Linda Gorham enjoyed volunteering at her sons’ schools as the family relocated to different cities around the country. She didn’t tutor or stock library shelves or bake cookies, however.
Instead, she told the children stories. Lots of stories.
After the family moved to Aurora five years ago, she told her stories at Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, where her two sons were pupils.
Joyce Schar, the former director of the learning media center, told Gorham she ought to be a professional.
“I needed to hear it from someone,” said Gorham, after a recent performance at Kennedy Junior High School in Naperville. “I said `OK,’ and they started to help me by spreading the word among District 204 teachers.”
Now her sons attend Waubonsie Valley High School, and Gorham is gaining a national reputation for storytelling and conducting related workshops. And she gives the credit to Indian Prairie District 204 for launching her new career, which began that first year with 28 local performances. This year, she’ll do 265 shows in Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, California and Virginia.
She also has been approved by the Illinois Arts Council, which means schools can receive grants to cover 35 to 50 percent of her performance fees.
Dressed in her signature gold tennis shoes and artistic earrings, Gorham recently told her Civil War stories to pupils at Kennedy. She graphically described the horrors of Andersonville Prison, battlefield surgery and hand-to-hand combat.
“My purpose is to give you a taste of what war is like,” she told the pupils. “Imagine being one to two years older than you are now and being forced into battle.”
Gorham said her Civil War presentation is the most difficult to perform, because of the facts, figures and dates she includes. More often, she performs folk tales or her favorite program, the story of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine. She uses that show to incorporate a message about discrimination and dealing with differences.
She presented that program to Kennedy’s pupils Tuesday.
“I include my own personal stories from 7th grade. I was an Army brat and I’d attended all-white schools,” said Gorham, who is African-American. “That year, I went to an all-black school, and it was the worst year of my life. They called me `white girl’ because I spoke regular English and had long hair.”
Pupils who listened to Gorham’s message took away more than facts and figures about Civil War battles. After her presentation, several audience members asked for tips on delivering speeches they were preparing for a different class.
They were learning about concepts like eye contact, articulation and volume, said Christine Zuccaro, 13, of Naperville.
“We can all be storytellers and when you’re telling a story you’re comfortable with, it’s like skating on ice,” Gorham told them.
Gorham will make the following appearances in February, many related to Black History Month: Brooks Elementary School, Thursday; Nancy Young Elementary School, Friday ; Chicago Public Library, main branch, Feb. 21; Neuqua Valley High School, Feb. 22; Eola Branch of the Aurora Public Library, Feb. 25; and Kennedy Junior High Feb. 27.
