2011 Featured Storytellers
Dan Keding, Emcee
Dan Keding, storyteller of international acclaim, is well known for his telling of traditional world folktales, personal narratives of his boyhood in Chicago, ghost stories and dark tales, and superbly crafted original pieces. As a child he learned the traditional stories that his grandmother brought to this country from Croatia. A well-respected ballad singer, he accompanies himself on guitar, banjo and spoons. This combination of dynamic storytelling and powerful ballad singing has made him a festival and concert favorite throughout the US, Great Britain and Ireland, endearing him to audiences of all ages. www.dankeding.com
Jude Narita
Jude Narita is an award-winning actress and a totally captivating performer that touches the deepest places in her audiences. Best known for her one woman plays which celebrate the lives of Asian and Asian-American women, Jude will have you laughing and crying with her brilliant characterizations. Peeling away the layers that entangle the lives of her characters, Jude reveals simple truths that resonate with listeners long after her performance has concluded. Like a jewel catching rays of dappled sunlight each listener will discover something simple and beautiful about themselves and people they have met in the words and movements of this talented performer. www.judenarita.com
"In an astonishing solo performance, Jude Narita, a versatile actress and fearless writer, sheds an authentic, humorous and deeply moving light on the dilemma of the Asian American woman."
– Critic's Choice / L.A. Reader
Regi Carpenter
Through words that flow like a grand river and images that take you to the heights of fancy, award-winning storyteller Regi Carpenter captures your imagination with a whisper, a roar, or a song. With a “voice that dances,” Regi has the astonishing ability to whisk you away to the place where dreams are born. Growing up on the St. Lawrence River in New York significantly impacted young Regi’s life. Life on the river was anything but ordinary. Underwater tea parties in the summer and strolls across the water’s icy dress in the winter give a child a unique perspective on life. Like the St. Lawrence River, there is more to Regi than meets the eye. Underneath churns an incredible force of energy that makes Regi one of the nation’s leading storytellers. Swift and powerful or calm and gentle, Regi’s storytelling is always a surprising adventure. www.soaringstories.com
Diane Ferlatte
When Diane arrives on stage, you can’t help but be carried along with her charismatic style of telling that includes music, sign-language, movement, humor and song. A native of New Orleans, Diane Ferlatte recalls with fondness childhood years of sitting on the porch of her grandparent’s home captivated by the oral stories of family generations past. She now carries on that tradition with tales filled with spirit, journeys and fantasy. Diane will be joined at the festival by her musical accompanist, Erik Pearson. Ferlatte is one of the most sought after tellers in the world today and was awarded the Circle of Excellence from the National Storytelling Association for her storytelling craft. In her performances, the multi-talented Ferlatte sings, signs (American Sign Language), uses percussive instruments, and is frequently accompanied by Erik Pearson on banjo and guitar. With a repertoire of hundreds of stories and songs, she tells folk-tales, fables, legends, historical, contemporary, and personal stories for all ages. www.dianeferlatte.com | video
Billy Jonas
Throw out the rules when Billy Jonas hits the stage! It's a musical conversation… a sonic celebration … a splendiferous gathering of old and young, because at a Billy Jonas show, the ensemble is… everyone.
Billy Jonas is one of those rare performers who can engage and delight both young and adult audiences. Billy's clear tenor voice is well-suited to a plethora of venues, from intimate settings and workshop sessions to large halls and outdoor festivals. For more than two decades, his creative and interactive performances have enchanted and inspired folks from all walks of life — touching hearts, souls, and minds world-wide. www.billyjonas.com | video
Antonio Sacre
Antonio Sacre, born in Boston in 1968 to a Cuban father and an Irish American mother, is an internationally touring writer, storyteller, and solo performance artist based in Los Angeles. Since 1993, Antonio Sacre has been delighting audiences with his touching and humourous bilingual stories, challenging solo theatrical performances, and children's books and tapes. His fun-filled performances appeal to all ages. Often they are the first understandable theater experience for Latino children and they are an exciting introduction to the Spanish language for English speaking audiences. He has taught drama, storytelling, and writing to teachers and students nationwide, and worked as an artist-in-residence with high schools in New York, Chicago, and South Central Los Angeles.
Antonio Sacre is the best kind of storyteller, drawing you into his world with such subtlety that you hardly notice what he's doing--until the story ends and you find yourself longing for just one more anecdote, one more voice. www.antoniosacre.com
Donald Davis
Considered by many to be the father of family stories, Donald Davis from Ocracoke, North Carolina, captures the heart and soul of his audiences through his tender and often hilarious reminiscences of his childhood. Engaging his listeners by evoking memories of their own lives, Davis brings his tales to life through the use of animated gestures and telling facial expressions. This is an anecdote from Dean Zatkowsky, our festival photographer,
One of our festival volunteers took his ten year old son to hear Donald about a year and half ago. To this day, as they’re taking a long car trip or lounging in the backyard hammock, that child will say, out of nowhere and apropos of nothing, “Remember that story about riding a mule down the grand canyon,” or “Remember the guy who had a toe that could make a dog sick?” And the two of them recount Donald’s stories, and then drift off into their own stories, and pass some pleasant time together talking and learning and enjoying one another’s company.
We are pleased to present a man who tells his stories so that you may discover your own stories Appearing for the sixth time at the festival, Donald Davis is an Ojai tradition. www.ddavisstoryteller.com |
