Pete Davis speaking at Sillitoe Day
Pete Davis spent three decades as a fireman and the following two as a storyteller where he has worked with the elderly, the mentally ill and Notts County fans. About fifteen years ago, after a couple of ales, he set up The Storytellers of Nottingham in the Trip where he shared his memories of growing up around the city, culminating in his one-man show Under Bestwood, his unique take on the Dylan Thomas classic. Now he’s offering an introduction to oral storytelling where he’ll be teaching vital tricks of the trade to anyone who fancies themselves as a blabber mouth.
The six-week course will focus on the methods required to retain, construct and perform stories. In particular it will focus in on ways to mentally visualise a story so that you don’t turn into one of those numpties who still have to read from a script when they’re performing a Haiku. Davis’s basic philosophy is: if you believe it, so will they. So if there’s any Romeo’s out there stringing along a couple of lovers then here’s your chance to perfect those excuses so that her in doors never doubts you again.
The course is targeted at writers at all levels of their career and is useful as the publishing industry demands a more rounded product nowadays, someone who is able to write, market and entertain. And let’s be honest, just because you can conjure beautiful imagery on the page doesn’t mean that you are a) a nice person or b) a performer. Writers are pretty unsociable beasts who lock themselves away for months on end, staring into screens, creating artificial worlds out of words. They’re barely one degree of separation away from World of Warcraft. This is your chance to become human again and put your metaphors where your mouth is.
I’ve worked with Pete a few times, most recently on The Space when I commissioned him to take oral histories from Raleigh workers. He’s a great communicator and has the skill of being able to relax people and get them to speak honestly about their life. The Raleigh testaments are the result of lots of conversations and Pete’s ability to slowly cajole out details that people presume are boring but are absolute gold. It’s a skill that requires listening, responding and probing. It sounds easy but it’s not. He’s a great performer as well, able to relay long stories freely without a script. But if you’re thinking of signing up for his workshops why not try before you buy and see Pete’s contribution to the Festival of Words with Stories of the City at Lee Rosy’s, 7.30pm, 13 February.
‘Shaping the Word’ with Pete Davis, Wednesdays, 20 February to 3 April 2013, 7–9pm, £48. Sessions split between Broadway and the Nottingham Writers’ Studio. To book admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk.
