ConnTell Directory M-Q
 Mary Jo Maichack
Minstrel Storyteller
58 Longfellow Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Phone: (413) 532-3667
Email: EmJay7@aol.com
Website: www.maryjomaichack.com
This seasoned professional offers fun & engaging family shows. Mary Jo sings, plays guitar and fiddle, tells folktales and invites you to sing-along, dance, help act out a story in funny costumes, operate puppets, and laugh -- hard. Popular -- (3,000 shows since '89). "Books Are Celebrations", "Minstrel's Revels", "Howlarious Halloween", "Greek Myths", and more.
"I am in awe of your energy. You are a great performer. You have good material, a wonderful style, and you bring to your audience-participation stories good crowd control. In addition, you are a dear girl and we loved being around you." - Peg O'Sullivan, Connecticut Storytelling Festival Director
Fee: $395 and up. Block booking discount
 Linda Marchisio
41 Tudor Hill Road
South Windsor, CT 06074
Phone: (860) 289-8711
Email: LjcLsj@cox.net
Linda is an animated performer who uses song, dance, and audience participation. Her stories travel to far-off countries, into your playful imagination, and touch the spirit. Performances and "How to Tell" sessions for all ages. An experienced storyteller, teacher, Librarian; Master's thesis on Movement Assisted Storytelling, 2003 Wilbur Cross Award winner for critical thinking/reading programs. New! PeanutButter Poetry Jam summer and vacation program where participants turn poetry into an expressive "jamming" performance.
Two of her original stories, The Garden Rainbow and The Constitution Jive were featured in Holiday Stories All Year Round.
"Everyone truly enjoyed your remarkable performance" - Chamber of Commerce.
 Marilyn O'Connor Miller
Storyteller/Puppeteer
P. O. Box 178
Canton Center, CT 06020
Phone: (860) 693-4129
Fax: (860) 693-4137
Email: MOCM@aol.com
Website:www.puppetconnection.com
Marilyn O'Connor Miller has a style and presentation all her own. Combining the art of puppetry with the telling of multicultural tales, she works with signature puppets, 'Tiffany' and 'Piccolo', as proxy children, helping to solve their problems, ease their fears and develop their self-esteem. Marilyn also tells a story mimetically as if it happened to her wherein there is a fantasy puppet character, and performs with masks and puppets together as well.
Accredited by CT Commission on Culture & Tourism and a performer for Young Audiences of CT.
"You and Tiffany both made me laugh in such a deep way that I felt loosened up inside and I thank you for this!" - John Nugent Hahn, Sharing the Fire conference.
Fee: $350 and up with reduced rates for Public Libraries and block bookings.
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.jpg) Onawumi Jean Moss
P.O. Box 2606
Amherst, MA 01004
Phone: 413-542-2529
Email: jcmoss@amherst.edu
Website: www.onawumi.com
Onawumi Jean Moss of Amherst, Massachusetts is a soulful storyteller, narrator, educator, keynote speaker and author. Her timeless stories and a cappella songs of Africa include tales of wonder, liberation, praise, trickery, and spirituality. Her stories encourage pride of heritage, appreciation of cultural differences and recognition of kinship.
Since becoming a storyteller in 1991, Onawumi has told wondrous tales to intergenerational audiences from the main stages of national festivals and schools (K through College) and conferences throughout the USA. She first performed on the Swapping Grounds of the National Storytelling Festival in 1992, at Exchange Place in 1995 and on the main stage in 2002. Today she is a lifetime member of the National Storytelling Network (NSN). In 1993 she also gave her first performance on the Swapping Grounds of the The National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS); since then she has made a number of critically acclaimed performances on that organization's main stage. In recognition of the quality and range of her work, she was granted the 2005 Zora Neale Hurston Storytelling Award, the highest award given by the National Association of Black Storytellers. She has long been a lifetime member of NABS. In her own region, she is a member of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES); in 2007 this affliate conferred on her the prestigious Brother Blue/Ruth Hill Storytelling Award.
Onawumi co-authored the children's book, Precious and the Boo Hag, with the amazing Patricia Mc Kissack - winner of the 2006 ALA/ALSC Notable Children's Book Award.
 Mother Goose
c/o Ellie Toy
1-3 Canterbury Court
Middletown, CT 06457
Phone: 860-704-0493
Email: eltoy@sbcglobal.net
Mother Goose and her friendly goose, Tallulah, can arrive at your Kindergarten, Nursery School or Early Learning Center bringing her traveling bag filled with special friends just waiting for a chance to come out and say hello. Everyone gets to join in and recite rhymes, sing songs and hear stories tailored for young listeners.
Ellie Toy is a Children's Librarian and professional storyteller who draws on her broad experience as performer, teacher, mother and grandmother to give young children a lively introduction to the creative language they will use throughout their lives.
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 Motoko
Japanese Storyteller
24 North East Street #4
Amherst, MA 01002
Phone: (413) 253-1664
Email: motoko@folktales.net
Website: www.folktales.net
Motoko specializes in telling folktales from Japan, China, Korea and S.E. Asia, combined with participatory songs and mime movements. (Look for her award-winning CD, The Promise of Chrysanthemums.)
She also offers one-woman theater programs, workshops and residencies about Japanese culture, story-writing and creative drama. Her innovative residency program, A Year in Japan, teaches Grades 2-4 about Japanese festivals and holidays using stories, songs and art.
A native of Japan, Motoko has performed in schools up and down the East coast, and is nationally known by her appearance on MisterRogers' Neighborhood.
Audience: Kindergarten through adult
Fee: Upon request
 Mystic Paper Beasts
Producer: Daniel Potter
Artistic Director: Marya Ursin
8 Hancox Street
Stonington, CT 06378
Phone: (860) 535-3346
Email: mybeasts@aol.com
Website:www.mysticpaperbeasts.org
Daniel Potter and Marya Ursin work together as the Mystic Paper Beasts, creating masks and dances as they journey through new and old myths with a wit and whimsy that delight all ages.
Fee: Upon request
 Barbara Porizky - Word Weaver & Storyteller
27 Affeldt Drive
Groton, CT 06340
Phone: (860) 245-5090
Fax: (860) 445-6175
Email: revbarb@comcast.net
A story writer and storyteller, Barbara shares stories of the heart and of the imagination that touch, tickle and embrace the child in all of us. An ordained minister, she offers tales of this world and other worlds, and she weaves stories that teach more than preach. From California to Connecticut, Barbara has entertained and enthralled audiences of all ages, moving them from cheers to tears.
As one listener observed, "Your stories make me laugh, cry and think."
Fee: Negotiable
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 Diane Postoian
130 Wentworth Avenue
Cranston, RI 02905
Phone (h & w): (401)461-1322
Email: dianepostoian@verizon.net
Website: www.dianepostoian.com
Diane Postoian's three decades as a performing artist and theater arts educator for young audiences, earned her an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 2006. Her wide range of programs include:
The Olga! Revolution - A social commentary/ comedy routine for teens on marketing and self- identity. 'Olga' gets students to laugh at her and themselves as she plows through topics on body image, fashion ads, smoking, bullying, and violence in entertainment.
Big Me, Little Me - A high school motivational speech filled with emotion, quick wit, and respect for young adults. Ms. Postoian's life-long mission to preserve the creative spirit shines throughout her program.
When Artists Mean Business - An energetic program combining theater and public speaking to help students sharpen their presentation skills for any job interview.
Acting Naturally About Reading - A performance enriched classroom workshop preserving the act of reading for pleasure, by helping students connect the emotion of the spoken word to its written text.
The Power of Play - A compilation of classroom observations filled with genuine inspiration and vision for any teacher or parent of young children. The Power of Play can be presented with or without professional development training.
Fee range: $400-$900
 Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti
Historical Character Interpreter and Storyteller
PO Box 380496
East Hartford, CT 06138-0496
Phone: (860)528-0733
Email: woventales6@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.rhetoricofsurvival.com
Rhetoric of Survival is the rich and compelling story of our American foremothers, woven together in the dramatic presentation of 19th century African-American women. It introduces untapped history, different explorations, influential black and white female entrepreneurs and activists, examining a different historical perspective.
"You made history come alive yesterday for us in a special way. Both of your performances were imbued with the humor, grace, reason and courage of the extraordinary women you were portraying." Paul Hammer of Elm City Cycling, Middetown, CT
"Wow! Wonderful, remarkable, spectacular. No other words would do it justice. We'd love to have you back next year." John Horrigan, Founder of New England History Festival, Watertown, MA.
Gwendolyn has been awarded the Institute of Texan Cultures the Director's Award for Excellence, the International Toastmaster Award for Interpretive Reading and the Boston Fund Artist Fellowship.
Fee: call
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