The annual Florida Storytelling Festival gives our in-state tellers a chance to share and shine.
As we gather once again at the Lakeside Inn in Mt. Dora for storytelling (Jan, 26 to 29), tellers from throughout the state will take the stages as tellers or emcees.
Two Florida featured tellers in concert in the main tent this year are Robin Schulte and Michell O’Rear. Both are from the Central Florida area.
Combining music, song and stories, Robin is a former high school English teacher who discovered the power of stories to educate, entertain and enlighten. Now she is a full-time storyteller.
Her stories are a mix of personal stories, folktales, and literary adaptations. She is a winner of the National Storytelling Festival Story Slam in Jonesborough, Tenn., and a past-president of the Florida Storytelling Association.
Mitchell O’Rear has been a professional teller since 1987. He is the founder of the annual Ghosts in the Gardens Halloween event in Orlando, which he has directed for the past 30 years. He is emcee of our Ghost Stories swap on Thursday night.
He is also Executive Director of Project Imagination, a non-profit organization that uses storytelling to improve literacy in the public school system. Recently recognized by United Arts of Central Florida as Art Educator of the Year, he also is a former president of the Florida Storytelling Association.
Our Fringe tellers this year are Mark Muncy, Linda Schuyler Ford and Carol Kramer. They will be presenting extended 45-minute programs on Friday night. Mark, from Tampa, will be in the Grandview Room of the Lakeside. He is an author of paranormal history, horror, and science fiction who has spent more than three decades collecting ghostly tales and reports of legendary beasts. His fourth book, “Eerie Appalachia,” was released in summer of 2022. This follows up his best-selling “Eerie Florida,” “Freaky Florida,” and “Creepy Florida.”
Linda Schuyler Ford, from Tallahassee, will be in the Alexander Room. She grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley, roaming the hills that inspired Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Her family’s British, Dutch, and German heritage, rich in folktales and magic, shaped her childhood and set her on an early path to storytelling. Her topic is “Old.” When we are old? And what does “old” mean? A folktale, a short story, and personal narrative explore truths about aging, ageism, and some hidden gifts.
Carol Kramer, from St, Augustine, will be in the Donnelly Room (located above the Gift Shop). Her topic is “Messages from the Heart” which include stories drawn from real-life experiences with elements that amaze and surprise, often revealing moments of magic that evoke responses from the heart.
Our Showcase tellers selected this year include Janel Behm, Andy Russell, Natalie Jones, Pat Nease, Katie Green, and Jesse-Bradley Amore.
Janel, from Nokomis, is an award-winning storyteller who has told at numerous festivals throughout the country. She tells amusing personal stories as well as heartwarming stories. She has been a teller at our pervious festivals.
Andy Russell, from Wildwood, tells stories of history and hard times, simple pleasures, and heartfelt emotions. Andy grew up in western North Carolina. His stories sparkle from time spent with his grandparents, big Southern breakfasts, fishing for catfish with a cane pole and making music with friends.
Natalie Jones, who lives in Georgia, is a former park ranger, teacher, and librarian. She spent many years educating and entertaining school-age children with her stories. But now she entertains adults as well and finished in the top three of the 2022 Liars’ Contest at the Stone Soup Festival in South Carolina, and took the Big Fibbers crown in a Rome, Ga., competition.
Pat Nease, from Panama City, is known for her quick wit, high energy, and wry humor, and she is a four-time Florida Champion Liar. An educator with 35 years’ experience, both as a classroom teacher and a library-media specialist, she is a past-resident of the Florida Storytelling Association. She also will emcee the featured tellers concert on Saturday.
Katie Green, from Dunedin, was one of the founding members of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES) and, although she has relocated to Florida, she maintains her involvement with North Eastern Storytellers (NEST). Her stories have delighted audiences from coast to coast for thirty years. Known for her skill in sharing the heart of a story with the heart of the listener, Katie brings characters to life with her vision, voice, and movement.
Jesse Bradley-Amore says he is a recovering novelist. His fiction has appeared in Best Small Fictions 2019. His comics have appeared in The Gutter and Identity Theory. He was on RISK! once. He cartoons on Instagram @questionabledecisioncomic
On Friday and Saturday mornings of the Festival, tellers from throughout the state share stories on the Lakeside Inn’s front porch. The Front Porch (from 10 am to 1 pm) showcases FSA tellers to the public. This event is free.
These tellers include Janel Behm, Mary Lou Williams, Pete Abdalla, Linda Schuyler Ford, Nancy Case and Carrie Sue Ayar on Friday.
And Debra Weller, Cheryl Floyd, Maureen Belote, Ross Tarr, Sue O’Halloran and Louise O’Leary will tell on Saturday.
Bobby Wesley and Danielle Ziss, both hosts of The Orlando Story Club, will be emcees of story swaps. Also pulling emcee duty are Florida tellers Kaye Byrnes, Sue O’Halloran, Walt Belcher, Debra Weller, and Nancy Case.
In addition to our Florida talent, we have three national visiting tellers: Jessica Robinson, Andy Hedges and Alton Chung (see previous blog (Blog – Florida Storytelling Association (flstory.com) and Featured Tellers – Florida Storytelling Association (flstory.com)
For more information on the festival check the Florida Storytelling Association website: Florida Storytelling Association – Supporting the Art and Craft of Oral Storytelling (flstory.com)
Interesting. I am a native of Florida and I have been a story teller most of my life. But I suffered a stroke a few years ago that left me somewhat disabled in this regard. I just want to hang on and see what develops with this connection.
Robert,
Though my issues aren’t stroke-related, they have put the brakes on doing my favorite thing, oral tradition storytelling. It’s very difficult to feel compromised in this way, but I’ve learned the stories are very much with me, though they now provide a different kind of healing and it’s for me.
Write back if you want, since I’d love to hear what has happened to you and how you are dealing with it.
Saundra Kelley, Storyteller
Are there other festivals nearby over the year?
There are some other festivals such as one at Barberville Pioneer Settlement held in April and November. And The Cracker Storytelling Festival held in November in Polk County. There is a Moth monthly competition in Miami, and the various guilds in Florida have monthly events from Ft. Myers to St. Augustine.