WOMAN OF PASSION: Stories are my bread and butter

“I still cringe when I remember my first stage performance, though it happened over a decade ago. I was an 18-year-old straight out of high school, when I got on stage at a boys’ school to perform a play based on one of the set books. When the boys started catcalling, I forgot my lines.

“I was part of Boma Africa, a theatre group that was staging performances in schools based on set books. I was doing it to while away time as I waited to join university. Getting on stage those first few weeks was scary, but the performances were very intriguing. I also enjoyed travelling from region to region with the troupe, so I kept acting despite my less-than-perfect beginning.

“The more I went on stage, the better I got at it. Then one year in, I stumbled upon a call for actresses for a family drama airing on the national broadcaster KBC and this got me onto the screen. It was slightly different from acting on stage, but over the next two years, I was on three local TV shows. All through, my family kept prodding me to go to school or to get a real job, but I didn’t budge. Eventually, they left me alone, perhaps because they saw how happy I was.

“All along while I was acting, Hellen Alumbe, a friend I met on my first day at the national theatre, was pursuing storytelling. She began inviting me to her sets in 2008. Stage performances were not new to me, but storytelling was more interactive and one story could be told and retold in many different ways. That stuck with me and I was itching to give it a try, but when I did I realised that it wasn’t as easy as it looked. It was more than just performing, I had to ask myself questions: Why am I telling this story? And why this way and not another way? Just like the first time I tried acting, my first attempt at storytelling was terrible. After that first performance, I got a long list of corrections. The list was shorter at my second try and by the third, I got a pat on the back. I have not looked back since.

PROACTIVE

“When I settled on storytelling, I decided to go back to school and fuelled by my dream of a future helping communities, I studied community development at Mt Kenya University.

“I continued performing with theatre groups for seven years before I decided to go it alone in 2015. Instead of just sitting and waiting for people to call us for performances, I thought, why not take charge and make storytelling my business?

“I broke off from the group and began approaching schools with proposals. Initially, the response I got wasn’t very good which was understandable seeing as it was a relatively new concept. To counter this, I incorporated oral literature for secondary school students as well as training on using stories as an educative tool for primary school teachers. This strategy worked and schools began opening their doors.

“I peg my success so far on my love for telling stories. I love books and I also love working with children. Storytelling is the one thing that I can do for hours without getting tired, the one thing I can do without pay.

“I spend my days creating stories or making folk tales more contemporary by twisting the storylines and infusing songs. On other days, I perform for different audiences. The events I do are as varied as the people I meet on the job. Storytelling fits everywhere. I can perform at a children’s event one day, at a product launch the next and then a corporate dinner after that.

“My hardest audience is the older generation. With these ones, I have to outdo myself. Every time before going on stage, I think about how they likely know so much more about storytelling than I do.

“Interestingly, my storytelling has been able to give me the one perk that I enjoyed most while doing theatre performances – travelling. In addition to the East African countries, I have been to India, Iran and Sweden to tell stories.

“I am content doing this for now. Eventually though, I want to set up a centre where reading and art can flourish. I am also an author with two books for children in bookshops. I am hoping to do more of those.”

Wangari’s wisdom

•  Know your thing. I know the importance of this because my business has grown mainly through referrals from satisfied clients.

•  If stage performance is your business, do every show as if it is your first, not your last.

•  Master your art but don’t get comfortable. Keep stretching your limits.

•  Be consistent. It is the only way that the people you work with can trust you.