Previous Storytellers

Sheila Kay Adams

Bio:

Sheila shares British Isle ballads that have been passed down through seven generations of her family. Sheila has performed stories and songs throughout the United States and England, but always returns to her roots in North Carolina where she resides in the county where she was born.  Bill Harley says, "Sheila Kay Adams is the real article---a storyteller in the true sense—someone whose words, whether story or song, tell us about who she is and where she's from.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2003

Brenda Wong  Aoki

Bio:

Brenda Wong Aoki is a writer, performer and a recording artist from San Francisco, CA.  Of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Scots descent, her stories blend myth, streetlore, and real life.  Her dramatic presentations synthesize Kyogen and Noh (Japanese traditional theater) and modern dance.  Aoki has received numerous awards including being named one of the 500 Most Influential Asian Americans by Avenue Magazine.  She has performed on Broadway in NYC and in theaters in Austria, Japan and Hong Kong. The LA Times, Critics Choice said, “Aoki encompasses the comic and tragic with fine quick delicate gestures using everything from her expressive hands and face to her long sweeping black hair-making relevant and magical even the most faraway tales.”

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009

Harriet Arrington

Bio:
Harriet Arrington is a dynamic storyteller who involves the audience in her tales. She tells multi-cultural tales with an emphasis on African tales or teaching fables. African folktales are powerful tools used by parents to teach children life lessons. Harriet is the author of a book, "The Heart", an east African folk tale.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2000

Judith Black

Bio:
Awards, citations, publications and recognition for a career in its third decade do not adequately convey the virtuosity of this storyteller. The Boston Globe describes her as “spellbinding, heartwarming, funny and colorful.” “Black has culled the minefields of childhood and elevated them through her storytelling to a level of universal experience that is not only painful and poignant, but gut-wrenchingly hilarious.” She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has performed to standing ovations around the country and six times at the National Storytelling Festival.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2005

Len Cabral

Bio:
Len Cabral gathers his stories from traditional tales and his own experiences, weaving them into a captivating performance that wins the hearts of all who hear him. Len has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, President Clinton's Inauguration, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D C and numerous festivals throughout the U.S.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002 ,  2000

Regi Carpenter

Bio:

Regi is a fourth generation “river rat” who grew up in the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River in Northern New York.  Her stories, folktales, music and myths are full of the people who inhabited the shores of that great river.  Carpenter, a late reader, began making up songs and stories as a child and has never stopped.  With a “voice that dances”, Regi has the astonishing ability to whisk you away to the place where dreams are born. She is the recipient of numerous storytelling awards.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010

Charlie Chin

Bio:
Charlie is an accomplished musician on several instruments, published author, playwright, actor and storyteller whose work is recognized and appreciated across many cultures. Charlie Chin's storytelling venues have included the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004

Willy Claflin

Bio:
Has a truck ever driven into your living room? Willy can tell that true tale and others as he draws on his vast life experiences for his stories. His wit and wisdom enthralls audiences through his puppet, Maynard Moose and other characters. Those adults who fist look askance at puppets are quickly drawn into the performance because of the themes and story lines that emerge.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004

Peter Cook

Bio:

Peter Cook is an internationally reputed deaf performing artist whose work incorporates American Sign Language, pantomime, storytelling, acting and movement. Audiences will likely find the stories so captivating that Peter's dynamic, humorous and often poignant facial expressions hardly need the accompanying verbal interpretation.  Peter has performed at the White House, appeared on PBS and at numerous festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2005

Donald Davis

Bio:

Donald Davis returns to the Cave Run Storytelling Festival to the delight of listeners young and old.  This North Carolina native crafts  stories of family and friends to appeal to listeners on a very personal level.  Born into a family of traditional storytellers.  Donald says, “ I didn’t learn stories, I absorbed them.”  The elements of honesty and simplicity in his stories enthrall us, and endear us to Davis, both as a teller and ahumanitarian.  We may laugh – or cry-- or both, but the result is acceptance of his stories as our own.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009 ,  2007 ,  2005 ,  2003 ,  2003 ,  2001 ,  1999

Listen to Sample Audio

Carmen Deedy

Bio:
Carmen Deedy emigrated from her homeland to Decatur, Georgia during the Cuban Revolution. Starting over and rebuilding lives was her family's legacy and her stories often reflect themes of separation, deprivation and persecution. The richness of the Latin American culture merged with the Southern culture of her Georgian childhood produced in Carmen a razor-sharp wit.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2006 ,  2003

Gay Ducey

Bio:
A descendant of generations of Southern women who treasured spunk, independence, and a sassy mouth, Ms. Ducey enjoys telling stories from the Southern Appalachians as well as tales from a wide range of cultures and traditions. Co-founder of the Bay Area Storytelling Festival and commissioned artist in 1992 at the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History, Ducey also performs original historical works. One tale, an insight into the women of the labor movement of the Progressive Era received great acclaim. In addition to her outstanding storytelling performances across the country, Ducey is currently a children’s librarian at the Oakland Public Library and teaches storytelling at the University of California, Berkeley.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009 ,  2006

Temujin Ekunfeo

Bio:

Temujin Ekunfeo has fond memories of sitting on his father’s lap listening to stories about how life was years ago.  He started telling stories at schools and cultural events when he was in high school.  He tells stories in the ancient tradition of the “itinerate African Bard”, hailing crowds with his talking drum.  His unforgettable stories range from traditional Yoruba to comedian Buddy Hackett. He is a storyteller, musician, instrument maker and African folklorist.  He has been described as having “a voice that booms, squeaks, snorts and whoops”.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009

Doug Elliott

Bio:
Doug's deep interests in plants, animals and people have allowed him to make connections with the natural world. He flavors his stories with regional dialects and lively harmonica rifts. He has shared his stories from Canada to the Caribbean. His dad used to say, "That boy knows what's under every rock between here and town."

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004 ,  2000

Elizabeth Ellis

Bio:

Ellis, from Dallas, Texas, cradles children and adults alike in the heart of her spellbinding stories.  Her southern voice and extensive repertoire hold listeners’ rapt attention as she entertains audiences from coast to coast. Best known for her personal stories, Ellis tells Appalachian and Texas tales and stories of heroic American women. During her 25 years as a storyteller, she has appeared nationally and internationally at numerous festivals including the National Storytelling Festival.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010 ,  2007 ,  2001

Diane Ferlatte

Bio:
Dianne Ferlatte says that one of her most vivid childhood memories is of listening to her relatives tell stories on her grandparent's porch in New Orleans. She views storytelling as a traditional art form and as a way to pass on history, culture and values. She loves to share Southern and African-American tales.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2001

Lyn Ford

Bio:

Lyn Ford carries on a family tradition by sharing stories from her multicultural heritage and continues to honor her father through presentations she call "Home-Fried Tales”  Lyn is eager to tell you tales about rabbits, “haints and spooks” and stories about her “family, foes and friends”  Lyn was the first Ohio storyteller to be nominated as an individual artist for a Governor's Award for the Arts.  Lyn says, I think I"m doing what my grandfolks would have wanted me to do, I’m passing on the gift of stories.”

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2004

Jackson Gillman

Bio:
Jackson Gillman magically transforms himself into a wide array of eccentric characters through his many talents as a mime, actor, songsmith and storyteller. Shining through Jackson's wit and extraordinary versatility is his bemused warm-hearted honesty. Jackson says, "My goal is to interact with the audience, to make sure there is no fourth wall between them and myself."

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 1999

Anne Hall

Bio:
Anne Hall is a librarian who really gets children excited about reading through her use of storytelling. She performs for schools, churches and community groups. She encourages her audience to become lost in her stories by experiencing the humor, fear, or sadness that she creates in her telling. She loves to tell folk tales and scary stories.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2000

Mary Hamilton

Bio:

Mary Hamilton calls Frankfort, KY home but her performances at the National Storytelling Festival and other venues from Washington to Florida have brought her recognition far beyond the borders of the commonwealth. Hamilton brings us a broad repertoire, including world folktales, myths, legends and ghost stories.  Her poignant, real life stories appeal to all ages.  You will feel special as Mary says her “favorite audience is always the groups in front of me.”

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2007 ,  2005

Bill Harley

Bio:
Bill Harley is “fun personified.” Kids from pre-school to octogenarians who still retain the “kid” in us admire and adore him. As a singer/songwriter/storyteller he has no equal. When he chronicles the lives of kids with humor he touches the funny bone in all of us as we relive our own childhood foibles. Bill is a prolific artist and his work appears in numerous and various forms of media. He is a success in each. His songs and stories are filled with details of daily life with a touch of fantasy but also a healthy reality. You will be engaged, enlightened, and entertained throughout his performance. for more information please visit my website

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009 ,  2005 ,  2005 ,  2002

Listen to Sample Audio

David Holt

Bio:
David Holt plays ten acoustic instruments and has released numerous recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folk tales. Holt is recognized as one of the nation's foremost storytellers. His storytelling recordings have won Grammy and Notable Recording Awards. David Holt is a superb entertainer whose performance will be remembered by all.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2000

Beth Horner

Bio:
Beth's raucous humor is balanced with robust ballads, family stories of the Civil War and childhood farmyard escapades. Beth has a vivacious stage presence and her energetic style is often punctuated with music from the autoharp. Beth's goals as a teller is to entertain and to encourage her listeners to dip into the wealth of their own imaginations.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009 ,  2004

Kala JoJo

Bio:
Kala Jo-Jo is a storyteller, vocalist and instrumentalist. He performs for audiences across the nation with his songs and chants. His drumming and mellow voice draw the listener into magical places. His recording "Don't Go Along With the Get Along” has been featured in two national publications.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2001

Bill Jones

Bio:
Bill Jones tells stories about growing up in a small town in Alabama in the 1950's. He touches themes like "surviving the bully", "the birds and the bees" and "discovering the world is bigger than you thought". He brings memories and characters to life in ways that make you laugh and cry.....and remember your own stories.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2001

Frank Jones

Bio:
Frank Jones has been telling stories ever since his mother asked, "Who fingered all the icing off the cake?" Frank grew up in the oral tradition of the Ozark Mountains and is a fourth generation storyteller. He tells stories with the mind of a historian and soul of a poet--and sometimes with the contagious enthusiasm of a cheerleader and the humor of a born entertainer.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 1999

Rev. Robert Jones

Bio:

A musician, storyteller, radio producer and music educator, Robert Jones has been a performer for over twenty years. At an early age Jones became interested in the blues, and started performing at some of Detroit’s best music venues; he accompanied his singing with guitar, harmonica and storytelling.  Jones has performed throughout the U.S., Canada and Germany.  Jones is the pastor of the Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010

Dan Keding

Bio:

Dan Keding, storyteller of international acclaim, is well known for his telling of traditional world folktales, personal narratives of his Chicago boyhood, ghost stories and captivating  original pieces. As a child he learned the traditional stories that his Croatian grandmother told. A well-respected ballad singer, he accompanies himself on guitar, banjo and spoons. His dynamic storytelling and powerful ballad singing has made him a festival favorite throughout the US, Great Britain and Ireland, endearing him to audiences of all ages.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010

Susan Klein

Bio:
Susan's storytelling and one-woman shows have received accolades around the nation and in Europe. Her repertoire includes folk tales from other cultures, fables, rites of passage, and stories based on collected oral histories. She is sought after as a workshop leader for educators and corporate groups, encouraging the use of stories in the curriculum and in the workplace.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004

Kevin Kling

Bio:

Kevin Kling describes his zodiac sign as “Minnesota with Iowa rising”.  While many of his reference points are specific to the upper Midwest, his childhood stories and topical observations touch upon universal human experiences, with plenty of absurdity and irony in the mix.  As he explains it, “I have a small command of the English language so I try to make each word a hero.”   Kling, a humorist and playwright, is also well known for his storytelling contributions to NPR’s “All Things’ Considered”.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010 ,  2007

Shelly Kneupper

Bio:
Shelly began telling stories at an early age, but she never expected to make a living with her ability to mesmerize audiences. She travels the highways and byways of Texas sharing her love of the ancient crafts of spinning, weaving and storytelling. She weaves yarns, both literally and figuratively. Her stories are entertaining but also present positive messages about human values.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002

Baba Jamal Koram

Bio:

Baba Jamal Koram is a master storyteller, author and educator.  He brings to life the history, language, humor, music and folklore of world cultures through storytelling.  His stories help teach decision-making and conflict resolution.  African values and mores presented in story, song, rhythm and rhyme address universal issues.  Having captivated audiences at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the National Storytelling Festival, he will do the same at the tenth annual Cave Run Storytelling Festival.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2005 ,  2005 ,  2005 ,  2004

Bil Lepp

Bio:

Falsehoods, fibs and flapdoodle are given new status when you hear Bil Lepp tell tales.  Prevarications and "plain old bull” made him a five time “Biggest Liar” winner in West Virginia.  That reputation now precedes him as he entertains audiences from coast to coast.  His stage presence and timing make his performance a rollicking, outrageous presentation guaranteed to leave you with tears of laughter.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010 ,  2008 ,  2006 ,  2003 ,  2001

Syd Lieberman

Bio:

Lieberman is an internationally known storyteller, humorist and lecturer.  His stories range from Jewish tales and

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2007 ,  2005

David Massengill

Bio:
David Massengill is a master songwriter and storyteller. Hailing from Bristol, TN, he made his way to New York City where he has become a shining star in the folk scene. David bases his stories and songs on real events. His affectionate remembrance of rural, Southern upbringing is shared through his delightful stories and songs.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 1999

Jim May

Bio:

Jim is a storyteller who speaks in the natural, matter-of-fact style of the fathers, horse traders, and small-town raconteurs who populated rural McHenry County, Illinois where his family has lived since the 1840's.

For adult audiences, he tells original stories of growing up in the tiny Catholic farming community of Spring Grove. These stories that are at once hilarious and touching range from, "How to Become 'Most Valuable Altar Boy' (MVAB)", to horse trading tales and heart-warming memories of family life.

For children he offers stories from traditional sources. These folk tales, myths, legends and ghost stories from various cultures worldwide have the humor and wisdom of the great tales that have been preserved in every culture and handed down orally from one generation to the next.

Jim May's stories have taken him across the United States and Europe. He has told at schools, corporations, professional groups, and festivals across the land. Chicagoans know him from his appearances on WGN's Roy Leonard Show and from the Studs Terkel radio show on WFMT-FM. He received a 1989 Chicago Emmy award for a WTTW-Channel 11 production of his original story, "A Bell For Shorty."

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2003

Barbara McBride Smith

Bio:
Barbara makes the most of her Texas drawl when she tells Greek Myths or family stories. Her Bible stories allow us to recall the original version as new characterizations keep us laughing. She says part of her goal is "to infuse each story with my own spirit, emotions and energy".

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004 ,  1999

Don McConnell

Bio:
Southern storytelling with a mountain flavor describes Doc McConnell's performances. His tall tales, lies, and mountain yarns appeal to all ages. He is a seasoned performer who often uses the banjo and guitar to enhance his stories. He has been featured on the Today Show, Hee Haw, and A Prairie Home Companion. Doc is a true crowd pleaser wherever he performs.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002

Alice McGill

Bio:
Alice McGill, storyteller, author, keynote speaker, and actress has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. The Wolf Trap Foundation commissioned McGill to travel to St. John Island in order to find and write an original story, Bomba Circle, for its Face of America Series. Also a featured teller for the National Geographic Presents: Stories of North America video, McGill has continued to seek many approaches to the spoken word. She has traveled to tell and collect stories in 41 states, Canada, other islands of the West Indies, and South Africa. Currently, an award winning author of four books—Molly Bannaky; Miles’ Song; In the Hollow Of Your Hand; Here We Go Round, all published by Houghton Mifflin Company, McGill continues to write for children and young adults. Alice McGill has received many awards for her authentic one-woman performance: Sojourner Truth Speaks. She was awarded the First Day of Issue of the Sojourner Truth postage stamp. As a keynote speaker on various subjects McGill has worked for numerous venues including libraries associations, literacy programs, book festivals, corporations, and colleges and universities A native of North Carolina and current resident of Columbia, MD, McGill holds a Master’s Degree in Education and taught school for many years. Using print, film, and radio, she preserves the spirit of American History. In addition to her award-winning books, McGill is the recipient of many other awards—notably, Presidential Citation from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education First Day of Issue Sojourner Truth Commemorative Postage Stamp

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2006

Waddie Mitchell

Bio:
Twenty-five years as a working cowboy on some of the most desolate spreads in Nevada can give a man time to think. Such is the case with Waddie Mitchell. A common sense approach to life and stories set to thyme that have been passed down through generations of working cowboys will entertain and inspire all ages.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002

Bill Mooney

Bio:
Bill Mooney starred 13 years as Paul Martin in the ABC daytime series, "All My Children" and received two Emmy nominations for that role. He has performed on and off Broadway, in movies and on television shows. He has written and starred in numerous one-man shows and has authored several books.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2006 ,  2000 ,  1999

Bobby Norfolk

Bio:
High energy! Lively animation! Bobby Norfolk uses these traits to imbue his stories with comedy and drama while sneaking in principles that teach valuable lessons. Creative and artistic, he promotes character education, cultural diversity and self-esteem.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2004

David Novak

Bio:
David is a gifted storyteller who enhances his stories with a bag of tricks. His voice can become a dozen different characters. He has been telling stories professionally since 1978. He was the Master Storyteller for the Disney Institute in Orlando, FL in 1995-1996. His tales are inventions of his imagination or original adaptations of classic fables or myths.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2009 ,  2002

Laura Lee and Michael OConnell

Bio:
Since 1987, Laura Lee and Michael O'Connell have toured nationally with their theatrical storytelling concerts. Their hilarious characters and musical parodies showcase their tremendous performing talent. They've written and toured with several original plays, often performing with their children.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002 ,  1999

Andy Offutt Irwin

Bio:
A native of Covington, GA, Andy started out in comedy, but added music and storytelling because he had a lot more to say. He tours a lot, but when he's home he gets to be the Artist-In-Residence at Oxford College of Emory University where he directs plays from time to time. He spent five years writing, directing and performing with the comedy improv troupe, SAK Theatre at Walt Disney World, but he"s had lots of more interesting life experience-type jobs including - but not limited to - actor; camp counselor; political satirist; youth director; janitor; deputy voter registrar; theatre orchestra conductor; garbage man; teacher; carpenter's flunky; and bullfrog tadpole catcher (Honest). Andy's Website

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2006

Michael Parent

Bio:
Michael Parent, storyteller, author, musician and juggler, draws upon his Franco-American heritage to perform a unique blend of stories and songs in both French and English. Michael's Website

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2006

Connie Regan-Blake

Bio:
Connie Regan-Blake has been telling stories for over 25 years and was on the founding board of the National Storytelling Association. Through her TV and radio appearances on Good Morning America, NPR, CBC and CNN, thousands have fallen in love with her tales of the Appalachian Mountains. She holds audiences in the palm of her hand whether she is unraveling a fable or a spooky ghost tale.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2001

Antonio Rocha

Bio:

A native of Brazil, Antonio has studied under masters Marcel Marceau and Tony Montanaro as he polished his performance skills.  As a mime he has performed around the world and he is familiar to audiences from Singapore to Vancouver as well as at major festivals and other venues throughout the U.S.  The Portland Press Herald said "His face is as flexible as his limbs and the control of his eyes is startling.:  All who have enjoyed his performances reaffirm this declaration.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2008 ,  2005

Gayle Ross

Bio:

Gayle Ross is a descendant of chief John Ross, chief of the Cherokee Nation during the Trail of Tears.  Her grandmother told stories, and it is from this rich Native American heritage that Gayle’s storytelling springs.  Whether she is provoking laughter with a trickster tale or moving her listeners to tears with a haunting myth, Gayle is truly a master of the age-old craft of storytelling.  She is equally comfortable telling her tales in the  kindergarten classroom or a packed house at the Kennedy Center.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2007

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Bio:

Sparky and Rhonda take an audience on an educational and emotional journey that ranges from poignant stories of slavery and war to an amusing rendition of a Brer Rabbit tale or witty commentaries on current events.  This talented duo weave music into their captivating stories.  Their performances include blues, spirituals, work songs and Sparky Rucker’s own compositions.  As nationally acclaimed storytellers and musicians, their performances will glue the listeners to their seats.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2007

Antonio Sacre

Bio:
Born in Boston in 1968 to a Cuban father and Irish-American mother. Antonio Sacre draws from his bicultural background to create funny, touching, universal stories that appeal to all ages. He tells stories about growing up Latino in a white world and white in a Latino world. His stories become myths as he blends cultural and personal experience with movement and drumming.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2003

Bob Shimer

Bio:
Bob Shimer and his puppet friends Drango Dragon, Grandpa and Narda provide a unique blend of storytelling and ventriloquism. His festive spirited performances and walk-arounds are fun for all ages. He is the author of several children's books and plays. Bob and his zany friends are sure to brighten your day.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 1999

Ernie Sites

Bio:

Saddle up and hold on to your horse ‘cause you're going to be enjoying a great experience with Ernie Sites whose voice can calm the orniest of herds. Sites is an honest-to-goodness ranch raised, former rodeo cowboy from Southern Idaho. He is the author of a national publication “Singing the Stories of the West’. His traditional and original western songs, yodeling, cowboy poetry, witty storytelling, and trick roping demonstrations are sure to delight the Cave Storytelling Festival attendees.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2010

Ed Stivender

Bio:
Ed Stivender's stories about religious themes delight audiences because he doesn't just tell stories he works the room. Combining skills as a banjo player and juggler with experience as a Shakespearean actor, mummer and raconteur, Ed has entertained and enthralled audiences around the world.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2003

Karen Vuranch

Bio:

Karen Vuranch is a successful actress and writer; she excels at traditional storytelling and brings history to life through her unique performance style. Her age-old stories of Appalachian and world cultures come alive to her audiences. In 1994, she and her husband gave a storytelling performance at the White House.

Karen Vuranch weaves together a love of history, a passion for stories, and a sense of community. This consummate storyteller entertains and empowers others to find their stories. Besides traditional, Appalachian and spooky tales, she has toured internationally with "Coal Camp Memories," dramatizing life in the Appalachian coalfields. She recreates Pearl Buck; labor organizer Mother Jones; Indian captive Mary Draper Ingles; Civil War soldier/spy Emma Edmonds. She performs WWII play, "Homefront." Karen received the 2000 Performing Artist of the Year for Tamarack, the West Virginia state arts center, and the Spirit of West Virginia Award from the state tourism office.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2003 ,  2000

Donna Washington

Bio:
Donna L. Washington has been sharing stories with audiences of all ages for over fouteen years. Her dynamic vocal expression can physically transport listeners to distant places and times. Ms. Washington presents stories from all over the world and many different cultures. She offers sets for people of all ages. Stories are for everyone. It doesn't matter if you are nine years old or ninety-nine years young! Donna's Website

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2006

Bill Watson

Bio:
Bill Watson has been telling stories for as long as he can remember. He writes many of his eclectic stories that he tells from the heart. He was one of two storytellers at the "Southern Ozpiltality" International wizard of Oz Convention,"  Louisville, KY.  He has been a featured teller at the Corn Island Storytelling Festival and the Northern Kentucky Storytelling Festival.  

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 1999

Tom Weakley

Bio:
Tom Weakley's stories draw on his childhood memories and small town life in Vermont. In his home state, Tom is known as both a humorist and an after dinner speaker. His stories have been heard on National Public Radio. One of his three recordings won a national award from the American Library Association.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2001

Kathryn Windham

Bio:
All ages will be delighted to hear Kathryn Windham, one Alabama's living legends. As a former newspaper reporter, she knows how to use words to allow a story to unfold in just the right way. Kathryn will touch your soul with her gentle, southern charm as she tells stories about her ghosts, her family and herself in her own special unforgettable style.

Cave Run Storytelling Festivals(s) Performed: 2002 ,  2000