Bobby Norfolk told Story Stitchers,
“The human brain is hardwired for story. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch,
and smell comes through story. That’s why they call it story hypnosis and back
in the day outside when the storyteller would be around the campfire and the
backdrop would be a cliff wall or grove of trees, right? And then the storyteller
comes forward and then starts to tell the story and the reflection of the
firelight against the grove of trees or the big mountain wall starts to create
caricatures, and you start seeing witches and monsters and demons and
dragons and ogres. The hero, the villain, all the archetypes that Carl Young
talked about that’s in the human brain, the things that we love when we hear
story. Boom, the eyes begin to widen, the jaw drops, you lean forward, and
you are engulfed in what’s called storyteller hypnosis. And this was evident
long before neuroscientists even made the so called discovery that the human
brain is hardwired for story.
The power of the story, the power of nature, it’s all one.”
Bobby Norfolk, Master Storyteller will perform at the premiere of Peace in the Prairie.
Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective presents Peace in the Prairie, an original performance exploring the concepts of peace and violence, juxtaposing urban life as experienced by African American people living in the city of St. Louis, Missouri and the state’s unique endangered prairie lands.
Is the path towards peace through Missouri’s native prairies?
Saint Louis Story Stitchers is working collaboratively to create an approach to health issues affecting Missouri’s urban youth. Story Stitchers bring the humanities to the forefront through a unique form of “urban storytelling”.
Peace in the Prairie expands the artistic body of work of African American artists in the Collective, addresses the community need of understanding violence while seeking peace, supports the exploration of new natural settings by both artists and audiences, and supports the greater understanding of Missouri’s unique natural heritage in its native prairie lands.
The project is supported by a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The Foundation is a resource for the region, working with communities and nonprofits to generate and accelerate positive changes in health. As a catalyst for change, the Foundation improves the health of Missourians through a combination of partnership, experience, knowledge, and funding.
The project is supported by Missouri Arts Council, a State Agency.
The project presented with support from Kranzberg Arts Foundation where Saint Louis Story Stitchers is a resident organization.
