Mary Culhane: Ingrid Nixon

Ingrid Nixon

Ingrid Nixon is a world-traveling storyteller who whisks listeners away on journeys of the imagination. Exploration nail-biters, tall tales, traditional and personal stories—she tells them all on international expeditions, and at venues around the country, including the National Storytelling Festival. Her creative approaches to story crafting help make ancient tales relevant to modern audiences. Both of Ingrid’s recordings have received the Storytelling World Gold Seal for listeners of all ages! Her audio recording, Grimm’s with a Twist, offers deliciously dark stories spiced liberally with humor and pathos. Operation Bouncy Chair, features personal stories about the important things in life: family, love, and coffee. She is a champion liar many times over, a claim that makes her mother both proud and worried. She holds a Masters in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. She currently hails from Southeast Alaska.

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Ooka The Judge (with host Simon Brooks): Anne Shimojima, Harvey Heilbrun

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.

 

Harvey Heilbrun

Spurred on by his performance in a production of the musical play, “Hans Christian Andersen” in 1981, Harvey became a professional singer/storyteller as an addition to his teaching career. He has performed in numerous schools, libraries and festivals throughout Long Island. Harvey retired from teaching in 2006 after 33 years to devote more time to his storytelling passion. In addition to performing, he conducts workshops on storytelling in the classroom and digital storytelling for teachers.

Harvey gathers his stories from a number of sources, mainly folktale collections, picture books and tales that he’s heard from other tellers. He gets pleasure in telling Jack tales and folktales that usually have a twist. He enjoys the songs of Tom Chapin, Sally Rogers and Woody Guthrie. As part of his repertoire he writes and performs a number of his own songs and stories.

 

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.

 

 

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Spin: Sue Searing, Cindy Rivka Marshall

 

Sue Searing

As a storyteller, my goal is to connect people with wisdom through the ancient art of story.  I tell traditional tales (fairy tales, folk tales, myths, legends, etc.) as well as true stories from my own life.  I love insights and lessons best when they’re wrapped in  funny or poignant stories.  I began my storytelling journey in Champaign-Urbana and have continued it in Minneapolis, where I perform at curated and open mic shows for both adults and children throughout the Twin Cities.

 

Cindy Rivka Marshall

Whether she is performing, teaching, facilitating or consulting, Cindy Rivka Marshall is guided by her value of respect for all.

Cindy tells multicultural and Jewish stories with universal lessons that resonate with her sense of wonder. She teaches storytelling, communication, interviewing and listening skills, and story-based approaches to teaching. Cindy creates safe environments for participants to speak and be heard. As a consultant, Cindy facilitates groups to articulate their values and message and build a sense of community.

Cindy has performed stories and presented workshops since 1989 throughout New England, nationally and in England, at festivals, conferences, schools, libraries, synagogues, churches and community groups. She studied acting, movement improvisation and storytelling with Julie Portman, Daena Giardella, Marsha Hiller, Elisa Pearmain, Peninnah Schram and others.

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The Beggar King (with Simon Brooks): Joel Ben Izzy

 

Joel Ben Izzy

It was back in 1983 that he graduated from Stanford with a self-designed degree in English, Creative Writing and Storytelling, and set off to travel the world, gathering and telling stories. Since then he has told stories and taught storytelling in some 36 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

With every stop on his itinerary, his repertoire of stories has grown. Some are tales from people he meets on the road, and others he finds are traditional tales from the places he’s traveled. Then there are the stories that seem to find him – and stick. These are true stories, more or less, and what he’s come to love over the years is the blend of all these stories together.

Guest HostSimon 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!

 

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Classics Rediscovered V: Ed Stivender, Tim Lowry

Ed Stivender

Since 1977, when he left his day job as a high school teacher in Connecticut and turned to storytelling full-time, Ed has fabulated his way around the globe –appearing in schools, churches, coffeehouses and theaters, as well as at major storytelling festivals.  He has been a featured performer at the National Storytelling Festival, the Cape Clear Island International Storytelling Festival in Ireland, Graz Festival, Austria and our own Philadelphia Folk Festival.

 

Also on the episode: The Wise Ones (with Guest Host Simon Brooks)

 

Tim Lowry

Tim LowryTim Lowry’s love for show business began when he was six years old, watching a thrilling performance of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. Waiting for his big break Tim filled his childhood with performance opportunities.  As a theater major in college, Tim studied Shakespeare and romantic opera, but when he took an elective class in storytelling he found himself. After college, Tim taught English language arts for five years. Drawing on his love of show business his teaching methods were often considered “unorthodox and disruptive.” In 2000, Tim left the classroom to pursue a career as a professional storyteller. (Ironically, he is now hired as an educational consultant to bring creative and innovative programs to schools across the country and is approaching his 10,000th performance!) In 2012 Tim began touring the National Storytelling Festival circuit and has shared stories on stages from Connecticut to California. Occasionally, Tim provides applied storytelling workshops for corporate and non-profit groups. His client list includes the North Carolina County Commissioners (Raleigh, NC), Dollywood Dream More Resort (Pigeon Forge, TN), and Daramic LLC (Charlotte, NC).

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Oh, Snow!

John Porcino

Much of John Porcino’s training for his 30 years as a storyteller and singer arose while creating and participating in the zany & touching moments around a campfire – all of life, seen through a flickering fire light, surrounded by the magnificent beauty of the natural world. These days John spins some 200 performances, workshops, and in-service trainings each year for folks of all all ages.
His performances are a mix of stories and songs that are sparked to life with warmth, humor, a playful touch of audience participation, and a twist of music from around the world.

 

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.

 

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The Wise Ones (with Guest Host Simon Brooks)

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.

 

Ed Stivender

Since 1977, when he left his day job as a high school teacher in Connecticut and turned to storytelling full-time, Ed has fabulated his way around the globe –appearing in schools, churches, coffeehouses and theaters, as well as at major storytelling festivals.  He has been a featured performer at the National Storytelling Festival, the Cape Clear Island International Storytelling Festival in Ireland, Graz Festival, Austria and our own Philadelphia Folk Festival.

 

Guest Host:

Guest HostSimon 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!

 

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Pull it Together!

 

Brenda Wong Aoki

Brenda Wong Aoki is a storyteller, anthologized playwright, producer, artistic director, and performer. Her song/dance/dramas are drawn from her family’s 121-year history in San Francisco and the Bay Area, Kabuki legends, ghost stories, and her personal experience. Known for her agility across disciplines, she creates monodramas rooted in traditional storytelling, dance movement, and music. Her sensei is Living Treasure, Nomura Mansaku, a Kyogen master; she also studied Noh with Nomura Shiro, who is a Cultural Intangible Property. It is extremely rare for a woman (and especially an American woman) to get to study with masters like these; ironically, it is because she is an American that she was able to work with artists of this caliber. Her other teachers/coaches/mentors include stage director, choreographer, performer, and former director of Theatre of Yugen, Yuriko Doi, and longtime director and coach, Jael Weisman of Dell’Arte Players and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

 

Kim Weitkamp

Kim has mastered the craft of blending humor and heartache, seriousness and silliness…all linked together by music. One reviewer stated, “Hard to explain but oh, so easy to enjoy.” She currently has 8 award winning audio collections, the latest one, A Wandering Mind, a much anticipated collection of personal stories and songs that has received rave reviews and airplay on NPR affiliates and Sirius XM. Kim has made numerous television appearances, hosted a successful morning show and has authored numerous articles for periodicals and magazines.

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Beware Beautiful Men (with Guest Host Simon Brooks)

 

Janice Del Negro


Janice M. Del Negro, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.

Del Negro has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival, the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, the Illinois Storytelling Festival, the Fox Valley Folk Festival, and many others. She has conducted workshops on various aspects of storytelling and narrative for librarians, teachers, parents, storytellers, and other educators in a variety of settings, including the National Storytelling Network Annual Conference, the Illinois School Library Media conference, the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of San Diego. Her most recent recording, Fortune’s Daughters: Ghost Tales and Folktales, was released in October, 2010.

 

Milbre Burch

A Grammy-nominated recording artist; an internationally known, Oracle-award-winning storyteller; a published poet and writer, and a sought-after storytelling coach and teaching artist, Milbre Burch is a storyteller in every sense of the word!

 

 

 

Guest HostSimon 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!

 

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Just Rewards (with Guest Host Simon Brooks)

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

 

Clare Murphy 

Clare is a storyteller. She travels the world and tells stories. From mainstages of theatres to medieval roundtowers Clare has told tales for all ages in more than 20 countries. Her work includes the political folkloric work such as her Syrian piece “The King of Lies” to playful pieces like UniVerse which explores where quantum physics, philosophy and mythology meet. She performs in English. She occasionally performs in Spanish when asked. Clare’s wide repertoire of stories includes traditional folklore to ancient mythology, to reportage to historical tales. Clare also performs at festivals, art centres, universities, public and private events, conferences and schools.  She is a storyteller, performer, writer, dramaturg, curiosist, teacher, consultant, wanderer, wonderer and maker.

 

Guest HostSimon 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!

 

 

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