ConnTell Directory A-F

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Robin Bady

85 Chester Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11218
Phone: (718) 633-6651 / (347) 512-7685
Email: robbady@gmail.com
Website: RobinBady.com

Robin Bady is a narrative artist and educator who works nationally and internationally, developing performance and educational storytelling projects and programs for diverse groups of children, adults and seniors.

She regularly performs at spoken word venues, Fringe Festivals, theaters, and storytelling festivals as a solo artist and also with musicians. Her children’s work is featured at major museums, schools, theaters, libraries and parks. Robin has been touring her solo show - “Nancy Drewinsky and the Search for the Missing Letter” – a story about how her family was affected by the toxicity of McCarthyism and anti-Semitism – and is currently preparing it for online viewing.

Bady created Shirazad’s Children, a multi-ethnic storytelling ensemble as a response to the devastation of 9/11; she hosts the BADYHouse Storytelling Concert series (soon to go online) which showcases a diverse lineup of storytellers from New York City and across the country; she created No, We Won’t Shut Up!, a powerful project showcasing the voices of a diverse group of women speaking about racism, bigotry, wage theft, sexual assault and gentrification. Since 2018, she has been touring her solo show, Nancy Drewinsky and the Search for the Missing Letter - the story of her family’s experiences during McCarthyism - to conferences, storytelling festivals, fringe festivals and senior centers.

A former theater professional, Bady was a founder of the Bread and Roses Theater in Chicago. She studied with David Mamet and W.H. Macy. She graduated from New York University’s Professional Actor Training Program, where she studied with Olympia Dukakis, Paul Sills and Peter Kass. She has studied mime, dance, singing, and guitar. She continues to study creative writing and storytelling.

As a teaching artist she has worked in New York City with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Self-Help Virtual Center, Brooklyn Arts Council, Lifetime Arts, ElderShare the Arts, Dorot, Henry Street Settlement, University Settlement, CityLore, ArtsConnection, Queens, Brooklyn and New York Public Libraries.

She has toured China, Germany, Croatia, Ireland and Canada with shows and workshops on storytelling. She mentors teaching artists new to working with senior communities through Lifetime Arts. Bady has received three SuCasa grants to teach storytelling in diverse senior centers.

Publications:
The Button, STORYTELLING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM, Libraries Unlimited, NH;
Confessions of a Coached Storyteller, STORYTELLING MAGAZINE, January 2013;
Fairytales, Power and Status, STORYTELLING MAGAZINE, June, 2013;
Considering House Concerts, STORYTELLING MAGAZINE –August 2015.

Robin is the recipient of the 2012 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award and the 2015 Oracle Award for Service and Leadership from the National Storytelling Network.  She has received five SU-CASA grants from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Aging. She was awarded a Brooklyn Arts Council Local Arts Grants to tour her one woman show, “Nancy Drewinsky and the Search for the Missing Letter” in Brooklyn senior centers.

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Adwoa Bandele-Asante

Phone: 860-389-1257
Email: 1peaceworks@gmail.com

Adwoa Bandele-Asante was born and raised in New London, CT.  Here she attended public grade schools and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College.

After earning a Master of Arts degree from Howard University in Washington, DC, Ms. Bandele-Asante taught high school and founded the Back to Africa Club which enabled her to travel to West Africa.

While in DC she debuted Harriet Tubman:  A Woman with a Railroad at highly acclaimed director Haile Gerima’s Sankofa Books and Videos Cafe. Ultimately, she returned home, with her husband and four daughters, to be with her elderly mother in New London. 

The diligent study of Harriet Tubman spans from her place of birth in Dorchester County, MD to her final resting place in Auburn, New York, as well as in communion with scholars in places like Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

Much research and curriculum development happened for our Amistad piece while working as an educator, since 2018, with Connecticut’s flagship freedom schooner Amistad.  Consultations are ongoing with scholars from, and with expertise on Sierra Leone.

Mrs. Bandele-Asante has consistently shown a steadfast commitment to grassroots organization and advocacy for healthy learning, eating, and exercise. Today she is the founder and managing member of P.E.A.C.E. Works Group LLC.  The performing arts have been a lifetime interest for Mama Adwoa.  Other interests include playing tennis, chess, and the electric bass guitar.  She has traveled to several different countries and looks forward to continuing to share her talents throughout the United States and beyond.

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Mark Binder

Pembroke Villa
PO Box 2462, Providence, RI 02906
Phone: (401) 272-8707
Email: mark@markbinder.com
Website: www.markbinderbooks.com/programs

Mark Binder is the Audie Award nominated storyteller and an author of more than two dozen books and audiobooks for children, families and adults. He has performed in parking lots and basements, in theaters, at festivals, pubs, churches, synagogues, nightclubs and schools around the world.

His repertoire includes original and traditional folktales, stories from Izzy Abrahmson's Village Life, and what he calls "autobiographical lies."

"I specialize in diversity," he says with a smile, "I'm always amazed at the way live storytelling connects people of all ages and backgrounds.”

He likes baking bread and twirling pizza. He loves reading and writing, swimming under water, dining well, breathing deeply, battling the forces of darkness, creating cool projects, having great adventures and telling outrageous lies about them. He lives in Providence with his wife, family and friends, and has a sneaking feeling that you’re reading this over his shoulder.

Factoids:

• At Columbia University, Mark studied storytelling with Spalding Gray, mythology with T.E. Gaster, and playwrighting at the Hammerstein Center.
• He got an MA in  acting, writing and directing from  the Trinity Rep Conservatory, and has been a student for more than 30 years with with Kari Margolis of The Adaptors.
• Mark earned a third degree black belt in Aikido, the martial art for peace, and promises not to throw anyone across the room.
• Yes, he actually ran for the U.S. House of Representatives!

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Carol Birch

32B Heritage Circle
Southbury, CT 06488
Phone: (203) 264-3800
Email: carolbirch@gmail.com
Website: www.carolbirchstoryteller.com

Carol Birch’s art is an absence of artifice. She can be exhilarating or confiding, but she's invariably warm and full of pluck. Her repertoire features biographies of people whose spirits reveal their compassion, courage, and endurance that only enhances our experience of being alive!  In her sure voice, stories by fine authors - Carl Sandburg, Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck - are as appropriately conversational and intimate as the stories of her family.

Recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence Award, Birch’s books, videos, recordings, and teaching have been recognized with multiple awards. She’s performed across the nation, including nine appearances at the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee. With appearances on CBS This Morning, Nightline, and NPR, she’s also received two grants from the NEH; invitational tours to Australia, Europe, and Singapore;  and led five storytelling tours through Ireland, Scotland and England.

At the Baseball Hall of Fame, a man yelled, "That lady knows her s***!" – echoing the kid who said long ago: "She knows that story 'cause she was there."

“[Her] voice is a magnet for ears and the tales she tells make the heart beat with a little more confidence … a warm and enchanting style.” – NUVO Weekly

In review of a 2016 Parents’ Choice Gold Award recording, MORE THAN A CUP OF KINDNESS, Lynne Heffley wrote: “Big moments in history make the textbooks; smaller moments can drift into obscurity… Here, two World War II-era stories of compassion that occurred under very different circumstances are given new life by award-winning storyteller Carol Birch."

Fees vary for in-person, on-line, or pre-recorded performances. Please note PUBLIC libraries and PUBLIC senior centers continue to receive reduced rates.

More information is available at www.carolbirchstoryteller.com
Contact by phone (203) 264-3800 or via email carolbirch@gmail.com

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Martha Bishop

Bethel, CT
Phone: (203) 743-7941
Email: mizbee1305@yahoo.com

MIZ B …. Teller of stories for all ages, Miz B is a storyteller and author. She uses stories to entertain as well as educate and emphasize the importance of developing our own inner strengths and abilities.

An active member of the Connecticut Storytelling Center, Miz B, as a teller and a producer, is also a veteran of two decades of Tellabration!, an annual world-wide event designed for adults and children alike.

During her teaching career, Miz B used storytelling and creative drama in her classrooms as tools to help children understand everything from the American Civil War to long division. She was active for many years in several community theater groups and has worked with young teens to develop their talents in public library creative drama and storytelling programs.

Bethel Middle School named her “Teacher of the Year” in 2005.  Also, Barnum Square Toastmasters in Bethel named her “Toastmaster of the Year” in 2012. Miz B is an award winning storyteller as well as author of Rafe’s Grand Performance, a children’s book based on the adage, “That which is truly valuable is often underrated.”

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JoAnn Bromley

Email: theatricalexpres@aol.com 

JoAnn has her BA in theater arts. She loves all things creative. Acting and performing is her passion. Enhancing stories and creating interactive experiences for audiences of all ages.

In addition, she has an adult one woman show called "Ask Mama". She is an older Italian mother with wit and wisdom and life lessons.

She loves to embellish stories using puppets and interacting to bring the stories to life.

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Simon Brooks

Email: simon@diamondscree.com
Website: www.SimonBrooksStoryteller.com

British storyteller, Simon Brooks was raised on stories and taken to the places where these stories began. Ancient hills, standing stones, and castles were Simon’s upbringing.

As an acclaimed storyteller, Simon Brooks engages and transfixes with his powerful performances all over New England and the USA. As a master storyteller, Simon has taught and performed at libraries, schools, colleges, festivals (including the Connecticut Storytelling Festival, National Storytelling Festival in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in 2019, 2020 and 2022), camps, pubs, and at museums! With his bodhrán drum and tales, Simon combines the intensity of a solo performance with the intimacy of a face-to-face conversation.

Since the pandemic Simon has proved his versatility with recorded and virtual shows. As one of those setting the pace for virtual work at the beginning of the pandemic, he continues to offer virtual presentations as well as live performances and workshops, working the camera or an in-person audience!

Simon has recorded 5 storytelling CDs:
“Second-hand Tales” (2006), “More Second-hand Tales” (2008), “A Tangle of Tales” (2011), “Moonlit Tales” (2015) and the 2020 release “A Flight of Stories.” Both “A Tangle of Tales” and the story ‘Three Feathers’ have garnered honors from Storytelling World. “More Second-hand Tales” was given Silver Honors by Parent’s Choice and “A Tangle of Tales” and his retelling of Gilgamesh was given the Gold Award from Parent’s Choice.

Simon’s work delights adult audiences as much as it delights school and library audiences. Make Simon Brooks, YOUR storyteller.

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Len Cabral

30 Marcy St.
Cranston, RI. 02905
Phone: (401) 781 0019
Email: lencabral@gmail.com
Website: www.lencabral.com
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-yNs0FkiAA

A performance by storyteller Len Cabral, consists of exuberant retellings of African, Cape Verdean and Caribbean folktales as well as original stories and tales from around the world. The students will be captivated and engaged as they experience the powerful art of storytelling, poetry, song, humor,and movement followed by an opportunity for Q & A. Len Cabral is a storyteller, who resides in Rhode Island, and travels nationally and internationally sharing his passion and talent for storytelling with the world. He attended school and found himself to be positively influenced by many of his teachers. Len’s favorite teacher happened to be a high school English teacher who introduced him to Macbeth. Len immediately felt a connection with the storytelling and brought his passion for theatre to the football field and basketball court, two sports in which Len excelled. In the early 1970’s Len worked at a daycare center with four and five year old children. It is here where Len truly discovered the importance of storytelling and began what would become his life-long passion. He now performs for grades K-thru 12 as well as for adults. Len is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network 2001 Circle of Excellence Oracle Award and most recently the recipient of The 2023 Brother Blue Circle of Elders Award. Enrichment Objectives & Activities Storytelling and folktales are wonderful for children and adults alike. Through storytelling, we are inspired to use our imagination and creativity; we learn lessons and morals, and we also connect with others. Len offers classroom workshops as well as in-service workshops for teachers and staff.

Fees begin at $1000.

“Originally, we figured our students would be too nervous to perform their stories in front of the class so we planned on having them record them, but after your performance so many students decided that they actually want to perform in front of the class instead!! I really appreciate how you made the entire process of storytelling so accessible and interesting for them.”
- Annie & Erin, HS English Teachers, Pawtucket, RI

“Thank you so much for coming to Hingham today. I heard only rave reviews from our students and teachers after your performances.”
- Joanne Fine Arts Director, Hingham Public Schools

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Michael Caduto

PO Box 1052
Norwich, VT 05055
Phone: (802) 649-1815
Email: michaelcaduto@p-e-a-c-e.net
Website: www.p-e-a-c-e.net/
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-yNs0FkiAA

MICHAEL CADUTO –  Master storyteller, musician and author –  is known as much for his entertaining, humorous and poignant programs, performances and workshops as he is for his award-winning children’s books, including the Keepers of the Earth® series.

Michael has been featured by NPR and the BBC and has reached over 500,000 people of all ages in North America, Europe and the Middle East with dynamic performances that blend indigenous world tales, native instruments, guitar, singing and dance. He is a juried artist with the Vermont Arts Council, the New Hampshire Council on the Arts and is on the roster of the New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England States Touring (NEST) grants program: www.nefa.org

Michael’s programs and writing focus on Earth stewardship, cultural diversity, science and the arts. He has written and co-authored eighteen books –  selling 1 million copies worldwide –  including Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun; Riparia’s River; Earth Tales from Around the World; Native American Gardening; In the Beginning; the Keepers of the Earth® series and The Crimson Elf: Italian Tales of Wisdom. His books have received the Teacher’s Choice Award, Aesop Prize (American Folklore Society), Storytelling World Award, Skipping Stones Award, NAPPA Gold Award and Green Earth Honor Book Award. His musical CD, All One Earth, Songs for the Generations, received the ASCAP Popular Award.

As founder and director of P.E.A.C.E.® –  Programs for Environmental Awareness & Cultural Exchange –  Michael pioneered the use of storytelling in environmental education and Earth stewardship and has worked closely with many indigenous peoples. His collaborative work on environmental storytelling in the Middle East was honored with the National Storytelling Network's prestigious Brimstone Award for Applied Storytelling.

REVIEWS: “Your performance was a Summit favorite!” – Coordinator, National Wildlife Federation Conservation Summits, Washington, D.C.

“The best program we’ve ever had.” – Teacher, Bernardston Elementary School, MA

“A dynamic and powerful performance.” – Librarian, Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield, CT

“A magical hour.” – Northfield News

“A joyful night…engaging, educational, full of life.” – Education Director, Coyote Point Museum, CA

“Stories that transcend with gestures, sounds and ambiance of space.” – Teacher, Stratham Memorial School, NH

“Captivating! You can actually ‘see’ the story unfolding before your eyes.” – Librarian, West Hartford, CT Public Library

“Michael lured his audience into a raptured silence.” – Librarian, Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury, VT

“A full-time Michael Caduto was requested!” – Director, Operation Skylark Children’s Nature Day Program, Sterling, SCOTLAND

“Awesome!” – Fourth graders, Hampden Meadows School, RI

Fees: Start at $450 plus travel and lodging (if overnight is required).
Reduced rates available for block-booking

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Tom Callinan

Tom Callinan
Phone: (860) 889-6648
Email: imberjack@comcast.net

Tom Callinan’s performances include songs from Connecticut’s history from Colonial times up to the present day. Some of the songs are traditional and some are original compositions written in the style of the period they are about. They reveal little known facts and stories of the contributions of many ordinary people. He has written many songs about his hometown of Norwich, CT and the surrounding area.

Tom is more than a multi-faceted performing artist. He holds a B.S. in Secondary Education (English Major/Music Concentration) from Central Connecticut State University, and an M.A.L.S. (Music Concentration) from Wesleyan University. In 1977, after five years of successful teaching in a Connecticut junior high school, Callinan launched a full-time career in the creative and performing arts. Annually he presents several hundred performances for tens of thousands of people, spanning nursery schools through nursing homes. Since 1973, he has performed with the popular folk band, The Morgans, representing them as business manager since 1977. In 1991, he was designated Connecticut's first "Official State Troubadour" through legislation by The General Assembly.

His credits include: ABC's "Good Morning America" ;
PBS' "Shining Time Station", starring Ringo Starr; CNN's "Earth Matters"; and National Public Radio. Excerpts from two original songs, "Glasnost To Go" and "They're Not Evil Anymore" were included in Connecticut Public Television's Emmy Award-winning documentary "A Connecticut Yankee In Red Square". Two other original songs, "Come On & Sing Along!" and "Save What's Left" were included in the "We Like Kids" Songbooks, distributed throughout the U.S.

In 1995 Tom was designated a Master Teaching Artist by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. In 1999, he was selected to represent Connecticut at The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts' Millennium Stage State Days Series in Washington D.C.

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Chris Clouet

Chris Clouet
Email: chrisclouet1@gmail.com

Chris Clouet has told stories and shared music with children for many decades. He has written numerous songs, many of which are paired with classic children’s books.   From his days as a bilingual elementary school teacher in Bridgeport to working with college-aged students preparing to become teachers, he is dedicated to bringing the joy and surprises of stories to children. By mixing spoken-word rhyming to music, call and response interaction, playful percussion-driven activities, and an engaging style of telling stories he supports children’s curiosity about their world.

  Whether during Read Across America, events in classrooms and libraries, or co-hosting the Children’s Song Festival in New London, he brings energy and exuberance to his storytelling for the delight of children..

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Sara deBeer

51 Randal Avenue
West Hartford, CT 06110
Phone: (860) 561-5905
Email: sdebeer@comcast.net
Website: www.storydebeer.com

People really get INTO the stories I tell. A ninety-one-year-old observed, “As I listen to you, I imagine a lot of things and I can put myself into the situations and how would I react? Would I react the same way as the people in the story? It’s mind-building.” A fifth-grader confided, "Ever since the day I have heard one of your stories, it always feels like no one is around me and I am an actual character in the story".

Where do I tell stories? I’ve told to Boy Scouts gathered by a flickering campfire and to families cuddled on blankets on a beach. I’ve shared stories with listeners in senior centers and independent living residences. I've worked with students in public and private schools, urban and suburban communities, from preschoolers to college students. When working in schools, I design programs that tie in with on-going classroom studies of math, science, social studies, and language arts.

What do I tell? I present programs of multicultural myths, legends, and folktales to audiences of all ages. I often weave stories around a particular theme, such as "Tales of Winter Wonderlands" or "Tales of Deep-Rooted Magic". Audiences discover the richness of each individual culture while also appreciating the universality of human experiences.

What is my background? I have been working as a storyteller since 1978; I am also an experienced classroom teacher with degrees from Yale and Bank Street. My expertise has been widely recognized: I am a teaching artist for Hartford Performs!; my work as a Performing and a Teaching Artist has been approved by the CT Office of the Arts (DECD / COA); I am a trained facilitator for “Familyread”, “Book Voyagers”, and “Literature for a Lifetime” ( CT Humanities Council) and a CWP (Connecticut Writing Program) fellow.

People remember the stories I’ve told. When I think of the value of storytelling, I remember running into some New Haven teenagers. They stared at me for a few moments and then smiles of recognition broke out on their faces. "You're the storyteller, aren't you? You came to our second grade class and told us that story about that magic tree.” These kids had heard me six years ago, and yet they still remembered me AND the story I'd told them; their smiles showed that the memories were good ones. It is encounters like this that remind me how much I love being a storyteller.

Audience: All ages.
Fees: negotiable

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Leeny Del Seamonds

Master Story Performer™
Phone: (978) 996-6450
Email: leenydel@comcast.net
Website: www.LeenyDelSeamonds.com
Available for live and virtual performances and workshops.
Pre-recorded shows available. View Leeny’s Promo: https://youtu.be/TE0Z5d50tXY

With a face and voice that launched a thousand characters, Leeny Del Seamonds is an internationally acclaimed performer, coach, multi award-winning recording artist and professional Voice Actor. Her animated and uplifting tales and tunes reflect her love of people and desire to embrace life to its fullest. From a prized television show to a village in Gengcun, China, to the Comix Club in NYC to the National Storytelling Festival and Cayman Islands International Storytelling Festival, Leeny encourages listeners to rejoice in human and cultural diversity, inviting them to share in her Cuban-American sense of humor and joy of performing.

Winner of the NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence Award and awarded the title 2002 National Storyteller of the Year®, Leeny Del Seamonds is recipient of Parents’ Choice Gold & Silver Awards, a Storytelling World Winner Award and an iParenting Media Winner Award. She is celebrated and sought-after for engaging, interactive performances (for all ages) and hands on skill-building workshops. Leeny’s unique, versatile and champagne voice draws listeners in and holds them captive.

Leeny Del Seamonds stars in the PBS and Fox Television/DVD series Ribert & Robert’s WonderWorld, a cherished children’s program airing globally. Her highly praised recording ¡Ay Caramba! ¡Ay Ay Ay! Cuentos y Canciónes (Latino Stories & Songs) takes listeners on a journey through Leeny's rich Latino heritage and won a 2003 Parents' Choice Silver Award. Leeny's musical CD, CelloTales: The Melding of Music, Myth & Memories, created and performed with cellist Gideon Freudmann, won a 2004 Parents' Choice Gold Award and a 2005 Storytelling World Winner Award. Her newest recordings are geared for seasoned listeners. It Takes Two to Tango – Ties that Bind Us is an alluring, witty and insightful look at the triumphs and tribulations of relationships and Shadows in the Woods – Spine-Tingling Tales is a compilation of Leeny’s original scary stories guaranteed to shiver and chill all who lend an ear. Leeny’s book, “Techniques to Rule the Stage: Pathways to Command Your Story Performance,” is available at Amazon.com and is receiving rave reviews.

With Latinx passion, fire and wit, Leeny Del Seamonds’ dynamic one-woman shows and renowned workshops headline festivals, concerts and events worldwide.

“Internationally acclaimed Leeny Del Seamonds is a natural entertainer whose multicultural stories and songs reflect her love of people. An award-winning master storyteller, Del Seamonds peppers her tales with humor, mime, character impersonations and her vivacious personality.” –The Boston Globe

“Leeny, a heartfelt thank you for sharing your multiple talents and superb stories – you are truly a wonderful ambassador for storytelling!” – International Storytelling Center

Fees: $600 and up.

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Jeanne Donato, Ed.D.

82 Potter Hill Rd
Westerly, RI 02891
Work: Joy-O-Loons: (401) 596-0886

Fax: (401) 596-6935 "push send"
Email: JeanneDonato@aol.com

Jeanne Donato is an Integrative Learning, Story, and Expressive Arts Facilitator. Co-author of Storytelling in Emergent Literacy: Fostering Multiple Intelligences, she offers professional development trainings, storytelling and writing artist-in-residencies programs.

She is a certified Educational Kinesiologist, Brain Gym instructor, HeartMath Resilient Educator, and Heart Smarts instructor for pre-K - fifth grade.

Jeanne integrates the Expressive Arts, with bio-feedback, emotional restructuring, and play, to reduce stress and enhance focus and learning.

As a core adjunct professor in Southern Connecticut State University’s Art of the Oral Tradition graduate program she created, and developed courses and facilitates workshops internationally.
She holds a BA in Elementary Education; A Masters in Story Arts/ Reading, integrating Storytelling into the Curriculum; and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership researching: Reducing Test Anxiety and Improving Academic Performance.

Her storytelling Winter Lady®, Patriotic Lady, Pioneer Lady, and Storybook Lady are available for block bookings.

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Peg Donovan

P.O.Box 106
Stonington, CT 06378
Phone: (860) 535-4106
Email: mspeg10@gmail.com

It's storytime like you've never seen before! With books, puppets, and felt board in hand, Ms. Peg will lead your children on a merry journey into the magical world of language. Using rhyme, rhythm and audience participation storytelling, Ms. Peg engages preK and K classes in a fun-filled, 45 minute story program sure to delight your youngsters and inspire their teachers. Giggling is guaranteed!
Listed on the Hartford Performs Teaching Artists roster, Ms. Peg has performed in schools, daycares, libraries, community centers and festivals throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island.

"What an impact she has on the children in our center! The children are engaged and learning. They talk about a visit with Ms. Peg for days to come!"
– Jaime Calcagni, Site Manager, TVCCA, Taftville.

"When Ms Peg comes, the children take delight in "reading" with her as they are guided through their learning using songs, fables, puppets and books. Our youngest learners come to love and respect early literature, understand stories, predict story outcomes, develop phonemic awareness, rhyme, all while having fun. I've seen children come to love literacy in all its forms - talking, listening, reading, writing and communicating. There can be no better gift to give a child that will prepare them for future success."
– Cheryl LaMothe, Site Manager, New London Day Nursery

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Diane Edgecomb

PO Box 300016
Boston, MA 02130
Phone: (617) 522-4335
Email: dedge@livingmyth.com
Website: www.livingmyth.com

Virtual Events -
For Adults: Click here
For Libraries: Click here
For Schools: Click here

Winner of the first Oracle Award for Storytelling Excellence in the Northeast and the national Circle of Excellence award, Diane is known for the passion and depth of her work whether embodying a true story or bringing renewed meaning to traditional tales. A transformational teller with a rich background in the theatre arts, Diane’s dynamic storytelling embraces elements of theatre, movement and song bringing each piece vividly to life. With performances not only with adults, but for a wide range of audiences, Diane tours annually with an extensive range of school and family programming.

Elementary Schools: Diane’s storytelling assemblies engage even the most reluctant listeners proving once again that story is the shortest route to imaginative learning. These popular performances complement language arts, science, and social studies curriculum. Fairy tales, folktales, and myths enhance English Core Curriculum, and can include a follow-up master class in storytelling techniques sure to have everyone participating. Her stories that teach about the natural world range from original environmental tales to imaginative stories of dinosaurs and seasonal changes. Each performance is interactive, informative and entertaining and comes with follow-up curriculum enhancement materials.

Storytelling Videos & Virtual Visits for Schools
Remote Teaching/Remote Learning just got easier with Diane’s catalog of teaching tales honed over thirty years of live assembly performances receiving rave reviews from students, parents and teachers alike. This material is now available as video on demand no matter where you might live! Want even more engagement? Diane also offers Live-Zoom and Google Classroom Virtual visits targeted to build classroom community.
Preview Storytelling Videos for your Virtual Classroom at this link.

Diane has Virtual Program offerings for Libraries looking to create community with Live Zoom-Visits, Streamed Events and beautiful Storytelling Videos. Diane’s original content and adaptations are fully licensed in all mediums. Each year Diane custom creates a performance that dovetails the summer reading theme.

Diane’s Storytelling Concerts for adults have toured the US, the UK and beyond. Her solo show, A Thousand Doorways received raves and five star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018. “an epic story told with consummate skill.” - The Stage UK.

Her Seasonal Performances with Celtic Harper Margot Chamberlain celebrate the Winter Solstice as well as myths and music from cultures around the world. Now available as performance videos, expertly filmed in beautiful locations from Scotland to the International Storytelling Center Diane’s award-winning Story and Music Concerts may be streamed in real time to your audience! For additional engagement, Diane leads a lively Q and A at the end.

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Leslie Elias
Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater

29 Lake Rd.
West Cornwall, CT 06796
Phone: (860) 672-0286 (h) (860) 248-9997 (cell)
Email: grumblinggryphons@gmail.com
Website: www.grumblinggryphons.org

Leslie Elias, 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero and 2023 recipient of the Connecticut Artist Fellowship Award, has been delighting both young and old alike with stories from around the world for over four decades.  She is available as a solo storyteller or with her troupe, Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater, winner of the CT Governor’s Arts Award, now celebrating 45 years! From Native American and African Animal Trickster Tales to fanciful fairy tales, myriad myths, poetry and story-songs her participatory style engages her audience on a magical journey full of heroes, fools, tricksters, dragons, gods, goddesses and our never-ending imaginations!

Into the mix are masks, myths, rhythms, chants, dance, song and improvisational movement that gets her audience up on their feet and fully engaged! With her flutes, drum, and years of experience as an actress and director, Leslie inspires joy and interactive teamwork in timely environmental and multi-cultural stories filled with compassion, bravery, anti-bullying, social justice and healing themes.

Leslie Elias is a playwright, actress, storyteller and theater director who has been teaching drama in schools, theaters, libraries and public venues for countless years. Leslie won the Culture Max Award for Arts Educator by The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council.In April of 2018, Connecticut Office on the Arts awarded her Connecticut Arts Hero. She is additionally recognized as both Teaching and Solo Performing Artist with Connecticut Office of the Arts.

Leslie Elias custom designs workshops and performances for multi-ages, from pre-school to elementary, high school, teacher workshops and senior centers. Recently she has been focusing on participatory stories and songs for nursing homes and those suffering from dementia. She works tirelessly bringing together both young and old into joyful storytelling experiences where energy abounds and love surrounds. She will create a program to suit your needs! Leslie and Grumbling Gryphons Theater  are available for virtual programming and have been working on perfecting the art of participation both in person and through on-line platforms.

References and prices available upon request.

Shows, Workshops & Programs in Repertoire! 
All of these programs can be done with Leslie as a solo or with her troupe, The Grumbling Gryphons.

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Amy Forbes

47 Comstock Ave.
Ivoryton, CT 06442
Phone: (860) 581-0143
Email: thpadventures@gmail.com
Website: www.treehouseplayers.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/treehouseplayers

Amy Forbes is a storyteller, educator and professional actress and singer. She is the founder and artistic director of treehouse players (thp), an interactive theatre adventure that brings children’s literature to life. Through thp’s, Amy combines her desire for people of all ages to nurture their voices and creative spirits with her passion for story, theatre, music and dance. Growing social/emotional skills through the creative process is the goal.

FIND YOUR VOICE!
The authors we meet are on a journey to reveal their voices, to be heard, and often, to make a difference.
Amy utilizes the arts to engage and guide her audience through the world of a story, from improvisation to expression, to share these authors’ voices. She invites others to find their own voices by providing a fun, nurturing environment where players feel safe to create. Through this positive group collaboration, players are encouraged to express imaginings and test ideas. Here, their voices are heard.

PLAY IS OUR PROCESS!
With a focus on process, not product, play is the means by which we create. It is our springboard to learn and grow. When we play, we are “in the moment’ just as we aim to be “in the moment” when we try on characters and act out stories. Creations jump from our imaginations. We invent story lines, characters, dialogue and action to bring make-believe worlds to life.

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
You’ll find Amy playing at libraries and family events. Improvisation guides the storytelling adventure while various styles of music support singing and creative movement. Her children’s theatre adventure, treehouse players, offers summer workshops that allow further exploration into theatre, adding costume pieces and delving into visual arts as children create scenery and backdrops for the sets.

ARTS-IN-EDUCATION PROGRAMS - Integrate the arts in your curricula!

Choose from previously developed programs or collaborate with Amy to create your own.

Literature: Contemporary children’s literature, folk and fairy tales and improvised original narratives.
Science: Scientific processes that lend themselves to movement and art.
Social Studies: Role-play, analyze text, compare + contrast, act it out, write about it.


BIO
Amy is a theatre and storytelling teaching artist in CT schools. She holds a B.S. in Music Education and is a certified Music Together teacher. As a professional actress, Amy performed in NYC, on tour, in various regional theatres, at the Ivoryton Playhouse and traveled to the North Pole as Evie Evergreen on the Essex Steam Train. She cherishes her role as mom to her spirited, loving, grown-up children, Elena and Sebi.

OFFERINGS for all ages!
Assemblies + Stand-Alone Workshops + Multiple Day Residencies - weekly, monthly

FEES based on chosen workshop.

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Anne-Marie Forer

Phone: (401) 739-4171
Mobile: (401) 749-6900
Email: tunesntalesinfo@gmail.com
Website: www.tunes-n-tales.com

Anne-Marie Forer’s Tunes-n-Tales for Toddlers,
Pre-schoolers and Kindergarteners.

• Programs include music, movement and storytelling

• Developmentally appropriate themes and learning experiences

• Participation and active involvement

• Fun and engaging for children and adults

Storyteller and musician Anne-Marie Forer delights young children with her Tunes-n-Tales programs. Her performances include songs, stories, finger-plays, rhythm instrument and movement activities, all designed to encourage active participation. A selection of her programs is available via her Youtube channel, Anne-Marie Forer's Tunes-n-Tales, and on her website, www.tunes-n-tales.com

In addition to in-person performances, she provides Livestream programs for schools and libraries on Zoom. A selection of her programs is available via her YouTube channel, Anne-Marie Forer's Tunes-n-Tales, and on her website, www.tunes-n-tales.com

A former teacher and children’s librarian, Anne-Marie has been “edu-taining” youngsters for nearly 30 years. She has performed at schools, libraries and festivals throughout RI, Connecticut and southern New England. Anne-Marie plays a variety of instruments including guitar, fiddle, and keyboard. Her programs are designed to provide fun and engaging experiences that promote language development, creative thinking, listening and focus.

“It was just the right combination of stories, songs and dancing around for our Saturday morning audience; there was lots of enthusiasm in the library afterwards.” — Librarian, Mansfield Public Library

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Saul Fussiner

Email: saulfussiner@gmail.com

New Haven-based Saul Fussiner is the Host and Producer of the popular Storyteller and Singer/Songwriter series "Songs + Stories" at Next Door Pizza in New Haven.

Saul tells highly personal stories that Hartford Courant Theatre Critic Christopher Arnott has called “scintillatingly self-aware.” He regularly tells stories with Story City Troupe in Middletown and the Institute Library Storysharing Group in New Haven.

One-man shows include I've Heard Those Drums All My Life, an autobiography in six visits to Ireland, and The Ghosts of Poland, about the effect of the Holocaust on his family, and his travels to Poland to find what is left. He was a featured teller at the Connecticut Storytelling Festival in 2021.

In 2017, he was awarded a Fund for Teachers fellowship to study the legacy of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. As a result of his work in Northern Ireland, he co-authored Fathers Without Sons, a play with Northern Irish playwright Donal O'Hagan, which contrasts the Irish conflict with racial violence in America.

Saul teaches storytelling workshops at libraries, schools, training programs and community organizations. He is the Chair in Creative Writing at the ACES Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven--where he teaches storytelling and screenwriting--and a Master Practitioner with the storytelling and empathy organization Narrative 4.

Rates are negotiable.

Storytelling Links:
"Cormac," from I've Heard Those Drums All My Life
"Tomek," from The Ghosts of Poland

Songs + Stories Links:
www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/songs-and-stories-traces-a-pathway-to-the-heart
www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/next_door_tells_tales/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZLJAKTaygQ&t=4262s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrp6VxTlJw4

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