2012 Featured Tellers

Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988
he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique solo shows of stories and mime have been performed from Singapore to Hawaii and many places in between including 14 countries on six continents. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, a speaker at TEDx Conference, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA. Antonio has some fun and award winning DVDs and a  picture book. http://www.storyinmotion.com/

See Video of Antonio: Turbulence »

Doug Lipman told his first story to a room filled with emotionally disturbed adolescent boys.
They began with their arms folded and sneers on their faces. A few seconds into the story, they fell into a listening trance. That moment changed Doug’s life. In a way, he has been pursuing that form of connection through storytelling, ever since.

Over the last 40 years, he has, among other things: Performed for all ages, on three continents; Authored 4 books; Received awards for both his books and his recordings; Created innovative forms of mulit-media storytelling instruction, such as the Storytelling Workshop in a Box and the Image Riding Toolkit; Published over 100 issues of his email newsletter, “eTips from the Storytelling Coach”; Coached many professional storytellers – to improve their storytelling as well as their marketing.

Doug lives near Boston, Massachusetts with his wife, the Rev. Pam McGrath, and Gabbi, their good-natured 6-pound dog. http://storydynamics.com/

Watch Doug Lipman talk about coaching »

Kim Weitkamp is sought after storyteller, humorist and musician sharing her original stories and songs at theaters and festivals throughout the United States. One theater review stated, “Kim weaves the threads of her individual stories into a tapestry full of singular characters, fantastic situations, and heartfelt wisdom – all the best that a storyteller can offer” She has completed four audio collections and has enjoyed airplay on Sirius XM radio and NPR affiliate stations. Her latest CD, Penny Candy Love, has received two Storytelling World Awards. Weitkamp is a master at building bridges from story to song to story.”

She is the National Youth Storytelling representative for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the President of the Virginia Storytelling Alliance and Founder of the Wrinkles Project, a national campaign to raise awareness of the national treasure that we possess in the form of life stories from folks within our elder communities. Her work in the area of Story in Peace Studies has resulted in collaborations with the Center for Peace at Virginia Tech and the Peace by Piece Project with the Conflict Resolution Center and the Taubman Museum of Fine Art.  http://www.kimweitkamp.com/

Watch Kim Weitkamp at the Snow Theatre

                                                 Jeff Gere is a master storyteller living in Hawaii.  He blends his talents as a painter, puppeteer, mime, and director into a performance style which has electrified audiences throughout Hawaii and the mainland for two decades. Jeff becomes his stories! Jeff has become one of its most popular storytellers. He’s taught and performed in literally every venue conceivable (all museums, private & public schools; all ages, sizes, & incomes; bars, prisons, shelters, conferences, conventions, state-wide solo & group tours). Gere is the Drama Specialist in the City & County of Honolulu’s Parks Department. In ‘89, he created the Talk Story Festival (www.honoluluparks.com), Hawaii’s largest annual storytelling event. It features local talent, a few mainland guests, and large crowds. All tells are videotaped. He received the 2007 Oracle Award for Service (Western US) from the National Storytelling Network (NSN). He produced NSN’s Pacific Regional’ Talk Story’ Conference in Waikiki, the first ever in Hawaii and performed at the Exchange Place at the 2010 National Story Festival. http://www.jeffgere.com/

Watch Jeff Gere on How to tell a Story»

                                                 Mij Byram. To the immediate right of our front door were three quick steps to the first landing. A right turn took you up the next eight steps and delivered you to my stage, THE SECOND LANDING. A curtained window to the left, looking on to the neighbor’s roof was my backdrop. Another right  turn and you had your choice of the five tiered theater seating, room enough for five siblings . Mom and Dad, popcorn and programs for those that got there early. The landing was not much more than 3?x 3? but big enough for my performances of poems, monologues and stories.

So my performance career began, on the second landing, in front of the curtain, not behind, to an attentive, loving, sometimes squirming audience. I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Children’s Creative Play from Dominican College, Racine WI. (How fun is that?)  I believe in play. Play is free. Play is creative. Play is complete unto itself. Play is the question and the answer.  There is no right or wrong way to play. Through play we learn our place in the world. We try on roles and feelings without fear of failure. So it is with storytelling. Free, creative, the question and the answer, just tell. Everyone has a story. http://www.mijbyram.com/

Watch Mij tell the story The King and the Boxes

                                                        Kaye Byrnes left a successful career in Human Resources Management in 1996 to begin sharing stories with children and adults. Since then I’ve shared stories at schools, libraries, senior communities, festivals, community and corporate events, and many other venues. My repertoire of folktales, fairy tales, fables, myths, legends, original tales and classic literature is carefully crafted and compiled for maximum appeal to a wide variety of audience age groups.
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre, I’m trained in the performing arts and carry my dramatic expertise to the storytelling stage. As a workshop leader, I strive to help others find their own storytelling voice.As a past president of the Florida Storytelling Association, I played a leadership role in promoting storytelling and encouraging storytellers throughout the state.I’m passionate about storytelling and proud to devote my talents to use this art as an effective teaching tool. I bring my years as a corporate executive, my academic training and stage experience to this oral tradition and reflect it in every performance and every workshop. http://kayebyrnes.com/