Historical Figures Come to Life
Joanna creates 1st person character performances of historical women that teach and inspire.
In a series of programs that highlight Women in History ranging from the Mayflower to World War I Joanna portrays women who lived through the conflicts that shaped an emerging nation. Joanna was the Resident Storyteller for the Barberville Pioneer Settlement in Barberville, FL for four years and before that at the Depreciation Lands Museum in Allison Park, PA.
Libraries, Schools and Festivals
Joanna specializes in American, Historical, Traditional, Southern Tales, Ghost Stories, Personal Narrative, her original unique Ladybug Stories©, and Storytelling Workshops. Joanna has been telling stories to children and adults for over 25 years. It all started when after reading every book on her daughter’s bookshelf — multiple times — she wanted something new and started creating fresh stories of her own.
Spooky Tales for the Season
Whether it is Tales that are Not for the Faint of Heart or Not So Scary Stories, there are tales for whatever seasonal gathering you are hosting.
Storytelling Workshops
Learn how to bring your stories to life in Exploring the Art of Storytelling or give your characters panache in The Character’s Perspective. Joanna will customize your workshop to meet the needs of your participants.
Welcome to My World
Through storytelling you can actually feel, taste, smell, and touch the woods on a dark night or the spray of the sea as it breaches the prow of a ship. As you listen, you go on adventures, feel what it was like to live in other places, and maybe even remember what it was like to be a kid again sitting around the fire listening to the stories of your grandparents.
I love watching an audience be enveloped by a story – watching them travel with me through the landscape of words that create the images of the tale. It is so much fun to hold the listeners in my hands, watching them use their imagination to “see” the events unfolding. My audiences have enjoyed wonderful tales of the past, present, and future having moments of laughter, times when they have sighed, learned a moral, or even jumped in fright.
Before the written word, much of our history, cultural traditions, morals, and skills were passed by word of mouth by the travelers, minstrels, and bards traveling from town to town. My interest in storytelling slowly developed over the years as I volunteered in my children’s school, worked with scouting groups, and in the camping industry. I hope I have inspired my audiences’ imaginations, stretched their own creativity, and helped them to see history in a way they had never imagined.
Interested?
Contact Joanna for availability of these or custom programs.