SHERRY NORFOLK presents "A Woman's Right to Choose"
This evening Sherry will share three stories with us: "Woman of the Wood," a Ukrainian folktale; "Revenge," a Japanese ghost story; and "Very Pretty Lady," by Natalie Babbit.
“Sherry’s stage presence is strong, clear and direct. She enters the stage and immediately there is a sparkle that connects to the audience. She projects a warmth and rapport that translates in both an intimate story swap setting or before a large audience. AND…that VOICE! I don’t know where it comes from but perhaps there lives in her chords a pantheon of BOTH gods and goddesses! Her use of tones, timbres, and rhythms in her telling breathe life into her style yet never draw away from the service of the story. Her repertoire, developed over the decades, is expansive. Her strength is folktales from around the world trend with a rich gravity of genres: cautionary, pourquoi, adventure, trickster, ghost/scary, ‘Haunted Hearts’: love-and-loss or love achieved, freedom stories…and ‘just plain fun!’ — Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, Eth-Noh-Tec
About Sherry:
Sherry Norfolk is an award-winning storyteller, author and teaching artist, performing and leading residencies and professional development workshops nationally and internationally. She is a dynamic storyteller and has appeared in the Manitoba International Storytelling Festival, Taiwan International Storytelling Carnival, International Art of Storytelling Festival (Miami, FL), International Storytelling Center (Jonesborough, TN), Singapore International Storytelling Festival, Manila International Storytelling Festival, and many more festivals, schools, libraries, museums and universities nationwide. Sherry is a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, a Wolf Trap Teaching Artist, an Arts Integration Teaching Artist with Tennessee Arts Commission’s Value Plus Schools and Arts360° programs, and is on the rosters of the Mississippi Arts Commission, Louisiana Council for the Arts, South Carolina Arts Commission, Virginia Commission on the Arts, and Springboard to Learning (Young Audiences) St. Louis. She leads residencies in preK through high school classrooms across the country and southeast Asia. An Adjunct Professor at Lesley University, Sherry is a recognized leader in integrating learning through storytelling. She is also the co-editor and/or co-author of books that explore rigorous, standards-based storytelling strategies for learning across the curriculum. www.sherrynorfolk.com
BARBARA ALIPRANTIS presents "The Foundling: A Personal Family Story"
In the late 1800s, a young man finds an abandoned infant in a basket along the shore of the Aegean Island of Paros. The villagers nickname it "The Foundling", and the man raises it with his own children. To this day, the child's descendants love to tell this heartwarming story.
About Barbara:
Barbara Aliprantis is a nationally acclaimed Bilingual (English/ASL) Storyteller/Mentor. Her repertoire includes stories about her Greek-American immigrant childhood, played out on the sidewalks of Brooklyn, NY, her adult life in the bustling multiethnic New York borough of Queens, and stories of how people circumvent communication obstacles, culled over 35+ years of experience working with multilingual linguistically diverse populations of all ages – hearing and Deaf, including people with special needs. Her presentations are a mix of careful planning and Barbara's spontaneous performance style, allowing her to tune into an audience and tailor each program on the spot with age-appropriate language and content. The Founder/Artistic Director of the New York Story Exchange, Barbara moved to Natick, MA three years ago. She is a Board member of Northeast Storytelling (NEST), and one of the six Curators of Brother Blues’ The Story Space Weekly Tuesday evening gatherings. www.nestorytelling.org/barbara-aliprantis
LONA BARTLETT presents "First Time Deer Hunters"
Lona tells a story about 2 New York City hunters who go deer hunting for the first time in rural upstate New York. The mistakes, the tragedy, and the creative protective solution of one resident teaches small children to spell their very first word.
About Lona:
Lona Bartlett is a professional storyteller, puppeteer and educator who has delighted audiences throughout the U.S. and internationally for over 30 years. Degrees in education and a small town upbringing in the Catskill Mountains provide inspiration for a long list of programs and presentations. No matter the genre, whether folktales, fairytales, puppets, or personal stories, Lona loves bringing excitement and insight to audiences at schools, libraries, conferences, festivals, corporate gatherings and special events.
JANE DORFMAN presents "Daddy's on the Roof and He's Got the Axe"
This treasured story was gifted to Jane by an old Annapolis neighbor. It is one of my favorite stories and will introduce you to my interesting old neighbors and their even more interesting old neighbors.
About Jane:
Jane Dorfman is a lover of stories. She tells traditional folk and fairy tales, a few personal stories, and a couple of lies. She has two Cds which both won The World Storytelling Award : The Man Who Had No Story, and Tales from the Arabian Nights. She is president of Voices-in-the-Glen, a guild for MD, VA, and DC. Jane has told at Speak!, Stone Soup,the latest NSN conference, Rose Valley, the Andersen statue in Central Park, and at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Originally from New Orleans, a place steeped in stories. www.nestorytelling/jane-dorfman
RONA LEVENTHAL presents "My Mother's Hands"
Rona will share a tale about her relationship with her mother…through food!
About Rona:
Rona Leventhal has been sharing her passion for the power of story for three decades. From the National Storytelling Network stage to festivals and local venues, Rona tells folktales, personal stories and original works to audiences of all ages across the country and beyond. Her dramatic style makes people feel they are experiencing a full theatre experience! Her one woman show, The Prince of Pirates and The Witch of Wellfleet is a glimpse into Puritan New England. Her CD, "Into The Dark, Stories From The Shadows” won the Gold Award from Storytelling World. Coeditor of the Storytelling Award winning book Spinning tales, Weaving Hope: Stories of Peace, Justice and the Environment. www.RonaTales.com
phillip low presents "Chinese Quandary Blues"
This is the story of how phillip performed the ritual of bai san (hiked up a mountain by his ancestral village and performed a pig sacrifice to his ancestors at his great-grandfather's grave) punctuated by reminiscences about his childhood, about drinking with show-business colleagues, and about the ridiculous contrast between this ancient ceremony and his very westernized upbringing.
About phillip:
phillip andrew bennett low is a Chinese-American playwright and poet, storyteller and mime, theatre critic, and libertarian activist. His solo performances have won acclaim from Minneapolis to Atlanta, New York to LA -- even as far as Melbourne, Australia. He was the co-founder of the Rockstar Storytellers (a supergroup of bestselling Twin Cities spoken-word artists), founder and producer of the touring theatre troupe Maximum Verbosity, and founder and host of the country's only recurring open-mic dedicated to speculative fiction, The Not-So-Silent Planet, and its associated podcast. He has published two humor collections, Indecision Now! and Get Thee Behind Me, Santa. www.nestorytelling.org/philliplow
CLARE VADEBONCOEUR presents "A Mother Remembers"
This story is a mime about a mother reflexing back at the various stages of her daughter’s life from infancy to adulthood. The story revealed the mother’s memories through moment that takes the viewer full circle from infant daughter in her arms to embracing her granddaughter for the first time.
About Clare:
Clare Vadeboncoeur is a story performer who loves telling stories to the young and the young at heart. She is a Trinity Repertory Conservatory graduate with a Masters of Arts Degree in Theatre and Dance, a C.M.A. (certified movement analyst) from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York and she holds a life time RI teachers certification in theatre and dance grades K-12. As a story performer she combines her talents as actor, dancer, mime & writer to create and perform unique interactive storytelling programs for schools, libraries, festivals and special events. Her last name “Vadeboncoeur” when translated from French means “Go with a Good Heart” which she tries to live by and has incorporated into her company’s name “Good Heart Productions.”
MIKE LOCKETT will emcee this special evening ...
About Mike:
Dr. Michael Lockett is a teller of traditional tales in a non-traditional manner. Mike is a lifelong storyteller and had added writing children's books to his bio . Lockett has been telling stories for 40 plus years in his positions as a storyteller, teacher, principal, central office administrator and educational consultant. Because he lives in the small town of Normal, Illinois, he enjoys being called "The Normal Storyteller." But, there is little that is NORMAL about Mike. He brings high energy and creative uses of audio sound effects to his family friendly stories. He gives many programs in Asia where he is affectionately known as "Miko Yeh Yeh" - which means "Grandpa Mike.
Mike has given more than 4000 presentations and workshops in 31 states across the United States and as far away as eastern Asia. He has performed in seventeen countries and is the author of many wonderful books. www.mikelockett.com