Storytelling – Story Story Podcast

Fair Trade (with host Simon Brooks): Rachael Harrington, Milbre Burch

September 8, 2021 No Comments

Rachael Harrington is a storyteller whose work has taken her around the globe, presenting imagination infused performances and workshops for all ages in theater and arts spaces, community groups, schools, preschools, and as a guest lecturer at Rutgers University. She was the recipient of the NYC Department of Education Arts and Family Engagement Grant and has presented workshops at New Jersey Association of School Libraries, New Jersey TESOL Conference, and the American Association of School Libraries National Conference, and has been published in Voices, the New Jersey TESOL quarterly journal. She performs at festivals including The Uptown Arts Stroll, Gotham Arts Festival, and The Day of Water Festival on Governor’s Island. She is a member of National Storytelling Network.

Milbre Burch

A Grammy-nominated recording artist and internationally-known performer, educator, published poet and produced playwright, Milbre Burch is a storyteller in every sense of the word. She has been featured at events and festivals in 36 states and in fifteen European cities.

Burch is known for the versatility of her repertoire from folktales to fantasy, fiction and fairy tales to one-woman shows and original monologues. She is a recipient of the NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award.

Visit Milbre’s website.

Guest Host – Simon Brooks

Simon Brooks is an award-winning British storyteller living in America – actually, New London, New Hampshire, New England, New World! He also uses his voice to record audio books. He is also a poet, writer, photographer, and educator.

Order his new book Under The Oaken Bough and listen to his new podcast Conversations with Storytellers to hear what it is like to perform storytelling for a living from some living legends!

Music by Podington Bear!

Podcast, Storytelling

Just My Luck (with host Isabelle Hauser): Anne Shimojima, Mo Reynolds

September 8, 2021 No Comments

Anne Shimojima

Anne Shimojima is a third generation Japanese American, born and
raised in Chicago, Illinois. An award-winning elementary school library
media specialist of 35 years, she first discovered the power of story
with her students, using storytelling to enrich and expand the
curriculum and develop a deep emotional connection with her listeners.

Some highlights in her storytelling career include a week as Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN and performing at such venues as the National Storytelling Festival, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the 1st Asian-American Storytelling Festival, the Illinois Storytelling Festival, the Talk Story Storytelling Festival in Honolulu, Storytelling Arts of Indiana, the Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park, and the Stories Connect Us All Online Storytelling Festival.

Mo Reynolds

Mo Reynolds has been telling stories for many years, just ask her parents! She has been performing for audiences since 2016. She was a librarian for two years, delighting students weekly with folk tales, myths, stories from literature, and inspiring records from real life. She has performed in schools, festivals, backyards, and living rooms across Montana, Idaho, Washington, Utah, and all the way to Florida. After being a showcase teller for two years, she was invited to be a featured storyteller at the Florida Storytelling Festival in 2020. Mo recently earned the Diamonds in the Dust Diamond Award Scholarship in 2020 to help build her YouTube channel, where she posts storytelling episodes to spread the art to a broad audience around the world.

Host – Isabelle Hauser

A fairy tale believer since the beginning of her time, Isabelle Hauser discovered the path of storytelling training with professional storyteller Liz Weir in Northern Ireland. When Isabelle is not telling tales or playing the harp on various stages in Switzerland and abroad, you can find her talking to the swans on the shore of her hometown lake, looking for four leaf clover, or chasing rainbows in the surrounding forests.

Music by Podington Bear

Podcast, Storytelling

Changing Creatures

September 8, 2021 No Comments

Liz Weir

Liz Weir is a storyteller and writer from Northern Ireland. She was the first winner of the International Story Bridge Award from the National Storytelling Network, USA, which cited her “exemplary work promoting the art of storytelling”.

Liz Weir has told her stories to people of all ages on five continents. She has performed in pubs and prisons and hospital rooms. She worked on stages in the mighty Vanderbilt Hall of New York’s Grand Central Station and in the Royal Albert Hall.

Liz Weir has worked for people with very different cultural backgrounds – for children from Israel and Palestine, at universities in Germany and Wales, on TV between South-Africa and Canada. And she appeared at major events, such as the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee and the Australian National Storytelling Festival.

Her voice can be heard on CDs like “The Wailing Of The Wind”, together with the Mavron String Quartet. Liz Weir has also written more than 20 books. For instance ‘When Dad Was Away’, which is a picture-book about a child whose father is in jail. Or ‘Tales of the Road’, a children’s book about Irish Traveller life.

Bhanu Prashanth

Bhanu is a traditional storyteller and host of the delightful podcast Folktales with Banumathi. Find her podcast to hear more of her stories!

Podcast, Storytelling

Lost and Found (with host Simon Brooks): Elisa Pearmain, Jamie Olivero

August 21, 2021 No Comments

Elisa Pearmain

Elisa began her storytelling career by working for ten years as a Storyteller in Residence in the Boston Public Schools. There she came to appreciate and tell stories from the many diverse cultures that the children represented. Other early storytelling experiences included collecting stories from Vietnam Veterans and sharing them with high school, college and adults in a program called, The Defoliated Heart. She also led groups of women to share and learn from their stories together. These experiences helped to inspire her belief in the power of stories to heal.

Recently her most popular storytelling programs in the schools are on character education and bullying prevention through story. She received a grant in 2002 to study character education through story from the National Storytelling Network.

She is a currently a board member of The Healing Story Alliance www.healingstory.org and is an active member of The League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES), and past Board member. You can learn more about LANES and the storytelling conference at www.lanes.org

Jamie Olivero

Jamie Olivero is a traditionally trained storyteller and arts-in-education specialist. His commitment is a storyteller is to promote social justice and good citizenship by using the wisdom offered in traditional stories to create common ground between people of different cultures, and backgrounds. He has specially designed workshops and performances for students at different grade levels, teachers, community groups, and general audiences. The workshops include activities that develop trust at the group level, and encourage compassionate and peaceful interaction. His performances draw on world folklore: stories that reflect, humour, mystery, wisdom, and adventure.

Guest Host – Simon Brooks

Simon Brooks is an award-winning British storyteller living in America – actually, New London, New Hampshire, New England, New World! He also uses his voice to record audio books. He is also a poet, writer, photographer, and educator.

Order his new book Under The Oaken Bough and listen to his new podcast Conversations with Storytellers to hear what it is like to perform storytelling for a living from some living legends!

Music by Podington Bear!

Podcast, Storytelling

Adventures in the Sky (with Host Isabelle Hauser): Carol Birch, Richard Martin

August 13, 2021 No Comments

Carol Birch

In 1998 Carol Birch received the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence Award given to storytellers recognized as master tellers by their peers, setting standards for excellence, and demonstrating a commitment and dedication to the art over a significant period of time. Thirty years of experience have earned her a respected place in the forefront of the revival of platform storytelling: teaching at Southern Connecticut State University; lecturing at forty-one universities across the nation, as well as professional and corporate organizations; producing nine audio-anthologies for the National Storytelling Association; directing seventeen audio-cassettes for independent storytellers as well as August House, Lightyear Entertainment, and Weston Woods Studios; writing THE WHOLE STORY HANDBOOK: USING IMAGERY TO COMPLETE THE STORY EXPERIENCE; co-editing WHO SAYS? ESSAYS ON PIVOTAL ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY STORYTELLING, the first book on the aesthetics of storytelling; serving as a chairperson of the Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice Award; and producing three award-winning audio-cassettes of her own stories.

Known for a compelling blend of energy, warmth, vulnerability, and directness, Carol restores orality and spontaneity to the fixed silence of stories found in print, but as a third-grader in North Carolina pointed out: “She knows that story ’cause she was there!”

Richard Martin

The stories Richard Martin tells are the folk tales which have been told for hundreds, indeed thousands, of years. With over 300 stories in his repertoire, they reflect the full range of human experience: the comic, the bawdy, the profound, the divine. Far from being for little children (although he does tell for children, too), these powerful and deep tales offer unforgettable listening for adults. If you like theatre, you’ll definitely love storytelling. It combines the intensity of a play by a solo performer with the intimacy of a one-to-one conversation. Richard tells stories throughout Europe and as far away as India, Singapore, Hong Kong and America – in theatres, universities, schools, for corporate events or private parties. He usually tells in English, although having lived in Germany since 1976, he is sometimes asked to tell in German.

Host – Isabelle Hauser

A fairy tale believer since the beginning of her time, Isabelle Hauser discovered the path of storytelling training with professional storyteller Liz Weir in Northern Ireland. When Isabelle is not telling tales or playing the harp on various stages in Switzerland and abroad, you can find her talking to the swans on the shore of her hometown lake, looking for four leaf clover, or chasing rainbows in the surrounding forests.

Music by Podington Bear

Podcast, Storytelling

Rumpelstiltskin

August 4, 2021 No Comments

Rosie Cutrer

Rosie Cutrer, a storyteller from Topeka, Kansas, has been telling stories professionally for the past fifteen years, presenting at festivals, schools, libraries and museums. In the past few years she has been invited to perform at: the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival, the Kansas Storytelling Festival,The Land Run Festival in Choctaw, Oklahoma, the Homestead National Monument in Beatrice, Nebraska and was a featured teller at the Kearney Area Storytelling Festival in 2011. In October of 2010 she made a storytelling tour of Ireland telling in schools and libraries in County Wexford and in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Mrs. Cutrer works with all ages. For younger groups she tells folktales, fairytales, ghost stories, stories based on literature, poetry, folksongs and her own original works. She is also a songwriter and accompanies herself on the banjo. Two of her storytelling CDs have won awards from the Children’s Music Web for Best Performer for both younger and older audiences. They are available for purchase online at CD Baby.com.

Simon Brooks

Since 1991, British storyteller, humorist and raconteur Simon Brooks has been telling to audiences from all over the world. Simon became a full-time, professional storyteller in 2003, released his first CD in 2006, and his first collection of folk and fairy tales in 2018. Simon has won awards and honors for his storytelling albums from Storytelling World and Parent’s Choice. Simon travels all over New England and to other parts of the USA, and has told his tales in Europe. He presents anywhere you want him, be it a school, college, library, festival, camp, hospital, business, restaurant, coffee house or home.

At the onset of the COVID-19 ‘lock-down’ Simon immediately recorded a podcast for kids – his audio rendering of Lindyline, an adventure story for young people. He also began a weekly kid’s show – Wednesday Stories – which he had to cancel in mid-summer 2020. Another weekly on-line show Simon produces is Friday with Friends, geared for parents and other grown-ups, where he virtually chats with storytelling and musician friends. This lighthearted on-line event has become a staple for some viewers because of its humor and light atmosphere.

Simon has completely reinvented himself to accommodate on-line presentations and workshops. These are high-quality events with much in the way of new material and presentation styles.

Music by Podington Bear!

Podcast, Storytelling

Clever by Half (with host Simon Brooks)

July 3, 2021 No Comments

Priscilla Howe

“I live in my head. A lot. I make stuff up, I borrow from old tales, I reinterpret new stories. As a storyteller, I’m a tour guide to that space in my brain. I work without a script, without costumes, without props. When I’m doing it right, listeners laugh, smile, sigh and breathe together, connected in the space of stories. I perform at schools, libraries, festivals, special events, and in my own backyard, literally. My mouthy hand puppets come along to shows for young children. I tell more grownup stories to, well, grownups and older kids. We play together. Apart from being the oldest educational method in the world, storytelling is just plain fun.”

Join Priscilla Howe for online story time or join her Patreon to get stories directly from her!!

Laura Packer

Laura Packer has been telling stories her whole life – her mother reports she was born talking. The daughter of a children’s librarian and a writer, it seems inevitable that she become a storyteller and writer herself, since her childhood was steeped in narrative. By second grade, Laura was telling stories to her classmates, creating her own magazines and writing letters to the editor of her hometown newspaper; her deep love of fairytales and mythology eventually led her to obtain a degree in Folklore and Mythology from Boston University. Imagine her surprise when she discovered, upon graduating, that there isn’t a crying need for folklorists!

Undaunted by the lack of job openings for folklorists, Laura has built a career helping people and organizations find their own story, performing original and traditional tales around the world, and creating written narrative that draws the reader into new possibilities.

Guest Host – Simon Brooks

Simon Brooks is an award-winning British storyteller living in America – actually, New London, New Hampshire, New England, New World! He also uses his voice to record audio books. He is also a poet, writer, photographer, and educator.

Order his new book Under The Oaken Bough and listen to his new podcast Conversations with Storytellers to hear what it is like to perform storytelling for a living from some living legends!

Music by Podington Bear!

Podcast, Storytelling

Duels (with host Isabelle Hauser): Anne Shimojima, Cooper Braun

June 16, 2021 No Comments

Anne Shimojima

Anne Shimojima is a third generation Japanese American, born and
raised in Chicago, Illinois. An award-winning elementary school library
media specialist of 35 years, she first discovered the power of story
with her students, using storytelling to enrich and expand the
curriculum and develop a deep emotional connection with her listeners.

Some highlights in her storytelling career include a week as Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN and performing at such venues as the National Storytelling Festival, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the 1st Asian-American Storytelling Festival, the Illinois Storytelling Festival, the Talk Story Storytelling Festival in Honolulu, Storytelling Arts of Indiana, the Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park, and the Stories Connect Us All Online Storytelling Festival.

Cooper Braun

Cooper Braun was raised by granola eating coyotes in Boulder Colorado and grew up without a television. Lacking the traditional American form of child pacification, he found a love for storytelling from records and cassette tapes. Drawn to performance and theater from a young age, Cooper started as an actor (what do you do with a BA in Theater?) and has been working as a professional theater technician the last ten years. In a whirlwind return to the world of live storytelling, three years ago, he now co-hosts the Boulder Story Circle and performs regularly with Rachel Ann Harding as Stories with Spirit. He is a mammal.

Host – Isabelle Hauser

A fairy tale believer since the beginning of her time, Isabelle Hauser discovered the path of storytelling training with professional storyteller Liz Weir in Northern Ireland. When Isabelle is not telling tales or playing the harp on various stages in Switzerland and abroad, you can find her talking to the swans on the shore of her hometown lake, looking for four leaf clover, or chasing rainbows in the surrounding forests.

Music by Podington Bear

Podcast, Storytelling

Selkie Tales featuring Stories from Lore!

June 9, 2021 No Comments

DD Storyteller and Stories From Lore

Hi, I’m Dawn Nelson, also known as DD Storyteller. I live in a village on the beautiful South Downs I have had a passion for stories all my life, from the epic sagas of the old worlds to the anecdote told between friends at the dinner table. As a storyteller I write and perform both interactive stories and traditional tales, as well as creating story based events and workshops for all ages. The nature that surrounds me has influenced many of my stories and I love to incorporate the outside world and ancestral wisdom into my performances for young and old.

I create Stories From Lore – a monthly podcast that explores folklore and the stories it inspires.

You can also find her on Patr e on!

Podcast, Storytelling

Nobody’s Fool (with host Simon Brooks): Cathryn Fairlee, Rosie Cutrer

June 9, 2021 No Comments

Cathryn Fairlee

Cathryn passed away in October 2019 and will be deeply missed as a friend and a storyteller. In her own words about her storytelling from an interview last year with edex live –

I started storytelling 35 years ago. I have travelled around the world gathering epics, myths, legends, histories, and folk and fairy tales from the folk. I work with other storytellers whenever I travel; even in Chennai and Kanchipuram, I’ve worked with a few of them. I have travelled and learnt about different cultures and I’ve gone back to the US to share them with others. I like the fact that one can give people therapy and teach them how to listen and enjoy the entire experience. It’s not lecturing or commanding them to agree with you. It’s about helping them enjoy and learn something.

Rosie Cutrer

Rosie Cutrer, a storyteller from Topeka, Kansas, has been telling stories professionally for the past fifteen years, presenting at festivals, schools, libraries and museums. In the past few years she has been invited to perform at: the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival, the Kansas Storytelling Festival,The Land Run Festival in Choctaw, Oklahoma, the Homestead National Monument in Beatrice, Nebraska and was a featured teller at the Kearney Area Storytelling Festival in 2011. In October of 2010 she made a storytelling tour of Ireland telling in schools and libraries in County Wexford and in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Mrs. Cutrer works with all ages. For younger groups she tells folktales, fairytales, ghost stories, stories based on literature, poetry, folksongs and her own original works. She is also a songwriter and accompanies herself on the banjo. Two of her storytelling CDs have won awards from the Children’s Music Web for Best Performer for both younger and older audiences. They are available for purchase online at CD Baby.com.

Guest Host – Simon Brooks

Simon Brooks is an award-winning British storyteller living in America – actually, New London, New Hampshire, New England, New World! He also uses his voice to record audio books. He is also a poet, writer, photographer, and educator.

Order his new book Under The Oaken Bough and listen to his new podcast Conversations with Storytellers to hear what it is like to perform storytelling for a living from some living legends!

Music by Podington Bear!