Bay Area Storytelling Festival
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2009 Featured Tellers (This page will be updated for 2010)

Judith Black Doug Elliott Jay O'Callahan Antonio Rocha Gayle Ross

Showcase Storytellers: Todd Elliott Barbara H. Clark

Judith Black
Massachusetts

Judith brings warmth and wit to stories that include both mythic explorations and dissections of the minuscule. Jewish folktales and her new superhero, Queen Crone, offer a seditious examination of politics and the human condition. She also breathes life into the compelling stories of America's unsung heroes and heroines. Stories from her own life echo with laughter, and she finds redemption in those sometimes hard, familiar passages through love, parenting and aging.
www.storiesalive.com










Doug Elliott photo Doug Elliott
North Carolina

Whether he's talking wood lore, singing about catfish, or defending the possum, Doug takes you on a memorable ramble through North America's back country, illuminating our natural connections to this wonderful world. Along the way, he shares a lively collection of traditional tales, ancient legends, folklore and outrageous personal narratives. A distinguished herbalist, basket maker and author, Doug flavors his performances with regional dialects, harmonica riffs, and more than a few belly laughs.
www.dougelliott.com









Jay O'Callahan photo Jay O'Callahan
Massachusetts

Jay takes a bare stage and transforms it into a world filled with compelling companions. From Nova Scotia to the steel mills of Bethlehem to his own family history, Jay listens and then turns the large and small dramas of everyday life into story. In these buoyant, closely-observed narratives, he slips into his characters' souls to find the extraordinary in ordinary lives, painting a world of hope, courage and dignity.
www.ocallahan.com










Antonio Rocha Antonio Rocha
Maine

Antonio marries mime and storytelling through a body that can animate a whole story-full of characters and a ringing tenor to give them voice. He shares traditional tales as well as vignettes from contemporary life, creating magic when thought and feeling become movement. Antonio trained with mime masters Tony Montanaro and Marcel Marceau. His collaboration with Swedish teller, Christina Claesson, "Once Upon a Tree" will debut in Sweden this summer.
www.storyinmotion.com











Gayle Ross photo Gayle Ross

Surrounded by her grandmother's tales, Gayle learned that stories are living spirits. Her stories and songs spring from this rich Native American heritage. With an elegant, contemporary presence and a musical voice, she tells traditional Cherokee tales, and continues to explore the continuity between story, history and contemporary Cherokee life. These living spirits open doors into Cherokee culture, illuminate her people's reverence and respect for the land, and offer a wry view of human nature.


















Showcase Storytellers



Todd Elliott photo Todd Elliott lives on the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. He has been telling stories all his sixteen years and playing fiddle for nine. Todd's a regular at festivals and venues around the country, but odds are the only fiddling mycologist to grace our stage.









Barbara H. Clark photo Barbara H. Clark
Barbara shares personal stories for adults in a graceful, conversational style. She astutely considers her small town life and big city happenings, family heritage and memorable relatives along with startling accounts of spooky events. A thirty-year library administrator, she also teaches personal storytelling to high school students and seniors in Los Angeles.




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The Festival is a project of the Storytelling Association of Alta California and the East Bay Regional Park District
Telephone: (510) 869-4946 Email: info@bayareastorytelling.org