Stories arise from place and meaning comes from stories.  Everywhere we look there are stories to be found – of individuals, and groups, of real events, and what might have been – and this is how storytelling can give life and meaning to inanimate places.  

In this Learning Capsule,  we explore how we can use real events, real people (important, unimportant, or invented representatives), as the sources of stories to tell in the places where those events or people really were, or apply great literature, or genre stories to places where we can imagine they might have occurred.  

We will also look at the role of research, of invention versus accuracy, of impersonation and props, and the narrative structure we can use to organise our tales, and most importantly, just how we can use storytelling to build a bridge from past to present.

Jo Henwood is an Accredited Storyteller with Australian Storytellers, Tour Guide, Education Officer, museum theatre creative, public speaker, and workshop presenter (in history, literature, storytelling, creative writing, and tour guiding techniques).  She is the Ring Maiden (aka Researcher) of the Australian Fairy Tale Society, has coordinated several World Storytelling Day events in Sydney, and was a 2021 FEAST Mentor for Storytellers in Cultural Sites.  She has a Master of Cultural Heritage, and qualifications in library science, museum studies, tour guiding, and gifted education.