A narrator tells part of the story — Drama, 4–6 years
A narrator speaks to help the audience know what is happening, where or when it happens, or what happened between two moments. The narrator is a storytelling job, not automatically one of the characters.
Someone can guide the story
A narrator is the voice or person that guides the audience through some part of a story. They might say where the action is, introduce a person or explain a change in time. The actors can still show the events while the narrator gives a helpful extra clue.
Why have a narrator?
The problem is that a performance cannot show every journey, waiting time or thought directly. A narrator can bridge these gaps without making the actors act for a long time. Storytellers have used this help for centuries, especially when one person or a small group had to create a large world.
Crossing to the island
First, two actors stand beside an imaginary boat. The narrator says, “The boat crossed the sea all night.” The actors gently rock as if waves move them. Then the narrator says, “At sunrise, they reached the island,” and the actors stop rocking, look around and step onto the shore. One sentence bridges many hours.
The narrator need not explain everything
A narrator may keep talking and describe every tiny action, leaving nothing for the actors or audience to discover. That is reasonable because explaining feels safe and clear. But drama becomes harder to watch when words cover the action, so the narrator should give only the clue that is needed.
Narrators outside drama
You may hear a narrator in an audiobook, a nature programme or a video explaining what the pictures do not show. A person telling a family story can also guide listeners with phrases such as “Later that day”. In each case, the narrator adds information while the listeners imagine or watch the events.
Keep exploring
Other languages
Loading MyLeoNes™…