Ready to Learn I love coaching.  I love being coached.  I appreciate hard specific feedback just as much, and sometimes more than, compliments and platitudes about my stories.  Because of these “loves” and “appreciation” in my life, this is what I try to give to others when I am coaching.  I have been asked to […]

When I Was One And Twenty The Things a Storyteller Can Unlock by Chasing a Great Piece of Music I’m one of those guys who came to a storytelling career from a songwriting career. I still bring a lot of my life as a songwriter to my work as a storyteller. And when I was

One day I noticed the majority of the tales I was telling had something to do with food. Some are about a character with a prodigious appetite who devours everything in sight. Others feature an unlikely hero who uses cleverness to keep from being eaten by a bully. Then there are the trickster tales, where

Check your planner!  It’s almost here. In just a few short weeks, the 34th Annual Florida Storytelling Festival will make its mark in the wonderful world of story. Of course, we have all marked our calendars to be there. Lakeside Inn room reservations have hopefully been made, and map directions to Mt. Dora have been

If you have been around the storytelling world for any time at all, you have heard the expression, “Stories connect us all.” The longer you are around this world, you will find more and more proofs of that.  Many times, the connection is through the message or the theme of the stories wherein we hear

Image-Google Images  Thanksgiving is already under our belts (or should that be bulging at our waistlines)?   But as the rest of the holiday season approaches it got me thinking about food, and how it shapes our celebrations, mirrors our many and varied cultures, and is simply an integral part of how we come together at

By: Madeline L Pots I arrived in Jonesborough on Thursday afternoon. I have been to this festival many times, but this year I was an invited teller.  I was scheduled to perform at Exchange Place, a concert that featured six tellers new to the national stage.  It put me on the inside of the festival,

Photo Courtesy Google Image  One of the needs of the human spirit, right up there with shelter and food, is the need to belong to a group. We need to feel connected to others and know that we have common interests and dreams. Many of us have found fulfillment in some areas of our lives

Schools all over the country are back in session, and even though some regions have yet to feel a break in the temperature, our hearts know that fall is arriving soon in all its cool and colorful splendor.  Picture credit, Google Images As a storyteller, the thoughts of upcoming autumnal telling opportunities are perhaps nudging

Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime! We are in the midst of summer and, in spite of a heatwave in many areas, folks are making the best of it – ‘tis the season of lemonade, watermelon, flip flops, family vacations, and air conditioning. Life takes on a different pace. Schools are out, so school storytelling opportunities