Storytelling With a Difference

A college student trying to participate in class was never called on because his professor was unable to pronounce his name.

The tale of that student, told by the director of the Carpetbag Theater Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., invited pupils in an English class at Santa Ana College on Tuesday to share similar stories.

The students, split in two groups, recounted dilemmas caused by racial or cultural barriers. One African American student told about the time security guards tailed her in an upscale department store but didn’t follow other customers with lighter complexions.

“We’re helping people articulate their problems and we’re using art as a tool to speak and resolve these issues of equity and freedom and expression,” said Linda Parris-Bailey, Carpetbag Theater’s executive director.

Her company, a nonprofit organization formed 29 years ago, tours the country delivering lessons through drama and the ancient art of storytelling.

Tuesday’s storytelling exercise, led by Parris-Bailey and Margaret Miller, also of the Carpetbag Theater, was part of the college’s efforts to address diversity issues and bring about curriculum reform, said Irene Soriano, professor of art history and ethnic studies.

She said Santa Ana College is one of eight colleges and universities nationwide that received $52,000 grants to integrate the arts across the curriculum and create model programs for employing cultural resources in campus diversity programs. A number of visiting artists, including Carpetbag, are helping in the effort.

Many students called Carpetbag’s presentation captivating and said it inspired them and taught them a lesson on self-empowerment.

Miller said the student responses were expected since storytelling can be traced back hundreds of years and across all cultures.

“Before there was paper, people were telling stories,” she said. “It’s a unique experience of sharing.”

Added Soriano: “Life is a struggle and life is problems. We are here on this earth to solve them together, not alone.”