Story Club

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DreamTime Issue

Hello!

Welcome to another issue of Story Club.

This week we are thinking about story telling traditions. So we are travelling around the world to Australia. As this week, we’ve been inspired by Dreamtime Stories; stories that the Indigenous Australians traditionally tell.

So, how do you say Indigenous? uhn·di·juh·nuhs What does Indigenous mean?

Indigenous means originating in a particular place.

Indigenous Australians are people whose families way, way back, were part of the first groups to live in Australia. It’s thought that their family members first

went to Australia up to 50,000 years ago! Australians whose family members came from Britain, Italy, Greece and other countries only settled there within the last 230 years.

This week we are going to learn a little about Dreamtime Stories. Then, think about how these storytelling traditions can help us make sense of all the questions we’ve ever wondered about the places we live.

PLUS This week, you can send us your story and we’ll record them in an audio book, read by professional actors!

We can’t wait to hear what you make!

Everyone at Bounce Theatre

Art Warm Up Traditional indigenous australian art uses symbols in their paintings Can you create some symbols for things around your home?

I’ve made these as an example can you guess what they symbolise?

More about Australian Dreamtime Stories: In Indigenous Australian culture, the Dreamtime was when all life was first made. Dreaming is the word used to explain how the natural world - animals, trees, plants, hills, rocks, waterholes, rivers - were created by magical beings.

It’s thought that the spirits of the magical beings remain in Australia, in the animals and the places and the people forever.

Stories are super important. They are used to teach children about the world around them. As they grow up they will learn more about why, when and how things are made.

Below is the Dreamtime Creation Story, which tells the story of how Indigenous Australian people believe the world began:

The Dreamtime Creation Story: This is the creation story of Ngiyaampaa country, as well as the land belonging to Eaglehawk and Crow.

A long, long time ago of course, in the beginning, when there were no people, no trees, no plants whatever on this land, “Guthi-guthi”, the spirit of our ancestral being, he lived up in the sky.

He came down and he wanted to create the special land for people and animals and birds to live in. So Guthiguthi created the land for the people - he set the borders in place and the sacred sights, the birthing places of all the Dreamings, where all our Dreamings were to come out of.

Guthi-guthi put one foot on Gunderbooka Mountain and another one at Mount Grenfell.

And he looked out over the land and he could see that the land was bare.

There was no water in sight, there was nothing growing. So Guthi-guthi knew that trapped in a mountain called Mount Minara - was the water snake, Weowie. Guthi-guthi called out to him, “Weowie, Weowie”, but because

Weowie was trapped right in the middle of the mountain, he couldn’t hear him.

Guthi-guthi went back up into the sky and he called out once more, “Weowie”, but once again Weowie didn’t respond. So Guthi-guthi came down with a roar like thunder and banged on the mountain and the mountain split open. Weowie came out. And where the snake travelled, he made waterholes and streams and dents in the land.

Once all that was finished, of course, Weowie went back into the mountain to live. But then after that, Old Pundu, the Cod, it was his duty to drag and create the big river known as the Darling River today. The river flows right down, throughout Australia all the way into the sea.

After the land was created, the first two tribes in Australia were called Eaglehawk and Crow. And from these two tribes came many people. This is how the world was made.

Make Your Own Creation Stories: Now use your imagination to make up your own creation story for how your area might have been made. There’s no right or wrong, see where your imagination takes you. Try to paint a picture in the mind of your reader about what your version of the world looks, sounds and feels like.

Here are some questions that might help you with your writing: In your story how did the world start?

For example: • From an explosion like the big bang • It all started from one tiny ant, then more ants, and then all of the ants created everything else Why are things the colour that they are? For example: • The sky is blue in the day because it’s feeling fresh and lively. It goes pink in the evenings because it’s tired and needs a rest.

• The sky is blue because all of the other colours were given to the other animals and only blue was left.

Why do things fall to the ground? For example: • Because animals and people are part of the earth and want to stay close to it!

• Because the sky likes to be clear and won’t let anything else float up in to it.

• Why do the seasons change?

• Because the earth likes to change clothes and the trees got bored of their leaves.

Sharon’s South London Creation Story The first thing that happened in South London was that there was darkness and there was water. Just one drop to start with mind, but then the one drop multiplied into two and four and twenty-four and before everyone knew it, the River Thames had slowly popped up from the ground. It spread out and out, over everything.

The sky liked the look of the water below it and decided to change colour. It went blue when it felt fresh and awake in early morning, pink at the end of the day when it felt tired and ready for night to come to give the day a rest.

The river carried on spreading, on and on until the land stopped and it spilled out becoming an ocean, linking onto other oceans all over the world which was shaped like a cube before it learnt to be a circle.

The river sent ripples across the land, energy made other things grow, soil and sand and grass, brown and green and beige. The river took different colours and gave them out, brown, black, and white to the humans living in caves and in the hills, pink, orange, grey, yellow, and charcoal to the animals, insects and fishes. White to ice and snow and every colour to a rainbow.

Every night the river would take a rest and plan its next move. The world was slowly coming together. The river wanted to keep everything connected so it made gravity; a force that meant that everyone stayed close to the ground, birds and bees could fly high, but they couldn’t float away.

Time ticked on and the river wanted some change; to see what trees looked like with special leaves like clothes, to let different flowers bloom and food grow. The river spoke to the sun and the sky and together they

agreed to have seasons for the earth to learn its lessons. We need winter so that we can love the summer, autumn so that we can look forward to the spring.

The river told the earth that it would never stop flowing, that it would always stay connected to all of the rivers and streams and seas, no matter what else happened. This is how the earth was made.

Art Challenge Imagine you were a koala or kangaroo, Can you draw what would the world look like through their eyes? what would you notice? what does the view look like from a tree? try this with other animals too.

Once you’ve finished with this magazine you could roll it up to make a Telescope Try drawing what you see in your New Story Club Telescope!

play Have you ever played charades before? See if you can get someone in your house to watch you act out the actions below. You can’t talk. You can only use your gestures, your expression and a little sound effect.

• • • • • • • •

Brushing your teeth Eating a sandwich Swimming in cold water Swimming in warm water Treading on something sharp Putting on a coat Dancing to a good song Can you make up some more?

How many did they guess? Think about the skills you show in this game.

- Using your body - Showing emotion - Using sound - Focusing on your audience Now, we’re going to think about telling stories. Without having to read them from a book.

Indigenous Australians gather around the campfire to tell stories. They would often use movement, song and music to tell their stories. Nothing was ever written down. So this week we’re going to think about ways to make stories inspired by this idea, by dreams and traditions.

Think about a story you’d like to tell.

It could be your Dreamtime story.

You could make a new one. Or use a traditional tale.

A box of sounds Fill a box with objects that might help you tell the sounds of your story. If I was to do Sharon’s creation story. I might gather together bottles/jars of water and fill them with different levels. Then I could experiment with making different

water sounds to tell my story.

A dance Think about the game of charades you’ve played. Now look at your story, what images could your body create to let the audience imagine what’s happening. You could create movements of water. Maybe it starts with your hand and then your whole body becomes the river. You could be a bird or a bee?

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Light the senses I love the idea of stories by the fire.

However, we do not want you to start a fire! SO, think about your story. Could you bring it life with any smells? Maybe you could collect a box of garden smells and set them out as part of your story?

Taste You could think about tastes and how they can help us understand stories. If I was to share Sharon’s story, I might bring a class of water for everyone to have at the end of my story. Then they’d remember why water is really special!

Touch Finally, think about things your audience might be able to touch to bring the story to life. Maybe you could have a blue scarf that could become the river? As it gets passed from person to person, the river grows as you are telling the story?

You could do some or all of these ideas!

Just remember stories aren’t just written in books. They are our thoughts, ideas, belief and imaginations. So play and have fun!

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creative challenges This week our challenges are all inspired by dreams, Dreamtime, and Australia.

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1. Start a dream journal. Keep a notebook or paper beside your bed. If you have a dream you could draw it, write about it, or make symbols to record it.

2. Collect objects from around your house and create a sculpture of an Emu. 3. Say hello like an Australian to everyone you meet for a day, “G’day mate”

4. Make a Dream Jar. Find an empty jar. Now fill it with materials of the best dream you’ve ever had. It might be full of soft and cosy things. Maybe it would light up. It could have colours that make you feel happy.

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5. Make a homemade didgeridoo out of cardboard tubes. If you have a spare balloon. Cut the tip off it and ease it over the end of the tube to give a mouthpiece.

You can paint your didigeroo or decorate it in symbols.

6. Turn your window into a piece of art. Cut out shapes, images, or words that you can stick into your window to remind people to dream big.

7. Try a Kangaroo pose. Did you know they only ever hop forwards? Stand tall with your feet hipwidth apart. Bend your knees and lower down, as if you are sitting in an invisible chair. Raise your arms to your chest, like a kangaroo. Take a deep breath in and let out a “humpf” sound!

Don’t forget to send us your stories and pictures so we can see your wonderful work!

email: lauren@bouncetheatre.com Whatsapp: 07980210705 We read out all the stories & show the pictures online every Friday to celebrate StoryClub