Storytelling_old
I tell stories for all ages – pre-schoolers, elementary students, teens, and adults. Contact me to set up a performance with your group!
Pilgrimage, adventure, and humor are threads that run through my storytelling and my life. I am drawn to stories of adventure and personal growth. And I love telling trickster tales in which the “bad guy” gets what’s coming to him or transforms into a “good guy.” Above all, I like to laugh!
As a child in Memphis, my early adventures were taken with my father, a storyteller himself. My favorite stories are many of the ones I learned from him – about such characters as Jack (of beanstalk fame), Brer Rabbit, and Anansi. I also tell personal stories stemming from my own adventures, spirituality, and childhood.
I have been telling stories since I was a kid, and am now a professional storyteller and member of the Southern Order of Storytellers.
In 2002, I hiked all 2172 miles of the Appalachian Trail, an experience that influences my storytelling and also led me to start my wilderness guiding company. And I love to bring storytelling into my work with Sure Foot Adventures. Whenever I’m leading a backpacking or camping trip, I tell stories around the campfire. And I utilize my experiences in the woods when telling stories.
Jonah’s past performances include:
- The 2008 Winter StoryFest
- Atlanta Tellabration! 2009
- The 2010 SOS Storytelling Festival
- JackPie Theater’s Improv Monster
- May and Sept 2011 Stories Squared concerts in Decatur
- Atlanta Tellabration! 2011
- Hands On Network’s Americorps Retreat
- Arbor Terrace Assisted Living Home
- Callanwolde’s Family Fun Night
- At many schools, including Bartow County Pre-K, Dunbar Elementary, Kingfisher Academy, Counterpane School, Meadowcreek Elementary, the Friends School of Atlanta, Palmer Middle School, Norcross Elementary, Cary Reynolds Elementary, Whitesburg, Elementary, Dawson County Middle School, Kincaid Elementary, Satilla Marsh Elementary School, etc.
- Around the campfire on every Sure Foot Adventures camping and backpacking trip
Jonah’s repertoire of stories includes:
Traditional Tales:
- The Mole & the Swallow
- Sun Man
- Go to Sleep, Gecko!
- The Ghost Car
- Master of All Masters
- What’s the Name of that Tree?
- Why the Sky is So Far Away
- The Witty Queen
- Brer Rabbitt, Brer Coon, & the Frogs
- Finn McCool
- Ananzi & the Stories
- Mousedeer & Tiger
- Isaac and the Treasure
- The Baalshemtov’s Servant
- Nate the Snake
Jack Tales:
- Jack and the Devil
- Jack’s First Job
- Jack and the Doctor
- Jack and the Varmits
- Jack and Hardy-Hard Head
- Jack and the Robbers
- Two Jonahs
- Slaying the Giants
- The Golden Ride
- How Do I Get to Machu Picchu?
- The Wrong Shoes
- Mountains & Valleys
In the storytelling world, I have served as a Board Member, the Treasurer and Web Manager of the Southern Order of Storytellers and I regularly participate in the Decatur Storytelling Cluster Group.