For students, the process behind their work began with an in depth character analysis followed by questions and extended research. Fifth graders performed monologues they wrote about an Egyptian god of their choice, which stemmed from their study of ancient Egypt in their history classes. Sixth graders presented two Midrash stories entitled: "Hotel Jacob" and "Eyewitness Sheep". Midrash is a new take on an old story based on stories from the Torah. Students explored the stories of Jacob and Esau along with Leah and Rachel and asked themselves: What would I do if I were in their shoes? They wrote monologues and from those, scripts were created.
Tammy Hall returned to Berkeley Carroll and shared several of her favorite stories that reminded her of her childhood growing up in the woods of Tennessee listening to her father tell stories. Audience members became active participants in moving the tale along. Tammy urged the audience to listen closely to their family storytellers, to ask questions and record them so that future generations can continue to stand on the shoulders of the storytellers and ancestors that came before them, honor them and create their own version of those stories to pass on.
