Performers       Click on any photo with a colored border to display a 300 dpi photo of that performer

	Siri Allison started acting classes when she was 12 years old because she was too shy to present oral reports in class. She fell in love with the theater, and continued acting, finding her niche with alternative audiences, especially the residents of homeless shelters. After the birth of her children, she began telling stories in the public school classrooms, concentrating on subjects that complement NY’s Learning Standards. www.siriallison.blogspot.com
	Born into a family of musicians, artists, writers, and actors by night, but who were teachers, journalists, CPAs, and psychologists by day, Claire Beetlestone follows right in their footsteps. The mother of five, she has been a docent to a tropical zoo, a dancer, and an art impresario. Dr. Beetlestone is a practicing specialist physician and calls Cooperstown, NY or Argyllshire, Scotland "home" when she is there. She has traveled from America through Europe, Africa, and Asia. Listening along the way, Dr. Beetlestone has collected stories and legends, specializing in international folktales, making sure to leave a few of her own behind.
	Fran Combs Berger was born in Oklahoma, in the heart of Tornado Alley, in a town where the major employer was a smelter. She and her twin sister were born into a family of ten in the 1950s. Surviving killer twisters and the environmental havoc wrought by the smelter, she has since lived in California and Colorado, eventually settling in New York. She tells stories, and has a Massage Therapy and Reiki practice. She has performed on land and water, at parties, schools, libraries and festivals. Her specialties include folk tales, stories of the rural west, and personal recollections.
	Dan Berggren ’s roots are firmly in the Adirondacks where he was raised but his music has branched out across many borders. The award-winning musician and educator grew up on the land farmed by his mother's family for generations and has worked in the woods with forest ranger and survey crews. Hearing stories and songs from local friends and neighbors, Dan has developed a style that captures the spirit of the mountains. www.berggrenfolk.com
	Eshu Bumpus captivates his audience by telling a variety of African, African-American and World folktales leavened with music, humor and mystery. Eshu is a renowned storyteller, an accomplished jazz vocalist and a master at physical characterization. He has performed on the Exchange Place stage at the National Festival (1998), and performed 36 sold out shows in 13 days at the Smithsonian (1997). After appearing at the 10 Annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival (1991), Eshu was acclaimed as," … a fresh, responsible and knowledgeable voice... distinct and compelling... the hit of the Festival. www.Eshu.FolkTales.net
	Kent Busman is the director of Fowler Camp and Retreat Center, a youth camp in Speculator, NY. Kent is also an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, living in Scotia, NY. Kent uses storytelling as more than just entertainment – he also sees it as a wonderfully subversive way of teaching. Kent believes that telling stories of caring for the world, tales of wonder and joy, and stories of faith and hope, help to remind the listeners not only of how special the world is, but helps clarify our role in it too.
	Regi Carpenter is a fourth generation "river rat" who grew up on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region of Northern New York. Her stories, folktales, and myths are full of a great river, magnificent and immense, and the people who inhabit its shores. Regi is the winner of many awards for her performances and recordings. She has also been featured at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. www.soaringstories.com
	Janet Carter ’s acting past shows in her love of character and dialogue. (She shared stages with Veronica Lake and Sopranos star Tom Aldrich, among others.) As a teller, she’s performed at retreat centers, domestic violence shelters, libraries, churches, prisoners’ benefits, senior centers and community gatherings. What is the difference between an actress and a story teller? Well, for one thing, a teller has the delight of looking at her audience while she shares life’s wonders.
	Betty Cassidy, as a parent and a Speech and English teacher for many years, has witnessed and used the power of the story to teach, amuse, and motivate others. Since retirement from full-time teaching, she has found more time to develop her skills as a teller through workshops, Story Circle events, and presenting her own stories as often as possible. She continues to expand her program options as she finds new venues where she can share her enthusiasm for the joy of stories!
	Barbara Chepaitis is author of 7 published novels, including the critically acclaimed Feeding Christine and These Dreams, as well as the sci-fi series featuring Jaguar Addams. She regularly shares writing tip and inspiration with the listening public as co-host of WAMC's Vox Pop Writer's Forum. She is past director of the storytelling trio The Snickering Witches, and a Teaching Artist with the Lincoln Center Arts in Education program. Currently she is a member of the group String Stories, which brings original music, story, and poetry to classrooms and performance venues. www.chepaitis.com
	Alden (Joe) Doolittle began storytelling when his children were young (a long time ago) and realized it was also good method to motivate and teach staff. Joe is presently a consultant in health care management. He listens for stories in all aspects of his life and collects those he believes will entertain and teach others. Joe has a particular interest in local historical stories. He uses storytelling with clients, students, and audiences regionally. He is also a producer of Word Plays, Story by Story, and Open Mic. Contact him at Joe@StoryCircleAtProctors.org
	Kate Dudding brings history to life by giving a voice to people from the past. She has been commissioned to create performance pieces by several organizations, including: The New-York Historical Society, Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, and The Empire State Aerosciences Museum. Kate's first CD, Lighting the Way Home: Stories of Lighthouses and Their Keepers, is a Parents' Choice Approved Award Winner. She is also a producer of Word Plays and Story by Story. Contact her at Kate@StoryCircleAtProctors.org www.KateDudding.com
	Mary Fellows is the co-founder and producer of Riverway Storytelling Festival, an annual seven day, 29-event festival of storytelling in the Capital Region. Mary works as Manager of Youth and Family Services at Upper Hudson Library System.
	Just as programs by Frank-Lee Speaking combine traditional folktales and original stories, Frank Wind and Dee Ellen Lee represent the ‘old’ and ‘new’. Dee has entertained internationally for more than 20 years. Her training in expressive arts, speech and theatre adds warmth, sensitivity and dramatic flair, captivating her audiences. Frank brings a fresh perspective to many of the old “standards” and is constantly writing new material. He has turned much of his corporate experience into very lively tales. They tell both solo and in tandem. mysite.verizon.net/do_tell/
	Margaret French has devoted herself to writing and telling the stories she has always loved since retiring from Union College where she directed the Writing Center. She believes that stories are great fun and for almost everyone they are a favorite way to share ideas and values. She has performed for adults at community events, libraries, senior centers, coffee houses and Tellabration, and to children in schools and children's groups in New York, Connecticut, and Texas.
	Marni Gillard once taught Niskayuna middle schoolers and now freelances as a teacher-artist and education consultant. The book Storyteller, Storyteacher traces her journey into storytelling and the transformation it brought to her classroom and her life. Without a Splash: Diving into Childhood Memories is a CD of triumph and trauma tales that helps children and adults storytell memories. Meet Marni at www.MarniGillard.com
	After 22 years, Karen Glass changed careers from teacher to Keene Valley town librarian and is now surrounded by stories. She collects stories from around the world and offers them to listeners of all ages. She weaves a spell for her listeners, holding their hands, their eyes and their hearts through snowstorms and fires and beautiful gardens. She weaves the spell of stories of times past and places of fantasy. She has children believing they are native people listening to their stories, learning and laughing as they listen. Adults are drawn in to the stories and find the truth of the stories in their hearts. www.karenglasslive.com
	Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi has an eclectic mix of folktales, literary tales, myths and tall tales that enables her to tell stories to all manner of audiences, both young and old, in libraries, churches, retirement homes, schools, conferences and festivals. She finds the experience of sharing stories through the spoken word to have a profound power to enlighten and educate and conducts storytelling workshops for adults and teachers. Lorraine's first book, Wisdom in the Telling: Finding Inspiration and Grace in Folktales and Myths Retold was published in 2006. www.LorraineTells.com
	Becky Holder is a storyteller/writer living on the shore of Keuka Lake in New York. Her repertoire encompasses world tales, literary stories and personal memoir told in schools, libraries, churches, coffee houses, retreats, and family dinners. In a parallel life, Becky has been a teacher of students from kindergarten through university and she often tells the tales of those classroom adventures. Becky is a member of SweetLand Storytellers, an ensemble which brings the art of storytelling to adult and high school audiences.
	Christie Keegan Christie Keegan’s personal stories weave together the wonders of childhood, questions of adolescence and stark realities of adulthood. No matter the topic of the tale, audiences often claim the rhythm of her stories echoes their own experience. In addition to being entertaining, her hope is that this common bond increases our tolerance and understanding of ourselves and each other. With the same intent, she tells folk tales, myths and tall tales from many cultures - hoping the audience will hear what is common to us all as well as what makes each of us unique.
	Louise D. Koenig loves to write stories and poems. As an elementary school teacher for over thirty years, she wrote plays for her students to perform. In the 1990's she performed for Albany Civic, Schenectady Civic, Highlight Acting, Masque Theater as well as other groups, and took courses in theater and literature at The University at Albany. As part of the 2006 Riverway Storytelling Festival, she took a storytelling course with Frank-Lee Speaking. Since then, Louise joined Story Circle and has written five stories, including some personal stories.
	Jeannine Laverty has been telling international folk tales since 1979 when her work teaching English as a second language to immigrants in New York City showed her firsthand how the U.S. is made up of cultures from all the countries of the world. Her school residencies and museum performances have been awarded funding from the NYS Council on the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the National Institute for the Humanities. In 1999 she received the Leadership Award for the Northeast Region from the National Storytelling Network.
	Lee-Ellen Marvin tells stories with spare and elegant language hovering just this side of music. With deceptive simplicity, she communicates warmth, love and respect for both her listeners and her stories. Telling folktales, mythology, oral histories, and original stories, Lee-Ellen takes her listeners on rich journeys through time, place, and imagination. (And yes, she can be goofy, too!) home.twcny.rr.com/lmarvin
	Motoko is an award-winning storyteller who enchants audiences of every age with her weaving of ancient lore, original tales, lyrical movement and traditional music. Her repertoire includes Asian folktales, Zen tales, comical tales from rakugo (a Japanese traditional style of storytelling), funny mime vignettes, as well as personal stories from her childhood in Japan and her life as an immigrant in the U.S. Motoko was a New Voices Featured Teller at the 35th Annual National Storytelling Festival in 2007. www.Motoko.FolkTales.net
	Mary Murphy is a writer/storyteller. She has performed at the National Storytelling Festival, the Hawaii Storytelling Festival, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Clever Gretchen Storytelling Festival at Syracuse University and the University of Rochester Storytelling Festival. She has also performed at local libraries, schools, museums and historical sites as well as at the Albany Institute of History and Art’s Festival of Trees. Her stories have been published in the anthologies: Give a Listen and A Solstice Evergreen. www.MurphyWong.net
	As a teacher of English as a Second Language, Claire Nolan tells stories, many of them true, to international students and immigrants. She currently teaches at SUNYA. She has most recently been telling tales at the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center in Berne. Claire can also be seen in area middle schools, high schools and colleges telling the story of Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones) through the Schenectady Theater for Children Great Minds Series.
	Nancy Marie Payne enjoys the challenge of finding and writing new stories. Some of her tales, gleaned from history, tell of immigrants, orphan train riders, suffragettes, Underground Railroad characters and female pioneer aviators. Traditional tales and personal stories add a lighter touch to her repertoire. She performs locally and is always eager for new storytelling challenges. She conducts workshops for adults and children. www.nancymariepayne.blogspot.com
	Joe Peck has been a dairy farmer for nearly 50 years. He was raised on his family's farm near Saratoga Springs, where he still lives and works. He has been entertaining audiences for years with a combination of enlightened inspiration, homespun yarns and stand-up comedy, drawn from a lifetime of farm experience. For eight years, Joe has been recognized by Cornell University as an outstanding alumnus, recognized by the governor of New York for the contributions of his family to agriculture and the community, and recognized by his banker as someone to keep an eye on. www.JoePeckOnline.com
	Karen Pillsworth has been enchanting audiences all over the Northeast with her stories for over 25 years. She has performed in libraries, camps, churches, parks, schools, historic sites and at festivals. She is regularly featured at Mohonk Mountain House and has shared her stories on WAMC National Public Radio. As Storyteller Laureate, it is Karen’s honor and privilege to serve the people of Kingston, New York by sharing her stories at events throughout the city and helping raise funds for various organizations. www.KarenPillsworth.com
	Susan Fantl Spivack, long time storyteller, writer and teaching artist, tells traditional stories from many cultures, literary tales, oral histories and her own stories to audiences of all ages. For thirty years Ms Spivack conducted The Community Library Story hour in Cobleskill, NY, and taught poetry writing in area schools. With SweetLand Storytellers, she brings "Voices of the Vietnam War," a program of oral histories to adult and high school audiences. Ms. Spivack lives in Cobleskill, NY where she tells stories, writes, and gardens.