Armed only with his animated gestures and precise, theatrical diction, Communication freshman Ben Kemper wows audiences with his storytelling. Drawing inspiration from history and folktales, Kemper has performed everywhere on campus from the Shepard Residential College to the Rock and Allison quad. He found time in his busy schedule to sit down with the Current to talk about his process and performances.
Excerpts:
The Current: What is your process of preparing a story for performance like?
Ben Kemper: First you have to find one – search through the library books, listen to the local history, just do something crazy and exciting – and then sit down a try to find the key images. Something that leaps off the tongue. It’s almost like being a jeweler. You take the gems of the images and you fit them into collars, so that it all flows nicely with a good curve of a phrase here and there. Then it’s all about repetition. Ideally a story should be practiced a hundred times before its ready. Then I find a little test audience, perform it for them, and then I take it out into the world.
The Current: When did you first perform publicly
BK: I was in the 3rd grade, and another professional storyteller was coming to my elementary. I had been making a name: “Hey, you see that kid? You go up to him at recess and he’ll tell you a story for a cookie or a husk of bread.” The principal came over and asked me, “Ben would you like to be the cold open?” And I said, “Well, sure! I’ve got a three-minute story that I’d love to tell.” About a week later, there I was behind the curtain. It opened up. I came forward, told this little story “Prinderella and the Pransome Hince,” and the whole place was laughing! When I turned around, the storyteller said “That was wonderful!” He gave me a pat on the shoulder and we’ve been in contact ever since.
The Current: How do you find stories?
BK: They come from everywhere. Most of the stories I tell come from folklore from around the world. There are one or two stories I have that are stories from history. I have one or two stories that I have told about my own personal experiences, though I don’t feel as if enough years have passed. Then I have one story that I wrote myself, and that’s still a little work in progress, “The Troll and I.”
The Current: You perform publicly around campus. What made you decide to follow this format as opposed to private events?
BK: If you do it out-of-doors, that means that anyone can walk up and say, “Wow, this looks really interesting,” and maybe be converted just as I was. The reason I’m doing the stories at all is because I believe that anyone can be a teller. They just need to learn that there is an art form – that there is a useful use of time to celebrate that. Also, it was easier. I don’t know the ins and outs of the Norris system as of yet. So it’s just better to reserve the Rock than to have to pay a down payment to reserve the McCormick Tribune Theater.
The Current: How have students responded when they pass or attend one of your performances?
BK: A lot of them just turn around and slow down their steps and take a look. Some of them hurry on, but some of them come and sit at the edges, which is extremely gratifying. Everyone I’ve talked to has been very supportive of the idea. Some have been cautious about the possible success, but everyone’s been very supportive.
The Current: How do you feel about that response?
BK: Very, very chuffed. Very chuffed indeed. I wish I had a little bit more time to nurture discussion – to nurture interest. But at the moment I don’t.
The Current: What’s next for you as a storyteller?
BK: I will keep doing these performances. I have a couple of sets lined up and then I hope to have made enough connections with other people to get them to come up and tell their stories.
Ben’s next public performance will be at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 at an undetermined location. He will also be performing in the play “The Butterfly of Constantinople,” which will be running this February. Visit his website www.benkemperstoryteller.com for recordings and more information.
– Rafi Letzter
