UP College of Fine Arts Conducts Outreach and Book Donations

FA Library doing outreach program

Today at 2PM, the UP College of Fine Arts Library is set to do an art and storytelling workshop with Ruben 'Totet" de Jesus and Rey Bufi as workshop facilitators. Organized by Roselily A. Medrano, FA Librarian, she chose the students of San Vicente Elementary School as participants who will be interacting with Mr. de Jesus, an award wining illustrator and with dynamic storyteller, Kuya Rey Bufi. This is in the college library's outreach activity in line with the celebration of Arts Month.

Ms. Medrano has headed and organized book drives and book donations that benefited public schools and institutions in Cagayan Valley and recently, in Najuan, Mindoro. It was in 2011 that they started reaching out to schools and children. Their donations have reached daycare centers in Lasam Central School and Lasam Academy in Cagayan. Book donations came from CFA Faculty and staff, alumni, students and friends of Mr. de Jesus.

Roselily Medrano donating books at Lasam Academy, Cagayan

In line with this, she has coordinated with Anvil Publishing house and the UP Diliman Main Library for the forum on Philippine Children's Literature in the 21st Century on February 23, 2016 at the UP Main Library Lobby. The forum begins at 2PM. The objectives of the forum are:

 · To deepen our understanding on the importance of children's literature in the development of their reading skills; 

· To foster children's appreciation on the different literary genres;  

· To acquaint students on the current trends and development of children's literature in the Philippines.

Panelists are:

ANI ALMARIO – is a Board Member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and former President of the Reading Association of the Philippines. Ani is on the Management Team of Adarna Publishing House Inc. and she also the Directress of the Raya School.

ZARAH GAGATIGA - is a Children’s book author and Chief Librarian of Beacon Academy in Laguna and former President of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY).

RAYVI SUNICO-is a children’s book author and publisher and Board member of the Philippine Board of Books for Young People.

RUBEN DE JESUS -is an award winning children’s book illustrator, founding member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (INK) and Board member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY). He is also a faculty member of the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philipiines Diliman.

PORTIA PADILLA - is a member of the Reading Association of the Philippines and a faculty member of the UP College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman.

For details visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1033448366697599/ 

Kuya Rey's Five Fantastic Storytelling Tips

Kuya Rey in his child like persona.

Last Saturday, the blog featured storyteller Rey "Kuya Rey" Bufi and his storytelling in varied communities. In this blog post, he shares five tips for young and aspiring storytellers.

A. Know Your Audience.  Always know the profile of your audience, their age, background, number of participants, venue and etc. These will help you identify your story for the activity and yoru strategy. But always bring several storybooks so you could easliy adjust if there are changes in the profile of your audience. For example, it is not advisable to tell a long story to pre-schoolers because small children have short attention span.

B. Be creative.  You should be quick in assessing your audience during the storytelling session. If your planned strategy doesnt work, then think of other ways to present the story. Storytelling is all about improvisation. Learn to improvise. Decide based on the behavior and reaction of your audience. This is difficult but the only way to learn it is to do frequent storytelling sessions. It is your exposure and experience to different types of audiences that will help you become a versatile storyteller. Every storytelling activity is a unique experience.

C. Connect to your audience. Build connections by finding common ground. You may do this by asking questions relatable to them or you may approach and talk to your audience before the storytelling starts. Make your audience comfortable so that they would open up and participate. Remember that storytelling is a shared experience. It is a conversation between you and your audience. The story is your connection with each other and in the end, your goal is to make that story a shared experience.

D. Start with your own stlye. Start with your own storytelling style. In this way, you will be comfortable in your first storytelling activity. This will help you gain your confidence and as you do it frequently, you could try different styles.

E. Know the story. This means that you should learn the sequence of the story by heart. This will guide you in making the right pauses, emotions and questions. If you forget the words, it would be easier for you to adlib.

Rey Bufi is the founder of the The Storytelling Project. Get in touch with Kuya Rey via reysbufi@gmail.com.

Pinoy Kuwentista: Rey Bufi

Mr. Rey Bufi is the new board member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) representing storytellers. He is the founder of the The Storytelling Project, a non-government organization that sets up reading centers and promote storytelling as a means to develop a lifelong love for books and reading. Get to know him more in this interview.

1. Why tell stories? 

I tell stories to help children see the joy of reading and to help them create a habit of reading. By incorporating fun with learning in telling stories, children realize that reading is not just an academic activity but rather an enjoyable task. I also believe that telling or sharing stories woul help to inspire people.

2. When did you realize that storytelling is something you need to do?

I started to realize this when I became a volunteer of an employee organization in my previous work. It was a decade ago when I started as a volunteer of that organization and I saw how happy the kids were during our storytelling activities. Children love stories and making each activity a fun learning experience is a great way to educate children.

3. What is your favorite story to tell? 

I have several favorite children stories but my choice always depends on my audience. Ang Pambihirang Sobrero ni Mia by Mike Tejido is a favorite when i have a huge crowd of small children. Papel de Liha by Ompong Remigio is also a classic favorite. I use it when the audience is a mix of children who are in the middle grades, young adults and even adults. Another one of my favorites is Super Labandera by Jim Mark Carolino and Mary Grace Soriano. It is a story about his mother who does laundry to help their family. Jim Mark is one of our learners in The Storytelling Project. I tell this story when I am invited to share TSP's story and I find that it inspires people to know that a child was able to create his own story and see it published.

4. How do you choose stories to tell? 

I choose stories based on the profile of my audience. I always ask for information from the people who invite me such as who my audience are, their age, the crowd size, the venue setup, the event theme, the goal of the storytelling session among other things. These will help me determine the story to choose. When i have a book in mind, I ask myself if that book would be relatable for the intended audience. In case the organizer has chosen a book for the storytelling session and it doesn't fit the considerations, then I just have to find ways to make it relatable to my audience through other strategies.

5. What defines a successful storytelling session? 

A successful storytelling session for me is when the audience is happy and engaged during the session and when the audience could retell the story.

For more information on The Storytelling Project, visit their FB page https://www.facebook.com/TheStorytellingProject/ or get in touch with Rey Bufi via this email, reysbufi@gmail.com.