One of the biggest buzzwords in research circles at the moment is collaboration; rightly so as collaboration brings individuals together who have similar expertise, experience or interests to produce research of relevance and high quality. Sometimes the most interesting collaboration occurs however when people from different disciplines work together to enable the creation of something slightly different to the usual research article. Such was the case when academic and professional staff from three different disciplines at the University of Newcastle collaborated during the course of 2015. The following creative process involved the University of Newcastle Library, The Wollotuka Institute and the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SoNM) and took the form of organisational storytelling.
The initial invitation to create and tell two stories during the celebrations came during a SONM 25th Anniversary Celebration Committee meeting in February 2015. I had initially been invited on the committee as a library representative who could assist with the creation of the Anniversary book but was then welcomed as a general committee member. Following the storytelling invitation I realised that possibly few of the committee had a complete grasp of what oral storytelling would entail. I sent a one-page proposal to the committee outlining how storytelling has been successfully used in similar history walk situations, to enhance an experience and meaning. I gave several storytelling options for the celebrations, based on my experience as an Accredited Teller with the Storytelling Guild of Australia (NSW).
What do archives, Endnote, Dreaming stories, emails, committee meetings, proposals, private conversations, social media and clap sticks have in common? Not a lot usually but they all played a crucial part in creating the story commissioned for the 25th Anniversary. There was a discussion with the Head of School and the Chair of the SoNM anniversary committee to define what the story should cover. The Head of School expressed an interest in having a story that would outline the history of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Newcastle but be entertaining at the same time. It was decided that the storytelling would be better suited to the dinner, when people were relaxed and more receptive to listening to a story as part of the entertainment, rather than trying to fit it into the busy schedule of the history walk and the speeches. I knew my 10 minute story would be just one of many presentations and speeches during the 4 hours of celebration activities, so the entertainment factor had to be strong. I’ve created stories for specific purposes before so I knew how much work would be involved in just a 10 minute story. This time I thought it would be interesting to document the process. So here goes...
Preparation and time management
One of the crucial factors for me was to have enough lead-up time to research and create an appropriate story. I didn’t want it to be just a recitation of dates and significant building milestones, hoping rather to bring in interesting characters to give the story emotional depth. I realised that to achieve that multiple resources will be required. I would need to not only use primary and secondary literature sources but also utilise the human resources of the University of Newcastle.
Access
I was fortunate to be given access to early drafts of the SoNM Anniversary book which gave me an indication of what areas NOT to cover in my story. I wanted it to be fresh and provide a different view of the School’s history and not be merely a rehash of the book. I was also given copies of the details that would appear on the plinths that constituted the history walk in the Richardson Wing courtyard. Armed with this useful material I was able to imagine what the various speeches of the day would entail and decided to go back even further in the history of nursing in Newcastle to create my story.
I researched the nursing history of Newcastle, finding rich sources of information in the UON Library collection. Searching the journal databases also provided tantalising information about specific aspects of the life and practices of nurses in the early days of the city. It soon became obvious that the story wouldn’t be complete without incorporating some of the fascinating history of the Newcastle Hospital itself. Books, articles, newspaper clippings and newsletters provided background material but trying to obtain information about the nursing staff involved in the early days of this institution led me to the UON Cultural Collections Library. My helpful colleagues there provided me with access to difficult to obtain books that filled in the blanks about the first trained nurse at the hospital and the appalling conditions she worked in. I used Endnote to keep this wealth of information under control to ensure that notes I made could be accessed easily.
As is usually the case for me when crafting a story, I collected so much information that I almost felt like I was drowning in it. It is at this point that the creation of the story iself begins; when I cease to gather the information and begin to read through it all. As interesting facts begin to emerge they become the framework for my story. I devise my story arc, determining what the crisis will be that starts the story action, what will emerge as points of rising action and how the story will be resolved in a satisfying way for listeners. For a commissioned historical story, authenticity is a crucial element, and each aspect of the story is checked and adapted for historical accuracy. For example, part of the story involved the rebuilding of the original convict prison to become a 2 room hospital. For interest sake I inserted dialogue at this point in the story to illustrate who was in charge of the building and who actually did the construction. I originally had the overseer of convict work gang call out,
“Keep those bricks coming. They won’t carry themselves.”
When I checked on the history of the building of the original hospital however I learned that the stones of the prison hospital were re-used, rather than go to the time and expense of making hand-made bricks. This section of dialogue was corrected accordingly. I also had the overseer call out to another group.
“Put your backs into you lazy laggards or you’ll be feeling the cat of nine tails on your backs.”
Dialogue in an oral story particularly needs to sound authentic and the use of the formal name for the whip common to the penal colonies of New South Wales would hardly have been used in a work gang situation, where the convicts would have been painfully aware of the apparatus. So that sentence was changed to the colloquial phrase of,
“Put ya backs into you lazy laggards or you’ll be feeling the sting of the cat on your worthless hides.”
The body (no pun intended) of my story was coming along nicely but I still struggled with how to craft the beginning and stressed over it for several weeks. This is what my Facebook post of 7th October explained about my dilemma:
Sometimes despite the very best of intentions and ridiculous amounts of research, a story just refuses to be created. This is particularly frustrating when it is a commissioned piece and the day of the event is looming.
I've learned from experience though not to keep forcing the story-crafting process; to somehow push the pieces of the story to the back of my brain and just let them quietly percolate away.
Then with luck, good fortune or perhaps the intervention of my storytelling muses, nights like tonight happen. I woke at 2 am with the whole story sitting there, just waiting for me to commit it to the page, with all of the connecting pieces fully formed and the disparate elements of research clicking into place.
This comment and a few more sentences about the proposed structure of the story received positive feedback from my virtual storytelling colleagues and I felt reassured that I was on the right track. More than that, the idea to source an Awabakal Dreaming story to give context and interest was foremost in my mind. Back to research and the UON catalogue revealed that just such a collection of Dreaming stories was held in the Ourimbah Library. Amongst the treasure of the Awabakal Dreaming stories collection of classroom readers, the gem that is “How Muloonbinba was created” revealed itself as the perfect introduction to my larger story.
I wanted to ensure that the inclusion of this Dreaming story was culturally appropriate and sought the advice from the Community Engagement Officer and the Elder in Residence at the Gibalee Centre, which is conveniently located in the Ourimbah Library. Maddy and Bronwyn’s utterly appropriate advice was to,
“Speak with Awabakal people who are still living on Awabakal country who have a continuing connection to the history of the people and the place.”
They kindly provided me with the names of the correct people to speak with at the Wollotuka Institute at the Callaghan Campus. Joe and Amanda not only chatted to me about the inclusion of the story but offered to look at my entire story to ensure that it was culturally appropriate, including my proposed use of clap sticks to frame the Dreaming story. Once I received a very kind and encouraging go-ahead from Joe and Amanda, I did some extra research on Aboriginal traditional medicine, particularly of the Newcastle area to provide a link between the Dreaming story and the colonial health aspect of my story.
The factual content and structure of my story was now complete but it still needed to be polished and crafted ready for telling, rather than reading. When I tell a story I aim to give my listeners the impression that I have actually been to the world of the story and have travelled back to tell them about it. I want to be able to paint a mind picture for them so that they can imagine the setting and perspectives of the story. To do that I used the rich resource of the Flickr collection of Cultural Collections to find photographs of early Newcastle. I looked at maps of the early settlement to understand distances between early buildings, where the hospital was located and where the Callaghan Campus was in relation to it. I thought about where I would be located when telling the story and where the other venues for the day’s 25th Anniversary celebrations would be held.
With all of the creation aspects of the story under wraps, all that remained was to:
learn the story,
practice using the clap sticks to get the framing of the Dreaming story correct,
request permission to film the story for promotional purposes,
have a ball telling the story,
edit the video footage of the storytelling, (thanks to my "roadie" hubby Glenn for the filming),
seek permission to use images from the Cultural Collections Flickr collection,
and write this blog.
It’s quite overwhelming to realise how much research, collaboration, communication, time and preparation goes into “a simple story that needs to only last for 10 minutes.” It is so rewarding to do and I hope is as equally rewarding for an audience to listen to.
The bibliography of resources used for the creation of the story and a link to the video of the story is available on request.
The initial invitation to create and tell two stories during the celebrations came during a SONM 25th Anniversary Celebration Committee meeting in February 2015. I had initially been invited on the committee as a library representative who could assist with the creation of the Anniversary book but was then welcomed as a general committee member. Following the storytelling invitation I realised that possibly few of the committee had a complete grasp of what oral storytelling would entail. I sent a one-page proposal to the committee outlining how storytelling has been successfully used in similar history walk situations, to enhance an experience and meaning. I gave several storytelling options for the celebrations, based on my experience as an Accredited Teller with the Storytelling Guild of Australia (NSW).
What do archives, Endnote, Dreaming stories, emails, committee meetings, proposals, private conversations, social media and clap sticks have in common? Not a lot usually but they all played a crucial part in creating the story commissioned for the 25th Anniversary. There was a discussion with the Head of School and the Chair of the SoNM anniversary committee to define what the story should cover. The Head of School expressed an interest in having a story that would outline the history of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Newcastle but be entertaining at the same time. It was decided that the storytelling would be better suited to the dinner, when people were relaxed and more receptive to listening to a story as part of the entertainment, rather than trying to fit it into the busy schedule of the history walk and the speeches. I knew my 10 minute story would be just one of many presentations and speeches during the 4 hours of celebration activities, so the entertainment factor had to be strong. I’ve created stories for specific purposes before so I knew how much work would be involved in just a 10 minute story. This time I thought it would be interesting to document the process. So here goes...
Preparation and time management
One of the crucial factors for me was to have enough lead-up time to research and create an appropriate story. I didn’t want it to be just a recitation of dates and significant building milestones, hoping rather to bring in interesting characters to give the story emotional depth. I realised that to achieve that multiple resources will be required. I would need to not only use primary and secondary literature sources but also utilise the human resources of the University of Newcastle.
Access
I was fortunate to be given access to early drafts of the SoNM Anniversary book which gave me an indication of what areas NOT to cover in my story. I wanted it to be fresh and provide a different view of the School’s history and not be merely a rehash of the book. I was also given copies of the details that would appear on the plinths that constituted the history walk in the Richardson Wing courtyard. Armed with this useful material I was able to imagine what the various speeches of the day would entail and decided to go back even further in the history of nursing in Newcastle to create my story.
I researched the nursing history of Newcastle, finding rich sources of information in the UON Library collection. Searching the journal databases also provided tantalising information about specific aspects of the life and practices of nurses in the early days of the city. It soon became obvious that the story wouldn’t be complete without incorporating some of the fascinating history of the Newcastle Hospital itself. Books, articles, newspaper clippings and newsletters provided background material but trying to obtain information about the nursing staff involved in the early days of this institution led me to the UON Cultural Collections Library. My helpful colleagues there provided me with access to difficult to obtain books that filled in the blanks about the first trained nurse at the hospital and the appalling conditions she worked in. I used Endnote to keep this wealth of information under control to ensure that notes I made could be accessed easily.
As is usually the case for me when crafting a story, I collected so much information that I almost felt like I was drowning in it. It is at this point that the creation of the story iself begins; when I cease to gather the information and begin to read through it all. As interesting facts begin to emerge they become the framework for my story. I devise my story arc, determining what the crisis will be that starts the story action, what will emerge as points of rising action and how the story will be resolved in a satisfying way for listeners. For a commissioned historical story, authenticity is a crucial element, and each aspect of the story is checked and adapted for historical accuracy. For example, part of the story involved the rebuilding of the original convict prison to become a 2 room hospital. For interest sake I inserted dialogue at this point in the story to illustrate who was in charge of the building and who actually did the construction. I originally had the overseer of convict work gang call out,
“Keep those bricks coming. They won’t carry themselves.”
When I checked on the history of the building of the original hospital however I learned that the stones of the prison hospital were re-used, rather than go to the time and expense of making hand-made bricks. This section of dialogue was corrected accordingly. I also had the overseer call out to another group.
“Put your backs into you lazy laggards or you’ll be feeling the cat of nine tails on your backs.”
Dialogue in an oral story particularly needs to sound authentic and the use of the formal name for the whip common to the penal colonies of New South Wales would hardly have been used in a work gang situation, where the convicts would have been painfully aware of the apparatus. So that sentence was changed to the colloquial phrase of,
“Put ya backs into you lazy laggards or you’ll be feeling the sting of the cat on your worthless hides.”
The body (no pun intended) of my story was coming along nicely but I still struggled with how to craft the beginning and stressed over it for several weeks. This is what my Facebook post of 7th October explained about my dilemma:
Sometimes despite the very best of intentions and ridiculous amounts of research, a story just refuses to be created. This is particularly frustrating when it is a commissioned piece and the day of the event is looming.
I've learned from experience though not to keep forcing the story-crafting process; to somehow push the pieces of the story to the back of my brain and just let them quietly percolate away.
Then with luck, good fortune or perhaps the intervention of my storytelling muses, nights like tonight happen. I woke at 2 am with the whole story sitting there, just waiting for me to commit it to the page, with all of the connecting pieces fully formed and the disparate elements of research clicking into place.
This comment and a few more sentences about the proposed structure of the story received positive feedback from my virtual storytelling colleagues and I felt reassured that I was on the right track. More than that, the idea to source an Awabakal Dreaming story to give context and interest was foremost in my mind. Back to research and the UON catalogue revealed that just such a collection of Dreaming stories was held in the Ourimbah Library. Amongst the treasure of the Awabakal Dreaming stories collection of classroom readers, the gem that is “How Muloonbinba was created” revealed itself as the perfect introduction to my larger story.
I wanted to ensure that the inclusion of this Dreaming story was culturally appropriate and sought the advice from the Community Engagement Officer and the Elder in Residence at the Gibalee Centre, which is conveniently located in the Ourimbah Library. Maddy and Bronwyn’s utterly appropriate advice was to,
“Speak with Awabakal people who are still living on Awabakal country who have a continuing connection to the history of the people and the place.”
They kindly provided me with the names of the correct people to speak with at the Wollotuka Institute at the Callaghan Campus. Joe and Amanda not only chatted to me about the inclusion of the story but offered to look at my entire story to ensure that it was culturally appropriate, including my proposed use of clap sticks to frame the Dreaming story. Once I received a very kind and encouraging go-ahead from Joe and Amanda, I did some extra research on Aboriginal traditional medicine, particularly of the Newcastle area to provide a link between the Dreaming story and the colonial health aspect of my story.
The factual content and structure of my story was now complete but it still needed to be polished and crafted ready for telling, rather than reading. When I tell a story I aim to give my listeners the impression that I have actually been to the world of the story and have travelled back to tell them about it. I want to be able to paint a mind picture for them so that they can imagine the setting and perspectives of the story. To do that I used the rich resource of the Flickr collection of Cultural Collections to find photographs of early Newcastle. I looked at maps of the early settlement to understand distances between early buildings, where the hospital was located and where the Callaghan Campus was in relation to it. I thought about where I would be located when telling the story and where the other venues for the day’s 25th Anniversary celebrations would be held.
With all of the creation aspects of the story under wraps, all that remained was to:
learn the story,
practice using the clap sticks to get the framing of the Dreaming story correct,
request permission to film the story for promotional purposes,
have a ball telling the story,
edit the video footage of the storytelling, (thanks to my "roadie" hubby Glenn for the filming),
seek permission to use images from the Cultural Collections Flickr collection,
and write this blog.
It’s quite overwhelming to realise how much research, collaboration, communication, time and preparation goes into “a simple story that needs to only last for 10 minutes.” It is so rewarding to do and I hope is as equally rewarding for an audience to listen to.
The bibliography of resources used for the creation of the story and a link to the video of the story is available on request.
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