Featured TellersStorytellers for Spirit of Oklahoma 2011 Storytelling Festival
Featured Teller MaryGay Ducey  MaryGay Ducey travels the country teaching and telling stories through performances and workshops, then returns home to the children who know her best as their librarian. MaryGay grew up in New Orleans and moved to Berkeley in 1967. The Bay Area’s shifting social landscape and New Orleans sense of play have created an artist who relishes diversity and honors the importance of stories in family life. Her performances of contemporary and traditional tales have been described as full of wit, but aimed directly at the heart. Named one of Berkeley’s Distinguished Women, MaryGay has told stories from the Smithsonian Institution to San Quentin and has appeared at the National Storytelling Festival and on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Regional Tellers  Humorist and folklorist Donna Ingham takes the ancient art of storytelling and gives it a Texas twist to entertain audiences of all ages. Hear tall tales, folklore, historical and personal stories told as only a Texan could--or would. A former college professor with a Ph.D. in English, she also offers workshops, master classes, training and in-service sessions as well as age-appropriate programs for elementary and secondary schools. As a published author, she brings an added dimension to her school visits and both entertains and enlightens audiences at book festivals and conferences. Tom McDermott  Born Texan, rooted in the musical soil of his grandmother’s opera career, twisted by his uncle’s tall tales, and nourished on the Irish lore of his father’s birthplace, Tom McDermott travels the US as a storyteller, guitarist, percussionist, and virtuoso ukulelist at festivals, conferences, and schools. His shows address character education, environmental awareness, history, and creative writing. A John Henry Faulk Award winner and author with Pelican Publishing, Tom accompanies his original stories, adapted folktales, myths, and Texas lore with humor, participation, and music (on guitars, ukuleles, drums, theremin, and hurdy-gurdy) to create an unparalleled experience for listeners of all ages. Spirit of Oklahoma Tellers Jeanette Harjo  You may find Jeanette Harjo wading in Blue River, delivering a new foal, skeet shooting or conducting classes at a local university, but wherever she’s found, you can bet she is gathering, writing, listening to or sharing stories. Storytelling activities and workshop presentations range from trail rides to national and state level conferences and festivals. She is the Past President of Territory Tellers, one of the original co-founders of the Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival, former member of the Tejas Board of Directors, member of the National Storytelling Network, and Association of Professional Oklahoma Educators. Rodger Harris  Rodger Harris, a native of Duncan and Marlow, has been in every county, every county seat, most towns, driven on most roads, eaten in half the cafes, roadhouses, and Dairy Queens, and bought gas from when it was 21˘ a gallon for Ethel, and 35˘ a quart for oil. He has performed in the Falderal String Band, or told stories, or made speeches, or made talks in most places often invited back but rarely fed. He spent 20 years as the Oral Historian and Coordinator of the Oklahoma Folklife Center of the Oklahoma Historical Society and has many publications to his credit. David Titus  David Titus, author and professional storyteller, has been entertaining children and adults in libraries, schools, churches and at conferences and festivals since 1968. He travels extensively, consulting, conducting workshops and residencies, instructing adults in storytelling, and collecting stories and string figures. He has entertained audiences across six continents from the frozen Arctic to the Sahara. With a piece of string and a thread of a story he captures his audience, young and old. Needless to say, he is having a lot of fun doing it. |