by Rick Carson interviewed on Tuesday, June 25th.
Rick has been a professional storyteller for almost 25 years. He specializes in mountain and tall tales, ghost and humorous stories for all ages. Rick is experienced in telling at schools, libraries, organizational meetings and festivals and in giving workshops and residencies. He’s a member of the National Storytelling Network, the International Order of EARS, the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling and a charter member of Miami Valley Storytellers.

It has been my experience that the scary story is one of the most popular genres. Children begin liking scary stories from about the age of 8 or 10, although the exact age varies with each individual child. Some children never like them. Scary stories seem to hold a fascination for adults as well as children. This is true for a variety of Continue Reading »

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by Bill Mckell interviewed at 7 PM EST, May 30th, 2007.

Creating the Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival in Chillicothe has been an interesting journey. I guess it began when my wife and I started attending the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN when our daughters were quite young. When they became old enough to enjoy attending storytelling festivals, we were reluctant to invite them into the “get away” weekend we enjoyed in eastern Tennessee each year. So we searched for an alternate festival to which we could take them. We found the Cave Run Storytelling Festival near Morehead, KY and began taking them there. After attending a couple of years, my wife and I wondered if we could do something similar in our hometown of Chillicothe. The art and tradition of storytelling seemed a natural complement to the Continue Reading »

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by Kevin Cordi interviewed on Tuesday at 7 PM EST, June 12, 2007.

Nationally known Professional Storyteller and Story Teacher Kevin Cordi invites you to join with him and Eric as we discuss, challenge, and encourage discussion concerning how we can provide a voice for children with storytelling and proven storytelling practices. Kevin is the co-author, with Judy Sima, of Raising Voices: Youth Storytelling Groups and Troupes and according to the National Storytelling Network, “the first full time high school storytelling teacher in the country.” He has a Masters Degree in “Using Storytelling as a Primary Means of Educating Students” and is currently a PH.D Candidate in “Dramatic Inquiry and Narrative Storytelling” at The Ohio State University. He also has led a successful award-winning youth storytelling troupe called Voices of Illusion for 11 years and is the founder of both Voices across America Youth Storytelling Project and the Special Interest Group now called Y.E.S. (Youth, Educators, and Storytellers.)

What is most important is that when he was a teenager he found his voice with storytelling. For awhile he was alone in his pursuit to be Continue Reading »

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By Kevin Cordi

As you continue to work with students they will to come to you to help them with their stories At this point you take on the role of the student’s “coach.” However, unlike a football or volleyball coach where he or she is concerned about the team, the storytelling coach gears their session based not on a group’s need, but the teller. The term coach can also in some cases illicit bad memories of someone who berated another for their inability or inexperience. This is not the role of the Storytelling Coach. A Storytelling Coach assists the teller in finding Continue Reading »

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Kids Involvement in Tellabration
By Kevin D. Cordi

For Peggy O’Sullivan. As a producer for over nine Tellabrations I want to share with you what has lately spiced up our Tellabrations. It is the sound of little voices with larger ones, in others words, I have had the privilege of helping direct a completely student organized Tellabration.

For the last three years we have made our Tellabration thematic. Our theme last year was “From the Trails to the Tales, The Gold is still in California.” Over 200 student performers and five adult professional storytellers share in the celebration of the stories of California. We had a four-year-old open the Continue Reading »

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Post written by Zayanne Thompson, Ellyce Cavanough and Kate Fox. These camp directors were interviewed on Tuesday June 5th, 2007 Missed the call? Don’t worry - you can listen right now by clicking the play button.

How have you used storytelling in camp settings?
Zay Thompson Answers - Stories are a natural for camps. Camps offers an opportunity to create a meaningful and memorable connection to the outdoor environment. Educational research suggests that this connection to the outdoors creates a highly charged environment that facilitates learning. This emotional value of the camp experience opens the gateway for Continue Reading »

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Post written by Stephen Hollen interviewed on Tuesday May 29nd at 7 PM Missed the call? Don’t worry - you can listen right now by clicking the play button.

Improvisational storytelling is a teaching tool that is a cross between storytelling that I have been doing for years and improv techniques I learned in my college days. Instead of aiming at oral tradition, it goes into the creative writing classroom to put “meat” on the three “Ps” - Person, Place and Problem plus one “P” of my own - Props.

By using these 4 “Ps” I help children in 3rd-5th grade unlock their creativity and develop the basics of Continue Reading »

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