S24E4 - Educational Storytelling and the Use of Theater

There came a time in the history of storytelling, especially around the rise of Christianity in Europe, where story became a way to educate the general populace. However, it started long before Christianity was even established.

Back in the times of the Greeks and then Romans, theater was used to teach the common people about the gods and their workings. It was one of the main ways outside of direct worship, to tell people how the gods operated. This same trend continued into Christianity, when nunneries and other religious establishments would hold plays to teach bible stories.

One of the biggest changes this era brought to storytelling was the use of writing to not only preserve story, but to distribute it in a collaborative effort. Scripts would be written and sent out to be performed. This is also the time where tropes and character stereotypes became solidified beyond the idea of a "hero" working for unseen forces.

Ley and Leigh discuss this development in storytelling and what it can teach us today for our own writing and goals.

First aired September 13, 2021.