Performer and Workshop Leader Biographies

Rich Bolin is a preacher-storyteller who squeezes folktales and personal stories into his sermons as often as possible. He believes in the power of story to cross the boundaries of time, place and culture ... and he is looking for places to tell stories that don't fit into any of his sermons.

Ina Buckner-Barnette, The Sunshine Storyteller weaves international tales, movement and song and to create her interactive sunshine story shows. Committed to healing through her art, she regularly performs at Wise Senior Services Adult Day Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Other venues for this storyteller, teaching artist and award-winning actress include libraries, schools and festivals. www.sunshinestoryteller.com

Anthony Burcher grew up in rural Virginia, hearing himself described as "He Ain't Right..." Humorous tales of life in "Junkyard World" have delighted audiences of all ages. heaintright.webs.com

Alina Cenal; storyteller, bilingual, dancer, actress, teacher, director, producer, and owner of Kids Acting Out-west performing arts programs. Alina has been performing for 30 years and lives life with energy and passion in everything she does.

Margaret Davis - "I never thought I could perform in front of a live audience. I was born and raised in West Virginia. In my early twenties I moved to New York where I saw my first stage play. Later I moved to Los Angeles and continued to enjoy live theater. I admired anyone who could stand before an audience and speak or perform. I attended a storytelling concert, and enjoyed it so much that I joined the class conducted by Barbara Clark. There I leaned to construct and develop stories of my own, and how to deliver them to a live audience. I am now going into my third year in the class. Now I am a STORYTELLER."

Jeff Gere blends talents as painter, puppeteer, and mime, into performances which have electrified Hawaii and mainland audiences of every age for twenty years. Jeff's physical energy, wide range of voices, morphing elastic face and characterizations make his shows unforgettable events. Jeff becomes his stories! Jeff is Oahu's Drama Specialist (Parks Department). He directs the Talk Story Festival, Hawaii's biggest storytelling celebration (www.honoluluparks.com) and Talk Story Radio, a weekly Pacific storytelling show (pod casts at www.talkstoryradio.com) Born on Halloween, Jeff's made 9 CDs (www.jeffgere.com). Recent tours include Georgia, Arizona, Hong Kong, Vancouver and Turkey.

Gordon Henderson is a Los Angeles based artist and storyteller. He is a member of the Write Club and performs regularly at I.O. West. He has also been seen at the Comedy Central stage and Celebration Theater among others. He is known for offering a slanted understanding of the human experience.

Angela Lloyd, MFA is a master storyteller and teaching artist "diagonally parked in a parallel world". Raised in Caracas, Venezuela with three languages, English, Spanish and Musica, Angela's stories come from the oral and literary traditions with accompaniment on autoharp, cuatro, spoon and bell. An audience favourite and washboard virtuosa, she is at home in the classroom, on the plaza, the salon and stage. www.angelalloyd.com

Richard Marsh lives in Ireland and travels frequently to Spain and the Basque Country to tell Irish stories and collect Spanish and Basque legends and tales.

David O'Shea: Being a New York City taxi driver for 7 1/2 years, gave David his taste for storytelling. He only had to talk about his night to his girlfriend (now wife) and her mouth would drop. David has shaped his stories around his life as a taxi driver, Santa for the Beverly Center and as a FEMA worker.

Vivian Oxford was born and raised in New York. She has worked in theaters, assisting actors, directors and producers. Vivian arrived in Los Angeles in 2004 with her musician/actress daughter.

Sandra Mizumoto Posey began performing as a storyteller at museums and festivals in 1992, then went onto earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA. The author of books, articles and creative works, she is currently an Associate Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Jonathan Leigh Solomon: Humorist, (retired) comedian. Late Show with David Letterman. Blogger at Huffington Post and Politico.Com. Heard on NPR and other stops on your radio dial.

String Planet is an instrumental duo featuring violist Novi and composer/Chapman Stick player Larry Tuttle. In their music, classical chops and inventive composing meet with a strong World Beat groove - it's "world music from another world" - fun, loose, colorful, vibrant, beautiful and ever-so-slightly twisted. String Planet's one-of-a-kind musical attitude comes from an unusual instrumentation (most people have never even seen the Chapman Stick before, much less in combination with electric viola and ethnic percussion) and a universal "one planet" science fiction-ized outlook on life. Novi and Larry recorded and toured together for years as part of FREEWAY PHILHARMONIC. "STRING PLANET" is their first CD on their own.

Kirk Waller has been involved in theater, mime and storytelling for over15 years. Kirk tells primarily African American folktales, legends and personal stories punctuated with movement and song.

Kristina Wong tours her solo show "Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" which received support from Creative Capital and the National Performance Network across the country. www.kristinawong.com.

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