Storytellers
Antonio
Rocha (Brazil)
Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his
career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988
he received a Partners of the Americas grant
to come to the USA to further his mime skills
with Master Tony Montanaro. Antonio’s unique
solo shows of stories and mime have been performed
from Singapore to the Yukon, including the Kennedy
Center (Washington DC, USA), Tales of Graz (Austria),
Dunya Festival (Holland), Kenya Connect (Kenya)
and The National Storytelling Festival (Tennessee,
USA). Antonio holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre
Arts and has also studied with Master Marcel
Marceau.
Bernice
Hune (Canada)
Bernice Hune, a third-generation Chinese Canadian,
has worked as a professional storyteller in
Canada for the last 15 years. She tells her
family's stories as well as folktales that celebrate
Asian traditions such as The Magic Paintbrush
to children and adults. She is the recipient
of a Canada Council grant for storytelling.
Bernice also tells at museums, festivals, libraries
and schools. As a leading arts educator, she
has conducted numerous professional development
programs for teachers in both art and storytelling.
Cat
Weatherill (UK)
Cat Weatherill is a storyteller and writer.
Born and raised in Liverpool, she studied Drama
at Hull University and has been a professional
performer ever since. She has worked as an actor
and a singer, and she incorporates these skills
into her storytelling. Cat is a strong physical
teller with a distinctive theatrical style.
She became a professional storyteller in 1998.
Chuah
Ai Lin (Singapore)
After a 20-year career in the oil service industry,
Chuah Ai Lin now integrates her early loves
into her work as a professional storyteller,
nature guide, licensed tourist guide, and teacher
of enrichment courses. She draws on the natural
world, history, culture and science for her
stories.
Daniel
Morden (UK)
Daniel Morden is one of the top storytellers
in the UK. He was born in Wales and currently
resides there. He has told traditional stories
for a living since 1989, and has travelled the
world telling and hearing folktales. His first
anthology of stories, Weird Tales from the Storyteller,
was nominated for the Tir Na N’Og Welsh Children’s
Book Prize.
Doug
Lipman (USA)
Doug Lipman, the foremost storytelling coach
in USA, is popular in the States as well as
abroad as a performer, coach, author, and teacher.
Doug's storytelling grew out of his work as
a pre-school and music teacher in the 1970's.
He has been teaching and coaching storytellers
since 1979 and, in the last 10 years, worked
extensively in the corporate sector. In addition
to his workshops and classes on all aspects
of storytelling, Doug has published numerous
books and released instructional videos, audiocassettes,
and multi-media courses such as the Storytelling
Workshop in a Box.
Folke
Tegetthoff (Austria)
Folke Tegetthoff was born in Graz, Austria.
His first book of modern fairy tales was published
in 1979 at the age of 25. To date, 31 books
have been published (over 1.4 million sold copies)
and translated into several languages, including
Chinese, Japanese and Korean. He had given over
3500 performances (in German and English) in
38 countries around the world. In 1984, the
Folke Tegetthoff Collection, the first official
archive worldwide about his work was opened
at Murray State University in Kentucky, USA.
He is also the organizer of the world’s biggest
storytelling festival GRAZERZÄHLT - Tales
of Graz, since 1988. Folke lives with his wife
and 4 children in an old, former nunnery in
the south of the Austrian province of Styria.
Kamini
Ramachandran (Singapore)
Kamini Ramachandran has been actively telling
for both adults as well as children in a variety
of institutions, including schools, museums
and the Substation. She has a regular Monday
slot on radio where she tells stories �live’.
She has hosted the World Storytelling Day in
Singapore for the past 3 years. Due to her Malaysian
heritage, she is also multi-lingual.
Kiran
Shah (Singapore)
Kiran Shah co-founded the Asian Storytelling
Network, Singapore’s first professional storytelling
company. Through her work with the NBDCS, NAC,
MOE, MINDEF and various other government and
community bodies, Kiran has nurtured the revival
of the oral tradition in Singapore. Kiran works
internationally, having performed in storytelling
festivals in the UK, Australia and Indonesia.
Roger
Jenkins (Singapore)
Roger Jenkins was born in Singapore but grew
up in Britian. He returned to Singapore as a
drama teacher in 1978. His collection of poems
From the Belly of the Carp won the 1995 Singapore
Literature Prize. He became a professional storyteller
in 1998 when he began teaching a course on practical
introduction to storytelling in the classroom.
Rosemarie
Somaiah (Singapore)
Rosemarie Somaiah is a teacher and writer. She
has performed for all ages both locally and
overseas, including at the Scottish International
Storytelling Festival. Her books include a comic
book for the Singapore History Museum (2002),
Gateway to Singapore Culture (2004), Colours
of Harmony (2005) and Indian Children’s Favourite
Stories, which will be released shortly.
Sheila
Wee (Singapore)
Sheila Wee is one of the pioneers of oral storytelling
in Singapore. She has worked in schools, museums,
theatres and for various government ministries
in Singapore. She has also performed internationally
at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival,
at the Isle of Skye Storytelling Festival and
the Australian National Storytelling Festival.
Verena
Tay (Singapore)
Verena Tay brings stories vocally and physically
alive in her unique fashion, drawing from her
twenty-year experience in acting, directing
and writing for local English-language theatre
as well as her training in voice and speech
(MA in Voice Studies, Central School of Speech
and Drama, London, 2005). Verena has been actively
telling stories to adults and children over
the last two years.
Yossi
Alfi (Israel)
Yossi Alfi is a well-known and prominent Israeli
storyteller, a theatre figure, a poet, a teacher
and a writer. He is the founder and the artistic
director of the Israeli International Storytelling
Festival. He is also the founder of the Community
Theatre movement in Israel. He regularly performs
and presents stories on TV and radio. A man
of many hats, Yossi is the director of People’s
Theatre Ltd, a private company which he co-owns
together with his wife, Sue. He is fluent in
both English and Hebrew.