It began in 1992 as a short presentation of author Gerald McDermott's adaptation of folk tales. On Tuesday, a much expanded version, titled "McDermott in Motion," appears on the Paliku Theatre stage with new costumes and masks, and wider musical accompaniment.

"Motion" is based on five books — retellings of folk tales from the Pacific Northwest, American Southwest, Japan and Africa — by the Caldecott Award-winning author. Collaborating once again with McDermott are storyteller Nyla Fujii-Babb and choreographer/dancer Yukie Shiroma.

McDermott's interest in folk tales goes back to his childhood in Detroit. "My parents had a book of stories from around the world. At age 4, my favorite story in that book was the Japanese tale of Stonecutter, which I made them read over and over," he said. That story is in the current production.

McDermott's professional experience working with myths and folk tales began with an early career in filmmaking. "In the late '60s and early '70s, Joseph Campbell (the famed mythologist) became a consultant for my animated films. Although he was teaching full time and writing a book, he always seemed to have time for me." Campbell continued to mentor McDermott as he made the transition from filmmaking to book publishing.

In 1992, when McDermott was scheduled to be the guest of honor at the Literature and Hawai'i's Children biannual conference, former librarian and local storyteller Fujii-Babb was invited to perform.

"I was already a fan of Gerald McDermott's works, so when I was asked to do some storytelling, I chose his stories," Fujii-Babb recalled. Rather than tell the stories in her own words, she adhered to McDermott's text which "... is musical and poetic and breathes at the right places."

Although collaborations between storytellers and dancers are rare, Fujii-Babb asked her friend, dancer Yukie Shiroma, to be co-creator of the project. They worked for weeks, spending half the time selecting music that would provide a setting for the stories but not overpower them.

New costumes by Gary Fujimoto and masks by Michael Harada have been added to the current "Motion." Musical accompaniment now includes a collage of selections ranging from Ray Charles to the Tuvan throat singers.

For the story of the Stonecutter, considered the darkest and densest of the five tales being performed, Fujii-Babb and Shiroma felt it important to subordinate the movement, allowing viewers to focus on the story and text. The general decision to abstract the dance as well as costumes was made consciously.

"I didn't want to mime what the story is telling. Otherwise, they might as well just read the books," Shiroma said. She explained that "the resulting product has to be greater than the sum of its parts."

McDermott's latest projects include illustrating a book titled "Joseph Campbell's Favorite Myths" and writing "Pig-Boy," a book about a Hawai'i's famous trickster god, Kamapua'a.