Who am I?
I am a professional storyteller with over fifteen years of teaching and performing before audiences small and large. In addition, I have significant experience performing in recorded and live broadcast media. I am a Moth StorySlam winner. I have been featured on NPR and CBC Radio, Now Magazine, MacLean’s Magazine, and the Toronto Star.
I perform for audiences of all ages all over the world, most recently in India, Newfoundland, and Boston: true stories, thirty to sixty-minute solo shows, traditional folktales and interactive improvised fairy tales. I use my body and voice as tools to engage my audience.
How did I start telling stories?
Like this: I’m sixteen and on a road trip with my uncle Doug and his family. Doug is the kind of guy who walks into a party and everyone runs over to hear his latest stories. It’s dark, we’ve been driving for hours, and I’ve been telling a story about what happened at school for approximately the entire trip, and suddenly Doug says from the driver’s seat, “If I hear one more word of this story I will actually die of boredom and the car will crash and we will all die.”
And I have two options: I can jump out of the car and end my worthless life, or I can say in a tiny sulky voice, “Well… YOU tell it better, then.”
And Doug tells me my own story. And it’s suddenly fascinating, full of twists and turns that really happened, but that I was burying under irrelevant facts. And I get it: storytelling isn’t a talent you’re born with. It’s an art.
Today, I’m a storyteller. I draw from a rich well of experience – including living in a tent for two years, my lesbian schizophrenic mother, almost killing people with my evil mind control (NO REALLY) – to draw my audience in and enthrall them with true stories.
My audiences step into my odd life for fifteen minutes at a time, and sometimes their stomachs hurt from laughing. And sometimes they have to go re-do their makeup because they were crying so hard. They forget they’re in a public place. It’s just me and you. And the story.
What's my voice like?
My voice - soaring from a child to mom to scary hag - has been described as approachable, conversational, wide ranged, warm, and sincere. My dynamic range means I can play an evil dictator and then turn on a dime to play an engaging and friendly mom.
I love creating images in people's heads with my voice more than anything else in the world.
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