If you were at last week's AZ Rep Live Storytelling at the Phoenix Theatre, you witnessed Liz Warren in a masterful telling of a personal story from her high school years. She wowed the crowd with a great and humorous story. It had great content, and all of Donald Davis' "Five Ps" (People, Place, Problem, Progress and Point").

It should be noted that Liz used one additional "P" as an effective tool - pauses. An expertly crafted "dramatic pause" holds the audience's attention and puts them on the edge of their seats, wanting to hear what comes next! (See an earlier tip about Pause and Effect.) At this telling, she held the audience in the palm of her hand!

Liz used one more important, specific technique: naming characters. Characters in your story can be referred to as "archetypal", i.e., The King, The Boy, The Princess, The mayor, etc. This is often a good way for both the teller to keep things clear, and makes things easier on the audience, too. It enables them to worry less about, "Which one was that?"

But some characters NEED to be named. In a workshop with Donald Davis, I learned that "giving characters names, makes them real. It gives the listeners a more solid connection to them. It enables them to see them more clearly."

Liz effectively used this concept by telling us the real names of the two most important people in her story, Principal, Wayne Smith, and the local columnist, Arna Lee. Once described, the repetition of each character's name brought forth the full power and visualization of each of them. Of course, her vocalization of "Arrrrna Lee" gave us an even clearer picture of both her, and Liz's relationship to her. And always using his full title and name "Principal, Wayne Smith" continually reminded us of his "station in life" and in the community.

Artfully done by a storyteller extraordinaire!