BEMIDJI — Storyteller Leif Wallin wanted to know his origin story.
Being an adopted kid, he became curious about his biological parents and family he didn’t know about. It’s been quite the journey, and he wants to share that story at his event “A Night of Story, Music, and a Family Secret” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.
Wallin told Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show that his interest in storytelling happened by accident — literally.
He got into a nasty bike crash that left him unconscious for almost seven days. During his recovery, the doctor told him to develop a story about the accident and memorize it.
This was to help him on two fronts. One, it allowed Wallin to exercise his brain. Second, it allowed him to own the event, instead of the event owning him.
Because of this exercise, he found he had a talent for storytelling. After doing some storytelling events and starting to incorporate his story of finding more about his adoption and birth relations, he received good feedback from audiences.
Eventually Wallin put together a one-hour story about where he came from. He initially performed it at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, which is an annual theater event showcasing short plays, musicals and monologues. As more secrets are revealed in his search, the story changes.
“A lot of things have changed since I did that first show some 10 years ago. So, I've got a whole new different ending because I found out some other new secrets, which shall be revealed at the [Aug. 22] show.”
Wallin will perform the show at the Bemidji Community Theater in downtown Bemidji. It should be about an hour long. It will start with a couple of short stories, and then some music from Wendy Smith, and then the main story about his birth family.
When asked about how he feels sharing such a personal side of himself, Wallin said that’s just what a storyteller must do.
“They have to be able to put something out there and hopefully the strangers will relate to it and then it does kind of create a connection.”
Creating that connection with audience members has been the thing that’s brought Wallin the most satisfaction from storytelling.
“I think we're all looking for connections and telling your stories. ... It connects you with people. I think as a society right now, we need more of that connecting with people.”
Listen to the full conversation with Wallin by clicking above.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
