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Directory of Storytellers
Maggid (Mah-geed: storyteller) David Arfa breathes life into Jewish stories from the past four millennium. He performs at prayer services, interfaith events, festivals and family programs. His ReStorying Judaism workshops deepen our relationship to Judaism’s storytelling heritage. His CD “The Birth of Love: Tales for the Days of Awe,” contains ancient mythology, old-world Yiddish tales (set in the Berkshire foothills), and other surprises. David’s newest performance is titled: “The Jar of Tears: A Memorial for the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto.” A little known fact about David is that he is a “Shretelech guide” (Yiddish for the magical little people). He draws on his experience as an environmental educator and leads “Shretelech Expeditions.” Kids spot the kindly Shretelech easily, however adults usually have less luck. At the very least, everyone enjoys the quiet pleasures of field and forest, a taste of Judaism’s ancient environmental wisdom, and a few good stories.
Noa Baum is an award-winning Israeli storyteller, educator and actress, trained in theater and education at Tel Aviv University and NYU. Her animated, energetic style and rich interpretations of her Israeli-Jewish heritage bring a unique flavor to her storytelling performances and workshops. Noa uses storytelling to cultivate understanding and compassion: Her one-woman show A Land Twice Promised relives her heartfelt dialogue with a Palestinian woman, illuminating the complex and contradictory history and emotions surrounding Jerusalem for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Noa’s storytelling has captivated and inspired children and adults since 1982, in hundreds of congregations, schools, universities and organizations, including: World Bank; Mayo Clinic; Kennedy Center; Smithsonian Institute; US Defense Department; NYC Jewish Museum; Jewish Theological Seminary; Brandies University; Park Avenue Synagogue. She is a Parents’ Choice Recommended Award winner and a recipient of Individual Artist Awards from Maryland State Arts Council and Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
“You have a warm and pleasant style... rich with humor and irony.” “Mark Binder takes the Chelm tales and gives them a spin... commendable to all audiences” —Alan Rosenberg, The Providence Journal
Judith Black’s traditional and original stories have rocked laughing audiences to their feet. Winner of the Oracle: Circle of Excellence, the most coveted award in storytelling, Judith has been featured on stages as far reaching as The Montreal Comedy Festival, The National Storytelling Festival, The Smithsonian Institution, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the National Art Museum in Cape Town, and NPR. As both a host, presenter, and entertainer, her work was been featured at over 10 CAJE conferences. Judith’s stories explores the oh so American experience of B’nai Mitzvah, Jewish familial function and dysfunction, parenting, the issues and journeys that accompany end-of life, as well as tales from our historic, cultural and religious lives. She has created original stories for numerous organizations, served as an artist in residence for synagogues throughout the country, and is an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University.
Herman Blumberg
As the Stand-up Chameleon Jackson transforms himself into a host of eccentric characters and altered egos. Audiences of all ages love each and every one. His performances are seasoned with soulful song, dance, mime and sign language — all delivered with a bemused, warm-hearted honesty. Specific programs available for Chanukah, Purim and other holidays. “A masterly storyteller...compelling.” —Christian Science Monitor “A zany kind of comic mutant.” —Maine Public Radio
Dan “Dante” Gordon has been delighting young (and not-so-young) audiences for nearly 30 years. He’s toured throughout the United States, Israel and Australia with his unique adaptations of traditional folklore, Hasidic classics and personal stories of life. His career has evolved from entertainment to inspiration, and since 1998 has been the rabbinic spiritual leader of Temple Beth Torah. He creates an atmosphere of warmth and imagination, with audiences of any age or size feeling as if they belong within the stories. Stories are amusing and thought provoking, inspiring audiences to feel good about themselves and what the world has to offer. All programs are customized to fit the individual audience. Among the many choices are:
“With each tale, you feel his dedication and the beautiful integrity of his soul.”
Janie Grackin uses the art of storytelling to inspire and educate. Janie creates programs for intergenerational populations in synagogues and schools in the United States, England and Israel, and has performed at many CAJE and Limmud conferences. In 1997 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame for her commitment to AIDS education. In 2005 she was awarded the Solomon Schechter Gold Award for Family Education, and has served as the co-chair of the CAJE Jewish Storytelling Network. Her debut storytelling CD “The Key: Jewish Stories of Heart and Heritage” is available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/grackin. “Janie is a weaver of the soul, transforming text into profound art and transformational experiences.” —Amichai Lau-Lavie/Executive and Artistic Director/Storahtelling Inc. “When Janie tells a story, you are part of the story, and the story becomes part of you!” —Lynne Lieberman, Assistant Executive Director, Commission for Jewish Education, West Palm Beach
Programs:
“Bonnie, a storyteller of uncommon depth, tells with great power, integrity, and courage.” —Jay O’ Callahan
“High energy, interactive performances, workshops, residencies for all ages” Muriel combines creativity and an open heart with a rich knowledge of Jewish stories and traditions as she shares folktales, “midrashim,” and family stories. She performs for all ages and conducts workshops in many different venues. Sample programs:
“I love creating new programs based on the needs and desires of my clients.”
Become the story. Experience Jewish tradition and history in a way you never imagined. Using instruments, sound environments, and transformative props, Katherine’s unique interactive story dramas bring new life to ancient tales of the Jewish people, connecting audiences of all ages to their past, inspiring generations for the future. Actor, storyteller and teaching artist, Katherine Lyons is a drama specialist for The Wolf Trap Foundation and performs a one-woman show on Immigration for the Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Baltimore Museum of Industry. She leads a workshop series, Becoming The Voices, with middle and high school students, working with Holocaust survivors to create a re-telling of their story for performance and “become the voices” for their generation. Katherine’s comprehensive repertoire of biblical characters, holiday performances, adult programming, family-oriented and school-based dramatizations, are available for synagogues, youth groups, community-wide events and more.
Since 1990, storyteller Bruce Marcus has been wowing audiences with his original stories, poems and crowd-pleasing rhyming tales, conveying the cleverness, warmth and especially the humor of Jewish tales. His programs, geared to adults, seniors and older children, are general or themed around holidays and events, and may include Jewish folk tales and interactive/participatory story activities. Bruce is a veteran performer at Boston and other First Night festivals, The New England Folk Festival, Tellabration events and many other venues large and small, from the beach to high mountain huts. “Bruce Marcus is a marvelous storyteller. The bright light of his spirit shines through his tales.” —Brother Blue, Master Storyteller
Some notable venues include: the Connecticut Storytelling Festival, the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE), the National Yiddish Book Center and the National Storytelling Network Conference. Cindy’s recordings “By the River: Women’s Voices in Jewish Stories” and “Challah and Latkes: Stories for Shabbat and Hanukkah” won awards from Parents’ Choice, Storytelling World and National Parenting Publications. Her latest recording is “The Whole Megillah: A Purim Tale.” “Her telling comes through with such goodness and sincerity — and power.”
Robert Miller
Gail Rosen Founder of the Healing Story Alliance, Gail Rosen tells folktales, historical, and personal stories with humor, honesty, intelligence and insight, stories that ask the “big questions,” about life, death, and meaning. For over ten years Gail has been telling “For Tomorrow,” the story of German-Jewish Holocaust survivor and poet Hilda Stern Cohen. That story has taken Gail to Israel, Germany, Poland, Austria and throughout the US. Because Gail tells this story — a story of loss and horror, but also of strength and hope — she has formed close friendships with some non-Jewish Germans. The gift of acknowledging the complexity of these relationships, speaking the unspoken history, and choosing to trust and to hope together is a moving thread in “Choose Hope,” a story of her own personal, powerful and surprising healing journey, recounting how telling Hilda’s story has changed her life and the lives of others.
Peninnah Schram, internationally known storyteller, teacher, author, and recording artist, is Professor of Speech and Drama at Stern College of Yeshiva University. She has appeared at conferences, synagogues and festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival, the Connecticut Storytelling Festival and Sharing the Fire Storytelling Conference. Vibrantly elegant in her presentations, Peninnah tells Jewish folktales of wisdom and humor, interweaving melody and dialogue. Jane Yolen wrote: “When Peninnah Schram tells a story, even the leaves on the trees stop trembling to listen.” Peninnah is the author of ten books, including Jewish Stories One Generation Tells Another and Stories Within Stories: From the Jewish Oral Tradition. Her recent anthology is The Hungry Clothes and Other Jewish Folktales. She recorded a CD, “The Minstrel and the Storyteller” with singer/guitarist Gerard Edery. Peninnah is a recipient of the prestigious “Covenant Award for Outstanding Jewish Educator” (1995) awarded by The Covenant Foundation, and the National Storytelling Network’s “The Circle of Excellence Award” and the “2003 Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Howard Schwartz, a three-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, is Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is the editor of four important collections of Jewish folklore: Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales, Miriam’s Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World, Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural and Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales. He is also the author of Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, which won the National Jewish Book Award in 2005. His most recent book, Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales, was published by Oxford University Press in 2008. He is also the editor of ten children’s books, including Next Year in Jerusalem (National Jewish Book Award and Aesop Prize 1994), The Day the Rabbi Disappeared (National Jewish Book Award and Aesop Prize 2000), and Before You Were Born (Koret Prize 2005).
Corinne has been featured at storytelling venues across the country, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. In 2005, she was a Keynote speaker at the National Storytelling Conference where she had presented workshops five previous times. She has edited a book of Jewish folktales, contributed to The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible, guest edited an edition of Storytelling Magazine, received the 2001 Detroit Jewish Woman Artist of the Year for Literature and has been nominated twice for a Michigan Governor’s Outstanding Artist Award. Her CD’s “Hussies, Harlots, Heroines: Shady Ladies of the Bible” and “Solidarity Forever: Growing Up Union” have won Storytelling World gold and honor awards. She is listed in every major Who’s Who, is a juried artist in the Michigan Touring Arts Directory, and co-chaired the Storytelling Network for CAJE for 10 years.
“With her mastery of pacing and dialects, and expressive characterizations, Susan Stone vibrantly conveys the magic…” (ALA Booklist) Susan shares her stories with the technical expertise of her theatre training and the intuitive wisdom of a true storyteller. Funny, poignant Jewish folk and fairy tales for adults and children include Midrash, Chasidic and Biblical tales all given interesting and lively interpretations, lifted off the page with insight and skill, and put back into true oral tradition. She also teaches storytelling to teachers at National-Louis University, is a published author, and has been honored with many awards for her CDs of Jewish stories for children (Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Storytelling World Award, NAPPA Gold Award). Susan shares her heart when she tells a story. A passionate performer for over 20 years, Susan’s tales entertain, enlighten and illuminate the human condition. School Library Journal declares, “she is an incredibly talented storyteller.”
Nyanna Susan Tobin Storyweb Blessings: Sharing Stories, Weaving and Rituals for a Taste of Oral Tradition Nyanna Susan Tobin enjoys and shares Jewish folklore and oral tradition in small settings.
Carla Vogel is a storyteller, writer and community artist. Take a few pinches of history. Add heaping spoonfuls of humor. Mix with a healthy sprinkle of chutzpah! Each of Carla’s stories dishes up a sumptuous feast of imagination. Bubbe Mayses! — Original and Traditional Telling of Yiddish Culture. Meet Esther Pinkle the shtetl kvetch and Zalman the Umbrella Fixer. Travel through crooked streets among rickety pushcarts and formidable women. Savor stories about life, luck and wisdom, steeped in Yiddish culture. Tsimmes! — Music and Stories of Eastern European Yiddish Culture Together with Klezmer musician Judith Eisner, Carla reaches into Eastern European and family folklore to bring a colorful world of Jewish characters to audiences of all ages. Wise Fools and Others: Jewish Stories — From folklore to historical narrative to Hassidic, Midrashic and holiday tales, Carla brings to life the rich Jewish oral and written tradition.
From biblical times to modern Israel, from Babylon to Brooklyn, Jews have passed stories from one generation to the next. Through this act of storytelling we create shared identity, values and meaning. My goal is to bring this precious storytelling heritage to life for the American Jewish community, from whom it was long hidden by barriers of language and geography. “I have heard and worked with some of the great contemporary Jewish storytellers. I place Marc Young in their company. He has an amazing presence and his narratives are rich with emotional and biblical veracity. To hear him is to learn and to marvel.” “Marc has gathered a rich, varied treasure chest of Jewish stories. His ability to create sacred space through the art of storytelling is remarkable. He delights adults and children alike.”
When storyteller Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff performs, biblical figures speak, rabbinic Midrash leaps off the pages of the Talmud, and Judaism’s rich folklore dances to life. Jennifer’s contemporary stories challenge her listeners to respond to the issues confronting the Jewish community today. She uses storytelling as an educational tool to inspire children and adults to explore Judaism and their spirituality. Jennifer is a performer, teacher and coach. As much as Jennifer enjoys performing, she loves teaching and coaching new storytellers. For the past five years she has co-taught the “Oral History of the Holocaust” course at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, facilitating weekly storytelling workshops and individually coaching each of her students. Jennifer also coaches teachers, supervisors, and professional storytellers, teaching them to use their intuition to turn their mental images into powerful stories. She uses her training as a certified InterPlay teacher to help her students trust in the story they are meant to tell. |
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| Photo credits: Mark Binder by Stacey Doyle; Cindy Rivka Marshall by Emily Sper. |
Maggid David Arfa
Noa Baum
Mark Binder
Judith Black
Jackson Gillman
Karen Golden
Dan “Dante” Gordon
Janie Grackin
Eva Grayzel 
Bonnie Greenberg
Muriel W. Horowitz, Storyteller/Literacy Specialist
Katherine Lyons
Bruce Marcus
Cindy Rivka Marshall
Peninnah Schram
Howard Schwartz
Corinne Stavish
Susan Stone
Carla Vogel
Marc Young
Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff