Shows
The Heart of StorytellingKelli Dunham and Working with HumourKelli Dunham is the nonbinary ex-nun storytelling nurse comedian so common in modern Brooklyn. Kelli has appeared on Showtime and the Discovery Channel, PBS Stories From the Stage, the Moth Mainstage, NPR, nationwide at colleges, prides, fundraisers, oh so many nursing conferences and even the occasional livestock auction. Kelli's award-winning but dubiously named Second Helping: Two Dead Lovers, Dead Funny was called "a love letter to the power of community" by the Bechdel Theater, and "drop dead funny" by Go Magazine, was featured in last year's Edinburgh Fringe and is touring internationally. Kelli was one of the faces of n...2025-07-2450 min
The Heart of StorytellingTalia Levy and Connection to LineageTalia Levy is an emerging storyteller.She is a woman who follows the flame of passion and inspiration. She is in service to life, authenticity and harmony.She is a teacher of children, a way-shower for women and a guide for those exploring deep nature connection.Her depth and breadth of experience across these fields have found their co-habitation in Storytelling.Through the art of storytelling Talia explores the deep questions of belonging, connection and longing.Storytelling has given her a way to connect to her ancestry through the untold stories of women. She hopes to support others to find...2025-07-1038 min
The Heart of StorytellingJamie Brunson and Sharing the PersonalJamie J, Executive Director of First Person Arts, is an artist/activist using storytelling to build community and catalyze dialogue around important issues, especially those issues impacting the unheard. Brunson was named a 2022 NEA/ Delaware Division of the Arts Established Artist Fellow in Literature: Playwriting. Her creative body of work includes produced plays, published poetry and stories for the stage. She has brought storytelling to audiences across multiple platforms for over a decade, including: executive producer of two documentary films, producer of 12 annual First Person Arts Festivals of memoir and documentary art, host of WHYY’s Philadelphia Revealed Podcast (July 2024); WH...2025-06-2648 min
The Heart of StorytellingJim Brulé and an Invitation into GriefJim Brulé is a transformational storyteller, end-of-life doula, and educator. Drawing on a blend of cultural, spiritual, and academic experiences, he brings a unique perspective to his work with advanced degrees in Family and Systems Therapy and Artificial Intelligence. Jim’s workshops explore themes of healing, multicultural wisdom, and end-of-life support. For over a decade, he has trained spiritual storytellers from a variety of traditions. Known for his collaborative spirit, Jim has co-developed and led dozens of workshops with storytellers worldwide.You can learn more at https://TransformationalStorytelling.org/ or jimbrule@gmail.com2025-06-1252 min
The Heart of StorytellingMini-Episode #1In June 2025, I went to the Sydney International Storytelling Conference and had an incredible time. While I was there, I chatted with a bunch of great people and this mini-episode is the result of that. Adam Booth was the keynote speaker at this event, hosted by Australian Storytellers. You can find out more about it here.2025-06-0414 min
The Heart of StorytellingChristine Carlton and Story RelationshipsChristine Carlton is an Australian Storyteller and Educator who has performed and facilitated workshops throughout Australia, New Zealand, USA and Asia. She loves how stories challenge, heal, entertain, inform, develop and delight both the tellers and the audience. For over 40 years Christine has conducted workshops with groups of children and adults, organisations, and lectured in Story and Drama in Education at the University of Western Sydney. She also provides individual coaching and mentoring for people keen to expand their storytelling skills. Christine has been the Convenor for all of the Weaving Stories Together - Sydney International Storytelling Conferences and is Pre...2025-05-2953 min
Not the PlotAlyssa Curtayne – Breathing new life into old storiesAlyssa Curtayne is a passionate storyteller, writer, and researcher who is on a mission to breathe new life into forgotten fairy tales and the ancient art of storytelling. With a deep love for the old stories and the timeless lessons they hold, she is dedicated to reviving these tales and the traditions of the original tale-tellers, ensuring they continue to inspire and encourage imagination, creativity and wonder for future generations. A former journalist and English teacher, she has a strong commitment to inspiring creativity, fostering self-expression and cultivating connection through her writing, teaching and art....2025-05-2427 min
The Heart of StorytellingLaura Packer and a Lifetime of StoriesLaura Packer knows that the best way to the truth is through a good story. For over 30 years she has told, taught, ranted, raved, consulted, and considered storytelling around the world. When she isn’t telling, she runs venues, coaches, writes, and helps people and organizations find their stories, hone their vision and use their voices to make the world a better place. She has won many awards, including induction into the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence for standard bearers of the art and craft of storytelling; Best in Fringe in many fringe festivals; the New England Storytelling Brother Bl...2025-05-2251 min
The Heart of StorytellingDaniel Abercrombie and Curating StoriesDaniel Abercrombie is the Head of Programming at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh and the Associate Director for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, which takes place throughout Scotland each October. He has over 15 years of experience in events programming, working in partnership with a wide range of artists and cultural organisations in Scotland and internationally, focussing his work on collaboration and shared creativity. Daniel also hosts and curates the storytelling podcast Another Story. https://www.instagram.com/dannyabercrombie/https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/another-storyhttps://www.sisf.org.uk/https://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com/2025-05-1549 min
The Heart of StorytellingMarcus Pibworth and Building Men’s SpacesMarcus Pibworth is a storyteller who uses story to entertain, explore the magic of the world, and facilitate change. Two years ago he moved with his wife and two young daughters to the foothills of the Black Mountains just on the English side of the Welsh border, where he has been working tirelessly to explore the intersection between story and the natural world, rewild and restory 10acres of land, and use the ancient wisdom of story to bring groups of dads together to explore fatherhood in the magical Rock Cottage yurt, and provide a peaceful rural haven for storytellers. Marcus...2025-05-0145 min
The Heart of StorytellingLucia Luckett-Kelly and Creating SafetyLucia L. Luckett-Kelly , solopreneur, the founder and owner of Phantasy Staircase Education is an Educator, Creative Dramatic Instructor and Storyteller.She has been teaching students of all ages and backgrounds for over 30 years and has been performing for even longer.Lucia has made appearances at schools, park districts, libraries, churches, museums, bookstores, restaurants, private family homes, and art festivals, in person and virtually on Zoom.She is a former Board member of the ITA (Illinois Theatre Association), a member of NSN (National Storytelling Network), and on the Board of Directors for (BlessingsBalanceBreathYoga).She is an artistic, sociable and enterprising individual w...2025-04-1754 min
The Heart of StorytellingDonald Smith and generosity of spiritDonald Smith is a storyteller of Scotland. Inspired by his time at the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh, Donald became Director of The Netherbow Arts Centre and founding Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre. He is a longstanding activist in Earth Charter International, and co-founder of The Earth Stories Collection. Donald is currently Director of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival but also a busy supporter of Scotland's national storytelling network. In 2023 he received the Hamish Henderson Award for lifetime service to the Scottish arts. donald@tracscotland.orgOffice: 0131 652 3271Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR2025-04-0358 min
The Heart of StorytellingMichael Harvey and Social StorytellingMichael has told stories both as a solo performer and with other artists throughout the UK and Europe as well festivals in North and South America. Most of his work is in either English or Welsh and he specialises in bilingual delivery of stories.He is a familiar performer in the UK festival and club scene and draws particular inspiration from the Welsh oral heritage and landscape. He combines depth of material with lightness of delivery which is timed and paced to perfection and minted fresh for every audience.Michael has devised and toured collaborative work w...2025-03-2053 min
The Heart of StorytellingLaura Simms and storytelling magicLaura is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer, coach, and humanitarian. She combines traditional stories with personal narrative. She is artistic Director of the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center, and served as a Senior Research Fellow for Rutgers University Peace Center under the auspices of UNESCO. Laura won the Sesame Street SUNNY DAYS AWARD for work with children worldwide, received the Hasbro September 11 Grant and a lifetime achievement award from the National Storytelling Network. She is a certified dharma art teacher, senior meditation instructor, and works with The Constellation. Her most recent book is Our Secret Territory: The Essence of Storytelling...2025-03-061h 03
The Heart of StorytellingMelissa Min and sacred story medicineMelissa Min is one of West Australia’s most prominent storytellers. She works with language, myth and story to evoke a deep sense of connection, belonging and healing. Melissa is a passionate advocate for bringing creative and artistic practices to community spaces. She facilitates storytelling events, poetry circles and creative writing sessions throughout Perth and the South West of WA.2025-02-2041 min
The Heart of StorytellingKavita Shah and weaving the storyKavita breathes stories and is a passionate professional storyteller. She facilitates storytelling experiences for children and adults utilising various storytelling techniques and art therapies methods. Her lively storytelling performances using different storytelling styles keep people of all ages spell-bound. Her repertoire of stories includes a wide range of Indian and other Asian folktales, European fairy tales, Personal and Family stories, True-life incidents, and modern stories from numerous cultures. Different Artforms like Oral Storytelling, Kamishibai (Japanese), Kawwad- DashaAvtara (Rajasthan), Musical Storytelling with Rhythmic Beats, Tandem Telling, Story Cards, Story Performances Solo and Tandem, Crankie Storytelling, and many more to be performed...2025-02-0648 min
The Heart of StorytellingBrian Walsh and Irish tales and landscapes“Do Scéalaí Ceanadach le Scéalta Éireannacha!”“Your Canadian Teller of Irish Tales!”Brian Walsh is a professional storyteller specializes in Irish Folktales and Mythology as a source of wisdom and humor, discomfort and delight. Brian’s background is in Psychotherapy, World Religions, and Celtic Studies. He has told at diverse venues including the Toronto International Storytelling Festival, the Niagara Irish Festival, Schools/Universities, and around the campfire under the stars.Find him on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/brianwalsh.ca/2025-01-2350 min
The Heart of StorytellingBrenda Berrisford and building confidenceBrenda moved to Perth from England with her family in 1970. She wears many hatsincluding retired librarian, oral storyteller and writer of poetry and short stories.In the 70s she enrolled at WAIT (now Curtin University) in Library Studies. Duringthis time she worked in high school libraries and discovered the Storytelling Guild ofWA in 1983, of which she is a Life Member. After graduating she started her ownbusiness, combining libraries and storytelling.She has travelled widely – interstate and overseas – on holidays, or spreading thejoy of oral storytelling through her love of words and language. Storytelling andlecturing took her to many interesting venues, incl...2025-01-0945 min
The Heart of StorytellingJenni Cargill-Strong and finding belongingJenni is a nationally recognised storyteller and educator with thirty years experience, now based in Meanjin, or Brisbane. Jenni tells her stories eye to eye and heart to heart, engaging listeners with her warm, welcoming and expressive style. Jenni toured schools in Australia and New Zealand for seven years and has five award-winning story albums. She has been an invited presenter and workshop leader at online storytelling gatherings and conferences in the US and is a part-time academic at Southern Cross University, teaching storytelling for educators, change-makers and healers. Jenni is available for storytelling performances, workshops, story coaching, school shows...2024-12-2644 min
The Heart of StorytellingMarion Mary and dancing in the heartMarion spent many hours in the evening as a child sitting on the lap of her mother reading stories. When she encountered the Art of Storytelling in 2013 it was evident. This was the craft of her heart! She went in 2018 studying Storytelling at Emerson college in England. As her craft grew she traveled to many places telling stories until she landed in the northern part of Italy where she settled. Today, Marion is creating her own events where she tells stories as well as goes to schools to enchant the imagination of the children. She also weaves Storytelling and Dance, her...2024-12-1234 min
The Heart of StorytellingDonna Jacobs Sife and Building PeaceDonna Jacobs Sife is a writer, award-winning storyteller and peace -worker. From the United Nations to Woodford Folk Festival, her considerable international reputation is built on her capacity to bridge difference within our societies, our communities or ourselves. For nearly three decades she has travelled widely throughout the world teaching and telling stories.www.Donnajacobsife.comWatch donna tell a storyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugv1hPpscdchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXJxU-acRUI2024-11-2839 min
The Heart of StorytellingDave Tonge and interpreting historyDave Tonge is a jobbing teller of tales. An itinerant journeyman who performs at festivals,museums, heritage sites and schools. From Lindisfarne Holy Island in the north, to ArundelCastle in the south, he works regularly for English Heritage and national museums like theAshmolean and British Museum. He has written three books, Tudor Folk Tales, NorfolkFolk tales for Children and Medieval Folk tales for Children, with a forth, Trickster TalesFrom Many Lands, due in 2025. Dave specialises in telling period rich and often irreverenttales shared by the poorer folk long ago, at heritage sites and is particularly interested inbringing storytelling to wider non...2024-11-1437 min
The Heart of StorytellingPhil Greenwood and sacred landscapesPhilip Greenwood is the founder and creative director of Sacred Earth Community Benefit Society, working through the mediums of deep nature connection, earth wisdom and ancient healing practices and processes. For the last 25 years i have been on a journey of restoration, healing myself while healing and working on restoring a disused industrial land site back into a nature sanctuary for people to connect to self, others and the natural world. Storytelling is part of my Craft as we discover what it means to be a whole hearted human being.www.sacredearthland.co.uk2024-10-3135 min
The Heart of StorytellingLiz Locksley and telling a new storyLiz is a storyteller and narrator of systems for life: food, water, energy, movement, community, hope, and spirit of the land. An engineer by training, and a storyteller by provenance, Liz grew up between worlds. Between Manchester's swagger of industrial ingenuity and a remote valley in the Yorkshire Dales where folk spoke in Norse dialect and roaring becks flowed with peat-brown water, coloured with tannins from ancient mosses.20 years ago, Liz was called by the far away land of Australia through memories of her Granny's tape-recorded tales of life in the Australian bush. Liz is an env...2024-10-1737 min
The Heart of StorytellingDee Palanisamy and trusting the storiesDurgah Devi Palanisamy (Dee) is an international, multicultural storyteller and educator from Singapore, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Her boundless passion for the art of storytelling radiates through her captivating narratives, engaging and creating connections worldwide. She shares her love for Asian folktales and stories with audiences of all ages. With a background in speech and drama education, she skillfully weaves together tales that inspire, entertain, and educate. Her work includes personal and bilingual stories, tales for personal transformation, and more recently exploring rhythm in creative ways. Dee is also a coach/trainer and is grateful to connect with people...2024-10-0343 min
The Heart of StorytellingAnna Jarrett and story inner workAnna Jarrett is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, inspirational speaker,published author, recording artist, story consultant, teacher, trainer, writer andoutdoor guide, living on the south coast NSW, on Yuin country. With 35 years ofexperience in creative arts, performance, media production and education, Anna hasbeen a featured teller at storytelling events in USA, Singapore, New Zealand andaround Australia. Most recently Anna has focussed her projects close to home,developing a body of writing, community programs and photography work around thetheme of ‘Wild’, and exploring the essence of magic in natural landscapes andstoryscapes.As a Story Consultant, Anna designs and delivers custom programs for comm...2024-09-1958 min
The Heart of StorytellingJackie Kerin and crafting original storiesJackie was born in Melbourne and set up home here in Newport almost 30 years ago after living in nearly every State and Territory in Australia, She’s been an actress and worked in theatre, film and television. A desire to choose which stories to tell led her to oral storytelling and later - to writing. To date, she’s written five non-fiction picture books for children. Jackie is passionate about the value of collaboration and building community through story sharing. She was president of Storytelling Australia Victoria for 4 years, currently enjoys a shared role (with Em Chandler and Adrian Newington) coor...2024-09-0551 min
The Heart of StorytellingRachel Hedman and building communitiesRachel Hedman competed in storytelling as a sophomore high schooler in 1994. Everything went wrong with her first telling, and she considered quitting. By senior year, she received 5th in State (Wisconsin) for Storytelling. Rachel launched the BYU Storytelling Club as a freshman; it earned the Service Award. She became the first recipient of the J.J. Reneaux Mentorship grant from the National Storytelling Network, training with Don Doyle. For 15 years, Rachel mentored California high school tellers and received the Arne Nixon Storytelling Award from them. She has been Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance Co-Chair, National Youth Storytelling Showcase Board Member...2024-08-2253 min
The Heart of StorytellingTim Sheppard and a profound traditionFrom Tim: Long, long ago I was an acrobat in the New Circus revolution. Surprisingly that took me deeply into how to connect with people using narrative. That’s how I realised that story is at the heart of everything, and having the courage and technique to lead people through stories is deeply humanising.So I ran away from the circus to become a storyteller and later a coach. I founded and trained Wordweavers, blending traditional storytelling with improvised physical theatre. And for a decade I ran the first storytelling club in my region of the UK, drawing people into th...2024-08-0855 min
Diffusione Fiaba - Radio StorytellingDiffusione Fiaba #65 - "South of the Sun: storytellers and fairytales in Australia"Podcast in English: "South of the Sun: storytellers and fairytales in Australia", broacast by Diffusione Fiaba on Radio Cavolo, 14/06/24; Production: Elena Asciutti, radio storytellerIn this episode of Diffusione Fiaba, Elena Asciutti met and interviewed two storytellers in Australia: Kiran Shah and Alyssa Curtayne. Together, they talked about their different journeys into storytelling, how storytelling looks like in Australia and the wisdom that storytelling can still whisper into our ears.Kiran, Alyssa and Elena met in 2023 at the storytelling mentorship programme organised by the Federation of Asian Storytellers (FEAST) and sin...2024-06-221h 26
The Heart of StorytellingJan Blake and being wonderfully humanJan Blake is a storyteller, consultant, mentor & plenary speaker who has been performing world-wide since 1986. Born in Manchester, UK to Jamaican parents, Jan specialises in folktales and myths from the Caribbean, West Africa, North Africa, and the Arab regions.With a mesmerising presence and a gift for bringing traditional tales to life, Jan has enthralled audiences across the globe. Drawing from her extensive repertoire of folktales, myths, and legends, Jan's performances transport listeners to distant lands and ancient times, leaving them spellbound by the power of her storytelling and the medicine contained within these stories..In 2021 she launched her own...2024-06-2041 min
The Heart of StorytellingAlyssa and the end of the storytelling courseTo find out more about me, you can go to www.alyssacurtayne.comFB/Instagram/TikTok/YouTube @alyssacurtaynestories2024-06-1348 min
The Heart of StorytellingCsenge and diving deep into researchCsenge Virág Zalka is a professional storyteller and author from Hungary. She collects, researches, and performs traditional stories in three languages. Csenge holds a master's degree in Storytelling and a PhD in culture studies, and has published various books both in English and Hungarian. She especially enjoys telling long traditional tales and epics.Csenge currently lives in Budapest and works as the storytelling program coordinator of the Világszép Foundation for Children in State Care. You can follow her work on her blog (http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com) or Mastodon (@TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social)2024-06-0539 min
The Heart of StorytellingBeverley Bryant and stories in landscapeBeverley has been involved in communication all of her working life. She started her career working for Jackie magazine before moving into marketing then lecturing and teaching. Beverley counts herself fortunate to have been encouraged in her storytelling by some of Scotland’s master Storytellers and tradition bearers. She is very proud to have been called a storytelling activist and feels strongly that this oral tradition provides not only superlative entertainment but both an emotional and cultural literacy. Beverley has been a member of the Scottish Storytelling Directory of Professional Storytellers for almost two decades. She is currently Chair of the...2024-05-2944 min
The Heart of StorytellingPriscilla Howe and Story WonderPriscilla Howe, a full-time storyteller since 1993, travels the world (15 countries and counting) with a headful of stories for all ages. She’s primarily known as a performer for children but also has a full repertoire of personal stories, folktales and literary stories for grownups. Her book, Clever, kind, tricky and sly: A Bulgarian folktale sampler is a result of five months on a Fulbright scholarship in Bulgaria, collecting stories. Priscilla lives in Lawrence, Kansas (USA) with her ginger cat, Pippin. Priscilla is also looking for the best restaurant pie on earth.Her website is here2024-05-2244 min
The Heart of StorytellingRebecca and holding space for storyRebecca Lemaire is a versatile Belgian-British storyteller based in the south of Spain. She tells stories and teaches wherever the wind takes her across Europe, Asia and Africa, at festivals, in a prison, in a Tibetan monastery and online with Palestinian refugees. Her repertoire includes mystical and healing stories, humorous tales from her Belgian and British roots, magical stories from the times of Al-Ándalus and stories from India and Arabia where she lived for several years. She often uses sounds (flute, kalimba, voice, and drum) to support the stories she tells.She also leads groups in an exploration of de...2024-05-2154 min
The Heart of StorytellingKerima Mohideen and story activismKerima is an activist storyteller and educator with roots in both South London and South Asia. She trained at the School of Storytelling at Emerson College in Sussex where she created her first hour long storytelling performance “If the Trees could Speak” about the rights of Indigenous people fighting to protect their forests in India. She has performed this at Amnesty International, the School of Oriental Studies, Oxford Storytelling Festival, Beyond the Border Festival and A Bit Crack Storytelling Club in Newcastle. Her second hour long storytelling performance “Across Thirteen Rivers and Seven Oceans” is also inspired by the people resistin...2024-05-1637 min
The Heart of StorytellingShane Ibbs and engaging audiencesShane is a trained Oral Storyteller from the UK, with International and National experience in Canada, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Holland, Sweden, Ireland and all over the UK. A frequent storyteller at numerous UK festivals and schools, having also curated and run storytelling at several UK festivals. Shane has been a ‘Resident Storyteller’ for over 7 years concurrently, in different children’s outdoor learning settings and continues to be. Shane has also been a ‘Resident Storyteller’ for several Arts Festivals in East Anglia. For 2024 he is ‘Storyteller in Residence’, for Haverhill Arts Centre, in Suffolk. Later this year, Shane has been invited back to a well...2024-05-0955 minThe Heart of StorytellingRebecca and holding space for storyRebecca Lemaire is a versatile Belgian-British storyteller based in the south of Spain. She tells stories and teaches wherever the wind takes her across Europe, Asia and Africa, at festivals, in a prison, in a Tibetan monastery and online with Palestinian refugees. Her repertoire includes mystical and healing stories, humorous tales from her Belgian and British roots, magical stories from the times of Al-Ándalus and stories from India and Arabia where she lived for several years. She often uses sounds (flute, kalimba, voice, and drum) to support the stories she tells.She also leads groups in an exploration of de...2024-05-0154 min
The Heart of StorytellingCorinne Harragin and adapting to changeCorinne is a storyteller, performance maker and teacher with mixed Irish / English ancestry.Beginning with folktale, myth or legend and emerging in the complex world of today, Corinne creates performances that recentre marginalised voices and silenced histories. From festival tents to lecture halls, board rooms to community centres, Corinne's performances are collaborative experiences between the story, the teller, and the audience; she believes the most important part of a story is who’s listening.You can learn more about her work at her website. To view an extract from her Tamara story, find it on the home page.You can al...2024-04-2541 min
The Heart of StorytellingJenix and intuitive storytellingJenny Lynne Sessions aka Jen-ix. Is a truly unique open hearted powerful, multi-dimensional, magical being . ….. A creative catalyst for change and transformation a compassionate cage rattler, shamanic healer, transpersonal therapist, seer, coach, poet, author and speaker, storyteller, songwriter, radio presenter,channel for higher guidance and healing sound frequencies. Honouring the interconnectedness of all life, Jen-ix uses the profound healing power of nature and the glorious gift of humour. She uses drum, voice and sacred song to harmonise discordant energy. This sonic process activates and liberates healing within the land, a person or an animal's energy field. It opens multi-dimensional doorways th...2024-04-1832 min
The Heart of StorytellingLisbeth and everyday storiesIn this episode, I interview Lisbeth who is a classmate from Emerson College, we are studying oral storytelling.2024-04-1125 min
The Heart of StorytellingElena Medusa and Greek GoddessesElena Medusa was born in Thessaloniki Greece and had a career in cinema for fifteen years. She then started a second career as a voice facilitator. Six years ago she met the Odyssey again after not working with it since her school years. Odyssey and Elena started their storytelling adventure together. She lives in Athens and travels frequently to the islands and to ancient temples where she recites The Odyssey and performs storytelling of Medusa, Medea, Demeter and Persephone, and other myths.Find out more about her work via:Email: amashia2@yahoo.gr Facebook page: Reciting Odyssey on ancient trails...2024-04-0334 min
The Heart of StorytellingAlyssa and the deep learning beginsIn this brief episode, I talk about myself, which in itself is a personal challenge, as I'm more than happy to let others take the limelight. But as I explain in the episode, there is a lot of deep unravelling happening for me in this course.2024-03-2714 min
The Heart of StorytellingJenni Woodruffe and deep listeningI spoke with retired storyteller Jenni Woodruffe and we spent two hours chatting about her experience and life. Unfortunately, I had to cut a lot of the interview, but the original will be retained.2024-03-2142 min
The Heart of StorytellingMichael Patterson and story magicMichael’s has an interesting background. Ask him about his time living in Japan or Bangladesh; his time as a university lecturer; as a disability advocate; his time in the military; vipassana meditation in India; his clowning course in San Francisco; bushwalks in Tasmania; his one and only caving expedition; his Commerce degree; his MBA; trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas; his storytelling; hot yoga in short shorts; riding a motorbike across the Nullarbor; keeping bees; living with a mother with mental illness; volunteer work with refugees; ESL teaching; performing as a magician, working with children.Those smile lines are...2024-03-1451 min
The Heart of StorytellingAnamika Bhati and telling historyAnamika Bhati is a Trinity Guildhall qualified speech and drama trainer who works with stories embracing different styles to ensure more engaging and holistic learning. She is an International storyteller, author, curator and podcast producer. She is a passionate trainer who works closely with children in schools, libraries, and festivals. Anamika’s stories involve cultural diversity and inclusion to develop lateral thinking and wider perspectives in young students. Anamika spent her childhood in Kenya and is now based in Singapore and has worked with audiences in Singapore, India, Kenya, Hawaii, Scotland, and South Africa. She is a member of the Storytelling As...2024-03-0742 min
The Heart of StorytellingEm Chandler and Delightful HonestyEm Chandler (she/they) is a proud queer/trans storyteller, magician, and theatre-maker, based in Ballaarat and Naarm. With over 16 years of experience working with kids and their adults, Em adores connecting with others through kindness and wonder. Em loves to bring her unique repertoire of spells, stories and songs to every situation - whether intimate community events or major festivals. Passionate about social justice, fairy tales, and drinking tea, a stranger once told Em, “no offence, but you look like an elf”. The Sydney Morning Herald on the other hand calls Em "pure enchantment".You can find more about Em a...2024-02-2948 min
The Heart of StorytellingGeetu Valecha and working with young childrenGeetu Valecha has been a storyteller/ educator for nearly a decade. She feels that stories are magical and therapeutic and have to be shared. Her favourite audience is the little ones who are so into her stories when she narrates them dramatically and eagerly wait for more. She helps children learn their early literacy skills, empathy, creative thinking, imagination, and more through her story sessions. She holds multiple programs from age 2 - 10yrs. You can find her on InstagramThe book Geetu referred to in the interview was Clip Clop by Nicola Smee. You can find it on her website here.2024-02-2338 min
The Heart of StorytellingElena Asciutti and fairy tale nourishmentElena Asciutti is of Italian origins. Since 2003, she has worked in international cooperation and public affairs, within civil society organisations, the United Nations, the European Commission and academia. For professional reasons, she has travelled and lived in many cities, such as Beijing, Beirut, Brussels, Damascus, Madrid and Rome. Currently, she lives and works in Florence, where she is in charge of external relations and strategic partnerships at the European University Institute (EUI), an academic institution and international organisation, with a mandate in higher education and research in the social sciences and humanities. During her stay in Brussels, in 2014, she began tr...2024-02-1638 min
The Heart of StorytellingBettina and the gift of story2024-02-0954 min
The Heart of StorytellingKiran and building connections in storyKiran had a career in social work and early childhood education before discovering storytelling as a profession in Singapore 25 years ago. She hasn't stopped since and has travelled to many lands (India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Iran) to perform and offer workshops. She was the founder president of the Storytelling Association, Singapore in 2006 and when she moved to Australia in 2008, continued to be an active member of the Australian Storytelling Guild, NSW. She is the current vice president. Kiran loves telling folktales from around the world and especially Asian folktales that call to her. When not storytelling, Kiran enjoys bush...2024-01-0335 min
The Heart of StorytellingAnabelle Castaño and cultural contextI met Anabelle during a mentorship during 2023 with FEAST (Federation of Asian Storytellers). We were both mentees and worked together to put the final show together. You can find our final performance at: https://youtu.be/twI7_YJEcwM?si=O1N9-rYw-z0DBG2G Anabelle Castaño is a bilingual storyteller, archaeologist, and museum educator from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who loves to interweave her three professions building bridges between material and immaterial culture through traditional stories from all continents. You can find out more about her work (in English and Spanish) by visiting her website: www.anacas.com.ar2024-01-0347 min
The Heart of StorytellingNicola-Jane and community buildingNicola-Jane le Breton works as a Community Story Weaver with Befriend Inc. She rediscovered the art of traditional storytelling during a visit to Orkney in 2018. This led her to create a unique nine-month storyteller development course with Silvia Lehmann in Denmark, Western Australia. Her quest for deeper training took her to Emerson College, UK, in 2020, where she immersed herself in a 3-month program, Storytelling Beyond Words. As co-founder of The Possibility Fellowship, Nicola's work is fuelled by her personal experiences of mental health challenges and social isolation. Through her storytelling, she not only connects communities in Perth and beyond but...2024-01-0347 min
The Heart of StorytellingJesse Wind Wanderer and following the dreamJesse's ambition to be a professional storyteller began when he read 'The Alchemist' at the age of 14, and connected with the idea that the world helps those who follow their dreams. He completed courses in story medicine and therapeutic storytelling, worked as an education assistant at Princess Margaret Hospital and a production assistant for Theatre d'Espirit, helping children aged 12 to 16 put on plays. He has done a residency at a School in Jakarta where he helped to enliven their English program through storytelling, had a story filmed by the Education Department for their Distance Education Program and performed at countless...2024-01-0341 min
The Heart of StorytellingTamas Ozwald and food for thoughtIn this podcast, I interview Tamas Ozwald, my first storytelling teacher, about his story in the craft and how he uses food to create atmosphere in his shows. Based in Tasmania, I first met Tamas when I discovered that storytelling was a way of being in the world. He welcomed me and encouraged my first steps into the art of storytelling and is a wise voice of reason as I find my own storyteller voice and values.2024-01-0357 min
The Heart of StorytellingJo Henwood and the Shared DreamingIn our first interview, we chat with experienced international storyteller Jo Henwood about how she got into storytelling and what she thinks is at the heart of storytelling. Jo Is a storyteller based in Sydney, Australia and is the co-founder of the Australian Fairy Tale Society.2023-12-2944 min
The Heart of StorytellingWelcome to the PodcastYou can find more about me at:www.alyssacurtayne.comor via FB/Insta/TikTok or YouTube at alyssacurtaynestories2023-11-1419 min