Spotlight: The People of Young Audiences of San Diego

Marilyn McPhie, Storyteller and Teaching Artist

 

How did you come to Young Audiences?

When my children were in elementary school, I became aware that some of the best assemblies at their school came from Young Audiences.  I saw that Young Audiences provided quality programming in a wide variety of arts, and as I became more and more involved in storytelling as a profession, I thought that it would be great to work with Young Audiences as an artist.  I arranged to meet with Hilliard Harper, who was then the director,  to discuss the possibilities, and fortunately for me, it all worked out.

How long have you been with us, and why have you stayed with Young Audiences?

I have been with Young Audiences forever.  I do all sorts of storytelling programs for children, families, adults, festivals, corporations, private events, but in the midst of it all, I have stayed with Young Audiences for several reasons.  

I love the association with other artists from different genres.  Some of my Young Audiences opportunities have let me work with visual artists, poets, and dancers.  So many exciting opportunities for collaboration! I always get new ideas and new enthusiasm when I work with others; it causes me to look at my own art form in new ways.  

Also, I love working with the administrators at Young Audiences of San Diego.  They are always encouraging me to try new things and offering opportunities which would not have been available to me on my own.

What brought you into becoming a storyteller?  

I come from a long-line of word-lovers.  My mother’s mother majored in elocution, and I often heard her recitations.  My father’s mother wrote poetry, often presenting her poems for special occasions.  My mother taught English and drama.  Surrounded by books and stories, I was on the speech team in high school and majored in English in college, but I really discovered storytelling as an adult.

When my two oldest children were three and four, I signed them up for a parent participation preschool, and the school was very serious about the participation element.  They handed me a three-page list of possible jobs.  One job was cleaning the bathrooms every week.  I didn’t want to do that.  Another job was sanding and repainting the playground equipment.  I didn’t want to do that.  One of the jobs on the last page was, “Tell stories every week,” and I thought, “I could do that.”  So I signed up to tell stories, and I liked it so much that I signed up for storytelling every semester after that.  Then I began telling stories at the local library.  After that people began to ask me to tell stories for schools and festivals.  And I began to feel like a real storyteller.

Here's a great TEDx of Marilyn McPhie titled "Try This At Home"

What are you passionate about?

My family (husband, five children, seventeen grandchildren); stories and storytelling; reading; museums; travel; chocolate.

Tell us a memorable story from your experiences teaching or performing.

Once I was to tell stories to teenagers who had been expelled from regular schools.  Most of them had been in trouble with the law.  Many had issues of abuse and addiction.  As they filed into the room, I could see that they were probably thinking, “A storyteller? Seriously?  What could this gray-haired grandma  have to say to me?” I told them, directly and unapologetically, the strongest stories I knew.  Stories, some centuries old, of promises, struggles, self-image, family, relationships.  I saw a change in their faces. They knew that these were not the stories I would tell to five-year-olds.  They sat up and paid attention.   At the end, I heard several exhale, almost as if they had been holding their breath the
entire time.  Very satisfying.

Several months ago, I was at the grocery store, and since my purchases were heavy and numerous, I accepted the offer of help to my car.  As the teenager from the store was loading the things into my trunk, he asked, "Hey, did you ever go to schools and tell stories?"  "Yes," I replied, "Did you hear me tell stories at your school?"  He got really animated, "I knew it was you.  I recognized your voice. I heard you tell stories twice.  Once when I was in fifth grade and once when I was in seventh grade.  The stories you told when I was in seventh
grade were really scary --- but I liked them."  "Thanks," I said.  As he closed my trunk and wheeled the cart back to the store, he called over his shoulder, "Well, keep on telling stories."