Do Tell Story Swap
Call for more info: 707-539-3642
Meet our Tellabration!™Storytellers
Do Tell Story Swap:
Sharon Elwell – Do Tell Story Swap MC
Sharon Elwell has taught music, Spanish, ESL, and every grade level in California schools. Like all teachers, she collected a treasury of experiences to surprise and delight her audiences with humor and compassion. She has written several books, including memoirs about her life as a teacher. These are available at Amazon.com. She also helps others write memoirs, at www.historyherstoryyourstory.com. She is a regular teller with the Do Tell Story Swap.
Genevieve N. Franklin
Captivated throughout her life by the effect of words on the human spirit, stories were a significant part of presentations Genevieve has given over the years, whether related to pastimes, passions, or professional undertakings. She discovered the joy of personal storytelling on her first visit to The Moth in 2017, where she was astounded to hear her name pulled out of the hat. Since then, she’s told stories in San Francisco, Berkeley, Petaluma, and Oakland. Thanks to the magic of virtual platforms, she has also told at The Moth in Louisville, Austin, New York, Melbourne, and London. She draws on her experiences as an immigrant, childhood cancer survivor, legal interpreter, teacher, mediator, chaplain, and spiritual care provider – and especially on the short but unforgettable years she shared with her magnificently loving partner, Donn. Genevieve is a regular teller with the Do Tell Story Swap.
Katy Mangan
Katy grew up in rural England, enjoying the magic and beauty of the land. She has been telling stories throughout her life, often inspired by the birds, animals, and changing seasons around her. She draws on childhood memories of riding horses and sailing small boats on lakes and rivers. Katy loves the process of creating stories and the healing messages they bring. She tells stories at seasonal celebrations, birthdays that mark long lives, and other events. She is co-host of the Do Tell Story Swap.
Vicky Ness
Vicky was a San Francisco storyteller before moving to the North Bay community of Sebastopol. She performed monthly in downtown bookstores and a local boutique hotel, as well as various Bay Area fundraising events. She created a story showcase for KPFA Community Radio, focusing on subjects such as urban legends, death and afterlife, and visions. She specializes in “new folk tales,” gentle, slightly magical stories for adults. One of her most unique ventures was teaching improvisational storytelling to workers in San Francisco’s financial district. She is a regular teller with the Do Tell Story Swap.
Brandon Spars
Brandon Spars traveled and lived in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands for over seven years, which provided some of the rich experiences he relates in stories. As a high school humanities teacher, Brandon tells folktales from around the world, especially Indonesia. His sound effects and expressive movements bring drama and humor to his narratives, which often blend the mysterious with real world events. Brandon is a five-time winner of the Bay Area Moth StorySLAM competition, including two GrandSLAMS. He is the author of three books on storytelling. For more info, visit www.brandonspars.com. Brandon is our MC for Do Tell Story Swap monthly meetings and a frequent teller.
South Coast Storytellers Guild
Ron Chick
Ron Chick learned, in his 35 years as a Special Education teacher, that a vivid, relatable story is often the best way to present a new idea to a young mind. Schools require you to retire by a certain year, but Ron knew that you cannot retire a devoted storyteller.
Ron knows that every time you tell a story, you forge a link between you and the audience that takes it to heart. The story you hear connects you all the way back to the first person who was inspired to share the tale within his heart. As long as that story is told, the links between everyone who hears it, and everyone who has shared it, form an unbroken chain. Ron will travel to any state, at any time, to keep the chain unbroken.
Doris Hand
After performing a story about her father, Doris ventured into storytelling. She enjoys telling strong women stories, folktales, personal stories and some historical stories. For six years she coached a storytelling club for 4th to 6th graders, preparing them to perform in school Tellabrations, which she produced, and at local museums.
Doris produced “Things That Go Bump in the Night” and acted as the witch-emcee. She told in all the programs. For twenty years she was a Volunteer in Probation, telling stories to a captive audience at Juvenile Hall.
Diana Spirithawk
Diana Spirithawk is a 28-year member of South Coast Storytellers Guild. She actually met her husband there, finding that they both have a passion for fairytales, folktales and animal stories. Spirithawk blends cultural and personal stories with Native American flute, drums and songs. She shares her love and delight for the wonder of life and the world of nature, telling spirited stories to adults and children ranging from Humor to Environmental Consciousness.
David Whiting
At a Toastmasters Humorous Speech contest where David told the story of the day, the Moonie church tried to convert him, David was invited to join the South Coast Storytellers’ Guild, where he found a home, meeting fellow storyteller, and now wife, Diana Spirithawk. David tells personal stories, but also folktales, fiction, and pretty much any tale that can be made funny and colorful. He is very animated and loves using a variety of whimsical voices.
He performs regularly at the Orangewood Children’ Home, and looks forward to resuming telling tales at libraries and festivals throughout Orange County. David is the host of the South Coast Storyteller’s Guild Story Swap.
