ABSTRACT
The fi rst lighting for storytelling was fi re. For some purposes, it is still nearly perfect. Firelight is warm and glowing, associated in the mind with safety, heat, and protection from nature. It draws people toward it; they automatically arrange themselves into a circle at a comfortable conversational distance. It fl ickers gently and provides a visual focus that prevents one’s attention from wandering. It starts out bright and blazing, then gradually dims as the mood turns inward and eyes grow heavy; it fades away to darkness just about the time the audience is ready to go home. For the hunter returned from the hunt, the village shaman performing a ritual, or an elder recounting the story of the tribe, it was ideal.
