ABOUT THE TELLERS:

DENISE MCCORMACK

Denise McCormack has been telling professionally for more than a decade and is deeply committed to sharing her stories and the benefits of storytelling in a broad spectrum of applications — from education and community to business, health, and well-being.

She is president of the Patchwork Storytelling Guild and an active member of several local, regional, and national organizations wherein storytelling plays an integral role.

MICHELE BELLUOMINI

Michele Belluomini has been telling stories to children and adults for the last 15 years. She has performed in schools, libraries, and museums, as well as universities in the Philadelphia area. Michele presented on the “fringe” stage at the 2006 National Storytelling Conference in Pittsburgh and at the 2012 National Storytelling Conference in Cincinnati. She has also performed in a host of Patchwork Tellebrations, the New Jersey Storytelling festival, and Lehigh Valley’s Story Fusion.

INGRID BOHN

Ingrid entertains people in story and song and has been active in theater productions for over 30 years. She is an Interactive Theater and Storytelling artist who shares traditional folktales, fairy tales, and literary stories from all over the world to bring multifaceted characters and situations to life. Ingrid encourages role playing and audience participation and is a proud member of the Lehigh Valley and Patchwork Storytelling Guilds.

VERNYCE DANNELLS

Vernyce Dannells is a performance teller, poet, and singer. During her years in Hawaii, she was the one who opened Honolulu’s famed Talk Story Festival. She’s delighted that her move to Philadelphia has meant participation in Patchwork: A Storytelling Guild. You may have encountered her during Chestnut Hill’s Ghost Walk – she’s the one who makes the babies cry and the adults jump!

JUDY ENGLAND-MCCARTHY

Judy England-McCarthy has been creating & telling stories all of her life. She is a member of Patchwork, other storytelling guilds, and the National Storytelling Network, and has performed at libraries, schools, and festivals throughout the Tri-State region. With a strong theatrical background, her stories are filled with elements of humor and wisdom.

ONI LASANA

Storyteller and teaching artist Oni Lasana offers unique and unforgettable experiences to audiences of all ages everywhere. She has presented programs for theaters, museums, schools, universities, libraries, historical organizations, senior centers, family reunions, festivals, and corporate and community events.

WENDY MAGES

Wendy Mages, an Associate Professor at Mercy College, is a storyteller, scholar, and educator. Wendy tells stories at storytelling events in the US and abroad. She has told stories for organizations such as The Moth, The Mouth Off, Speak Up, Stories from the Beat Lounge, Story Barn, Tell Me Another, This Much Is True, and the New Jersey Storytelling Festival.

KAREN MAURER

Karen Maurer has engaged audiences for more than two decades, and her specialties and services include professional storyteller, workshop developer and leader, program coordinator, and book reviewer. Her experience as a retired library youth services coordinator, writer, and blogger of children’s literature have honed her salient finesse as a storyteller. Karen also writes and performs songs for Chiles’ Play, a children’s musical duo, with her brother Dan.

DENNIS STRAIN

Dennis Strain has been telling stories for over twenty years. His storytelling journey started in Harrisburg where he told with two storytelling groups: Tapestry of Tales and Susquehanna Tellers. Retirement brought him to Philadelphia in 2005. He joined Patchwork: A Storytelling Guild that year, and told frequently at Tellebration in Philadelphia and at the NJ Storytelling Festival. He currently resides in Elizabethtown and teaches a four session course entitled Storytelling For Beginners. Dennis tells traditional tales, with an emphasis on Irish folklore.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZER

Patchwork is a 501c3 non-profit organization. It is dedicated to promoting storytelling as a vibrant, contemporary art form, as well as a folk tradition, a way of celebrating life, and a tool for personal and social transformation.

For more information, visit: patchworkstorytelling.org or email: info@patchworkstorytelling.org