was not only the scene of mayhem and revelry from Maurice Sendak’s classic Where the Wild Things Are, but also the beginning of a new movement in Toronto: a “storymob.”
Storymob combines the hipness of a flash mob with the comfort and nostalgia of children’s classics. Created by Gretel Meyer (no relation to a certain gingerbread-loving German child) and Roxanne Deans, who met while doing local theatre, a storymob translates the solitary act of reading into a joyful celebration for the whole community.
“Being read to is such a fantastically intimate experience,” Meyers said.
“How the words translate in your brain is very, very personal,” Deans agreed. “That’s the magic of the book.”
Using social media, the pair convinced total strangers to bring costumes, props and their outdoor voices to act out their favourite books. At first, the pair didn’t know what to expect.
But when they saw close to100 people — many of them strangers to them — arrive at Nathan Phillips Square with crowns and face paint, books and noisemakers, they knew it was a hit.
“We really hit on something,” Meyers said. “We were all here because we all loved the story so much.”
“It’s not just us saying: OK, we’re putting on a play, come and see it,” Deans said. “People are a part of it.”
Following the inaugural edition of Where the Wild Things Are, storymob presented Jillian Jiggs, by Pheobe Gilman, with a similar turnout.
Its third instalment, a spontaneous reading of The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch will take place this Saturday sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“It’s growing in such a huge way so quickly,” Deans said.
Meyers and Deans got the idea for storymob as a way to fuse their love for theatre with their love for literature. Deans, a former bookstore owner, is a lifelong bibliophile. “You meet a new soul, a new spirit in a book,” she said.
And Meyers, whose costumes are inspired from stories she’s read, loves the creativity of storymob.
“Bringing kids and literacy and costumes and community all together is just always what I’ve loved to do most,” Meyers said. Deans is a former bookstore owner who sees promoting literacy as a lifelong calling.
Subscribers to the storymobs email list get an update a few days before an event about a rough location — but the precise spot is top secret.
When people show up, they’re given a rundown of how the storymob will go. Volunteer readers act as the narrator, reading most of the lines. But certain sections require all hands on deck, as when they all screamed out: “Jillian Jiggs, Jillian Jiggs, it looks like your room has been lived in by pigs!”
Deans said the events typically draw about 50/50 “little people” to “big people,” and even adults without families attend, to re-create a beloved childhood memory. Everyone brings their own costumes and props, and Roxanne, who owns a kids costume company, often brings extras. “If people want to come and watch they can!” Deans said. “If people want to be right in there shouting out lines, they can do that, too.”
It’s play at its best, filled with spontaneity and uncontrolled glee.
“I haven’t quite done a cartwheel yet, but it’s always a possibility,” she said.
Meyers said she’s been approached by people in other cities who want to start storymobs in their own community. Their final instalment in this first series will be Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Hamon Sept. 7. The duo is also hoping to expand into the world of more adult-oriented lit, such as Edgar Allan Poe.