by Marsha Little Matthews

Narrative is how humans find meaning in the events of our lives. Each storyteller is sharing his/her lived experience and in the process is sharing the meaning of that experience for them with you, the listener/reader/viewer. These storytellers are sharing an important event or crisis in their lives. This is the burden and responsibility that the producer/writer must accept and understand when asking someone to tell his or her story. Ethically, the producer/writer/editor must work to craft the project so that it remains consistent with the storyteller’s narrative.

However, no one hears, reads, or views a story in a vacuum. We, as audience, bring our own life experiences and meaning to the experience. The producer/writer/editor is no different. He/she must acknowledge how his or her own experiences and frames of meaning may affect or reflect upon the narrative meaning he or she cognitively creates from hearing, reading, or viewing the narrative. This is the challenge and the reality of creating mediated narratives.

The final three audio narrative projects are grouped under the theme of inspiration and transformation. Again, the student producers aimed to let these stories be told as much as possible in the words of each storyteller. Narration is used sparingly, and with purpose.

In My Mommy, My Hero , Haley Ferguson uses co-narration whereby she and her mother jointly tell the story of Mary’s diagnosis of cancer. They each tell the story from their own point of view and memory.

Reverend Charles King shares his story of faith as he lay in the hospital waiting for a transplant.

And, Kathy Dawson shares her stories of loss and faith.

  • Production: My Mommy, My Hero
  • Producer/Writer: Haley Ferguson
  • Executive Producer: Marsha Little Matthews
  • Storytellers: Mary Ferguson and Haley Ferguson
  • Production: In the Morning
  • Producer/Writer/Narrator: Kiera Wade
  • Executive Producer: Marsha Little Matthews
  • Storytellers: Reverend Charles King and Deborah King
  • Production Transcript: In the Morning Program Transcript

 

Copyright 2013 Marsha Little Matthews