Teens to be immersed in art of storytelling at 'Come Spin a Tale' camp at Glenville State

Jul. 18—FAIRMONT — About three years ago, Jo Ann Dadisman faced the question many retirees stumble upon after years of hard work.

"'Have you, in your career, been able to do everything you've wanted to do?'" she said, repeating the question posed by her friend.

A resident of Gladesville, West Virginia, and a member of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, Dadisman said she paused and thought for a moment before answering. Having retired from years of teaching creative writing at West Virginia University, she also has a passion for traditional Appalachian storytelling.

"I would incorporate storytelling in my teaching, in my undergraduate writing, as well as in my work with teaching pre-service teachers to consider storytelling when they went into classrooms to teach," Dadisman said. "And I worked with the National Writing Project and worked with our local teachers to incorporate storytelling in the classroom, but I had never had a chance to do anything long term with kids."

Before she knew it, her friend who posed that ominous question, called her back a week later to tell her he had raised the funds from two benefactors and the "Come Spin a Tale" youth storytelling summer camp was born three years ago on the campus of Glenville State University.

Now in its third year, Dadisman and co-director Jason Gum, are still looking for teens who are rising high school freshman to seniors to fill a few openings in the camp. Gum, who serves as Glenville State's library director and archivist, picks up the co-director baton this year from David O'Dell, a traditional Appalachian musician and storyteller.

Students enter on a Monday, get situated into a residence hall and, during the week, get acquainted with being on a university campus. But they also get to meet other youth who are interested in learning how to share folklore and storytelling.

"So, you know, it's small, but it's intense. It's very personal," Dadisman said. "We listen to their stories, we give them feedback, we help them to hone their stories, to gain confidence behind the microphone, to work on their creative writing."

Students work on "establishing stories and developing characters, getting and keeping an audience's attention, drawing from personal narratives, developing improvisational skills, using body language and inflection, performance skills, telling tall tales, and more," according to the camp's official webpage.

Dadisman said while the students will be "outside of their comfort zone," they will also be taught the skills to be confident and find their voice.

In its first year, the camp had what Dadisman refers to as five-and-a-half students because a fellow Guild member had brought her 5-year-old granddaughter with her to camp "and she was able to hold her own," she said.

"And so actually there were six different young people, and second year, all of them came back for a second year — they wanted more — and of those six who came back, we have four coming back this year for a third year," she said.

Some recent high school graduates who previously attended "Come Spin a Tale" will also be helping this year. Dadisman has enlisted the skills of fellow Guild members to serve as teachers during the camp.

Guild member Mike Perry, of Pittsburgh, who recently performed in Marion County, is returning to Glenville State after serving as an instructor in 2021. This year, Perry will focus on science and how to connect science and storytelling.

"But aside from the content of storytelling, the process of storytelling, getting up in front of people is huge," Perry said. "So they benefit from not only learning to tell, but learning to present in front of people."

Just as acting, standup comedy and the musical arts require courage to be on a stage or other venue in front of an audience, storytelling differs in its own unique way, Perry said.

"Because people who attend storytelling, they go specifically to listen, and storytellers offer a conversation — that's the other benefit to both the audience and the teller, is that, as you know, it's fluid," he said. "When you tell a story, it's going to change every time you tell it based on the circumstance — the audience — and it'll wax and wane. It's fluid."

Registration for "Come Spin a Tale," which runs July 22-26, is $100 per student, but there are scholarships available as well, Dadisman said.

To get more information about the camp or to register, go to glenville.edu/community/come-spin-tale or contact Glenville State's Robert F. Kidd Library at 304-462-6161.

Reach Eric Cravey at 304-367-2523.