Bios 2014
Storytellers, Hosts and Musicians
Storytellers, Hosts and Musicians
Jan Andrews
A mover and shaker, Jan Andrews has played a significant part in nourishing storytelling's vibrant presence in Canada's cultural life. She has a passion for the age-old stories. She shares this both by telling folktales and portions of the world's great epics and by ensuring opportunities for others to do the same. Recent adventures include co-directing day-long tellings of The Iliad and The Odyssey at the Fourth Stage of the National Arts Centre. Honored by Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada as a recipient of its Storykeeper Award, she is known across the country for the depth and power of her work. She was SC-CC's first president, coaches and gives workshops, and has been invited to perform in Australia, the UK, the US and Italy. She recently produced a CD entitled Nausicaa and Penelope: Two Women of The Odyssey as part of SC-CC's StorySave project. Also a children's author, creator of such classics as Very Last First Time and The Auction, Jan has produced a number of folktale collections and won various awards. Her latest book is a young adult novel entitled The Silent Summer of
Kyle McGinley. Jan’s website. Hear Jan tell stories.
Bob Barton
Since his first appearance at Artpark, Lewiston, New York in 1979, Bob has appeared at storytelling festivals and workshops from Baffin Island in the high Arctic to Tasmania in the South Pacific and from the island of Maui, Hawaii to the Black Forest in Germany. Notable festivals have included The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, The North Atlantic Festival in Rockport, Maine, The Toronto Storytelling Festival, The Battersea Arts Centre, London, England and the Dromkeen Centre for Children’s Literature in Victoria, Australia. He also appeared at the Hans Christian Anderson Story Hour in Central Park, New York for twenty-seven years. Bob is a co-founder of the Storytellers’ School of Toronto (now Storytelling Toronto) and has conducted storytelling courses there and at the National Storytelling Institute Jonesborough, Tennessee, Emerson Collage, East Sussex, England, Exeter University, Devon, England and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, London, England. He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Association, (U.S.A.). For several years Bob worked as an artist in the schools with Prologue to the Performing Arts (Toronto), Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities (Ottawa) and was a mentor artist with Learning Through the Arts, Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).
Bob’s website.
Margaret Bennett
Folklorist, singer, storyteller, writer and broadcaster, Margaret Bennett was brought up in a family of tradition bearers, Gaelic on her mother's side and Lowland Scots on her father's. As a student, she emigrated to Canada to study Folklore, then retuned to Scotland after nine years. She has a PhD in Ethnology from Edinburgh University. Since the late 1960s she has been recording Scottish traditions, as well as singing and storytelling on both sides of the Atlantic. From 1984 to 1996 she lectured at Edinburgh University's School of Scottish Studies and now, semi-retired, teaches part-time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has a special interest in recording folk from all walks of life to conserve local traditions and knowledge for future generations. Margaret has made many return visits to Newfoundland, recording four generations of one family, the MacArthurs, from the Codroy Valley. A prize-winning author, she has written over a dozen books, and contributed to over 40 others; she has also featured on media productions on both sides of the Atlantic, including acclaimed collaborations with her late son, Martyn Bennett. She is the recipient of several honours, such as the Celtic Women International Award for "lifelong service to Scottish and Celtic Culture" (2003); Association of Scottish Literary Studies Honorary Life 'fellow' in recognition of contribution to Scottish literature (2010); and the 'Prix du Québec', in recognition of her contribution to Quebec cultural studies (2011). As the late, legendary folklorist Hamish Henderson said, "Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland”. Margaret’s website.
Bill Brennan
More than 30 years of relentless experience have garnered Bill Brennan a solid reputation as a performer, conductor and composer of contemporary classical, jazz, folk and world music — always exploring, always open to new ideas. He was musical director/composer for CBC's Vinyl Café and The Nature of Things. Brennan's expertise can be heard on some 100 albums. His CD "Solo Piano 2" won the 2008 MusicNL Instrumental Album of the Year and garnered an ECMA nomination. He is the director of Memorial University's Jazz Ensemble and Gamelan Sagara Asih (the Memorial University Gamelan Ensemble). Brennan was named the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Artist of the Year for 2006. Bill’s website.
Caitriona Ní Chonaola
Caitriona Ní Chonaola is an Actor, Writer, Traditional Singer/Songwriter and Storyteller from Galway, Ireland. She grew up in the Conamara Gaeltacht where her first language was Irish Gaelic. She has won many awards and accolades including Best Actress, Best Newcomer to Playwriting, Best traditional song composition at the Pan Celtic Festival and prizes for storytelling at Oireachtas na Gaeilge in her homeland. (All Ireland Irish Gaelic Competitions). She has received artistic bursaries for comedic writing and acting and enjoys the fun and challenge of other Spoken Word genres: agallamh beirte / luibini (duologues / loop songs). Because of her theatrical background, Caitriona is a very physical teller and she particularly enjoys the telling of Irish celtic fairytales and folktales for children. She is currently the Irish Language Instructor at Memorial University, St. John's.
Charis Cotter
An award-winning writer, actor and storyteller, Charis Cotter has worked extensively in schools across Canada. She uses storytelling, costumes, drama and games to bring her books alive in the classroom. Charis has toured Canada from coast to coast, entertaining children with her alter egos: Queen Elizabeth II, complete with gown, crown and royal attitude; and the Scottish Silky Ghost, who dusts everything in sight, including children. In 2005 Charis won the Heritage Toronto Award of Excellence for her book, Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919–1939. Since then she has written several critically acclaimed children's books, including a series of biographies about extraordinary children and an illustrated book about international ghosts. In 2013 she published The Ghosts of Baccalieu, a collection of traditional ghost stories and drawings created by the students of Tricon Elementary in Bay de Verde, Newfoundland. Her latest book, The Swallow: A Ghost Story was published by Tundra Books in September, 2014. Her fascination with ghosts has led her to many far corners of Newfoundland, looking for ghost stories. Charis takes her ghost storytelling workshops to schools, community centres and book festivals, and reviews children's books for several online and print publications.
Ella Clarke
Ella Clarke is 12 years old, and is a Grade 7 student at Villanova Junior High in Manuels, CBS. She enjoys acting, singing,dancing,and listening to and telling stories. She has participated in the St. John's Storytelling Festival since 2011, and is delighted to be back again this year!!!!
Gerry Curnew
Gerry was born in Burgeo, grew up in Corner Brook, and has lived in Halifax, Wabush, Ottawa and Toronto. When he first arrived in St. John's in the mid 60s, Gerry thought being involved with the little theatre groups would be a good way to meet people. Some 40 performances later he realized how much he enjoyed performing. One of the last groups he was associated with was the Traveling Newfoundland Theatre Company, the forerunner of the CODCO group. He appeared in The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood and has also appeared in other film productions. In the past he has been speaker/entertainer at various visiting convention functions. After a long hiatus from the stage, he recently came back to the stage as a storyteller.
Tom Dawe
om Dawe has been a high school teacher, English professor, visual artist, editor, writer and poet. He has published seventeen volumes, including poetry, folklore and childrens' literature. His latest works include Where Genesis Begins (Breakwater, 2009), winner of The Canadian Authors' Association Poetry Award and Moocher in the Lun, winner of the Bruneau Award for Childrens' Literature. His work has appeared in many magazines, journals and anthologies. In the seventies, during the 'Newfoundland Renaissance', he was one of the founders of Breakwater Books, a founding editor of TickleAce and prose editor of The Livyere, a folklore journal. In 2002 Martina Seifert's comprehensive study, Rewriting Newfoundland Mythology: The Works of Tom Dawe , was published in Germany and Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Recipient of many awards and honours, in 2007 he was awarded a WANL Lifetime Membership and was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Hall of Honour. In 2010 he was named St. John's Poet Laureate. In 2012 he was named a member to the Order of Canada and also to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Eleanor Dawson
Eleanor Dawson grew up in Bay Roberts where she developed a life-long interest in the history, folklore and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has been singing all her life. One of the founders of the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, Eleanor has a particular interest in traditional singing and has a vast repertoire of songs from the English, Irish and Newfoundland traditions. She is past president of both the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society and the Newfoundland Historical Society. She is currently one of the hosts of the monthly Song Circle at the Crow's Nest Officers Club in St. John's.
Paddy Davisson
Paddy Davisson is in Grade 11 at Holy Heart high school. Originally from the Pacific Northwest and a Makah tribal member, Paddy’s storytelling is heavily influenced by his First Nations background. He has been living in St. John’s for the past 3 years, and has continued his involvement in the broader Aboriginal community through the St. John’s Native Friendship Centre.
Lewis Fearon
Lewis is 17 years old and a grade 12 student at Holy Heart of Mary High School, He has told at the festival a few times and is excited to be invited this year.
Mary Fearon
Storyteller Mary Fearon has been performing professionally since 1997. Over the years she has performed here at home, as well as nationally and internationally. She travelled the province collecting material that was traditionally used with children and co-developed a book Over The Big Fat Waves; A Collection Of Newfoundland & Labrador Rhymes, Songs and Language Games. While collecting material, she spent time talking with people about storytelling in their communities. Since then she has a particular love for traditional Newfoundland tales and is very interested both in how they reflect our distinct culture and in the connection they have to stories told in other parts of the world.
Mack Furlong
Mack Furlong is a writer, actor, and musician working in St. John's. He has been singing since first grade, acting since grade two, playing drums since high school, hosting radio programs since University days, writing material for radio and stage since the late `70s, mastering ceremonies like Sound Symposium and charity fundraisers since the mid '80s, hosting and producing a radio arts magazine since the mid '90s, and toiling as co-artistic director of Sound Symposium since the early teens of this century. The Great Eastern and Sunny Days and Nights, in which Mack played Paul Moth, are considered cult classics. Mack co-wrote the shows with Edward Riche and Steven Palmer. Their work was recognized by the Writers Guild of Canada. Currently Mack plays percussion with the Black Auks. Mack and the late Fran Locke wrote the play I Want It All reflecting their deep admiration for the artist Rockwell Kent and the remarkable period he spent in Brigus, Newfoundland, 1914 – 1915.
Gary Green
Gary Green is a storyteller and author who has performed both inside and outside the province in a variety of settings from camps to international conferences. Among the groups for which he has performed are the Cape St. Mary's Performance Series; Battle Harbour Historic Trust; Canadian National Storytelling Conference; St. John's Folk Festival; and Trails, Tales and Tunes. Gary has performed on television as part of the series Legends and Lore of the North Atlantic and on several radio stations. He is a board member of the St. John's Storytelling Festival, and a founding board member of the Soundbone Traditional Arts Foundation. Gary teaches storytelling at the Vinland Music Camp and is a regular performer at the St. John's Storytelling Circle.
Jean Hewson
For more than thirty years, Jean Hewson has immersed herself in the musical heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. A passionate performer, researcher and teacher, she has participated in festivals, concerts and conferences all over North America and the UK. She has toured extensively with various artists, including The Mahers Bahers, Barkin' Kettle and Christina Smith. In 2006, she was nominated in the Traditional Singer of the Year category by the Canadian Folk Music Awards. She is also renowned for her witty quips, and for her legendary collection of vintage polar fleece.
Andy Jones
Andy Jones has been a professional actor, writer, director, and producer for forty years. He was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he co-founded the Resource Centre for the Arts at the L.S.P.U. Hall, co-writing, acting in, and directing many original productions. He is well known in Canada as a member of the groundbreaking Newfoundland comedy troupe CODCO, in both its theatrical and television incarnations. He has written five critically acclaimed one-man comedy shows, as well as Albert, a one-act play for one man and a budgie bird; The Lady with the Lapdog (a radical theatrical adaptation of Anton Chekhov's short story); and the children's plays The Queen of Paradise’s Garden, Jack Meets the Cat (co-written with the Sheila’s Brush collective) and Jack-Five-Oh (co-written with Philip Dinn). More recently, Jones has been adapting Newfoundland folktales as children's books, including a highly acclaimed series of Jack tales illustrated by Darka Erdelji and designed by Veselina Tomova: Jack and Mary in The Land of Thieves (winner of the 2012 BMO Winterset Award and the 2014 Bruneau Family Award), Jack and the Manger (winner of the 2012 Bruneau Family Award), and The Queen of Paradise’s. The newest book in this series, Jack, the King of Ashes will be launched on October 2nd. His Tartuffe (an adaptation of Moliere's classic to a 1930's Newfoundland setting) will appear this fall from Boulder Publications. Andy’s website.
Bev Kane
Beverley Kane was born in St. John’s, but has lived longer on the Southern Shore than she has in the Big City. She met and married a fisherman from Renews who is steeped in the tradition of the place, and a little bit of it just may have rubbed off on her. When she moved to the area, she embraced her new found home and everything about it. House parties were a big part of getting to know her neighbours, and you might be sure that a story or two came out of these gatherings. A great lover of local songs and recitations, she became the unofficial collector and keeper of the lore. She has spent the past 30 odd years sharing these songs and stories in homes and on the local stages around the Shore (and sometimes further afield). Bev was an actor for several seasons with the Southern Shore Folk Arts Council in Ferryland, spent eight years playing in the Colony of Avalon’s 17th-century kitchen, and is presently a Heritage Interpreter for Provincial Historic Sites. Her alter-ego, Mrs. Bridget Theresa O’Rielly O’Toole, regales visitors with stories of the 1800s as the cook at Commissariat House; Bev can also be found recounting the history of Port wine in Newfoundland at the Newman Wine Vaults.
Jack Lynch
Master of storytelling, Jack Lynch tells a wide range of stories that draw on Ireland’s rich oral tradition combining elements from folklore with ancient Irish myths, Wonder Tales, and tall tales. Dublin-born, Jack is rooted in the seanchai tradition as explored by Eamon Kelly and John Campbell, having shared a stage with both. His great humour and charm combine to deliver his engaging stories in the most entertaining, hilarious manner.He has performed at festivals in Belgium, England, Scotland, Ireland, and the US, and twice been the featured Irish storyteller at the Cape Clear Festival and at Gimistory in the Cayman Isles. He recently explored the folklore associated with WB Yeats, alongside the current Yeats Exhibition at the National Library of Ireland. A founder member (and chairman) of Storytellers of Ireland/Aos Scéal Éireann and of the Dublin Yarnspinners, he co-curated the "Making Hay While the Sun Shines" Festival at Farmleigh in Dublin's Phoenix Park.As an actor, he has played in almost all of Ireland's theatres. He has appeared in numerous TV programmes and film, and spent five seasons as a presenter/writer/actor/puppeteer on Irish Children’s TV. Jack’s website.
Ilia Nicoll
Ilia Nicoll writes her own music and plays the music of others. Her instruments are guitar, vocals, viola, and violin. She loves late night recording sessions, late night swimming, and studying linguistics late at night.
Dave Paddon
Dave Paddon has been writing and performing recitations since 2008. He grew up in Northwest River, Labrador and spent a good deal of his feckless youth listening to Trapper's songs and verse in various cabins and kitchens in central Labrador. Four of Dave's compositions have been published with another in the works. After twenty years up in Canada he gratefully moved home in 2004 and lives in St.John's with his wife Kim, occasionally venturing back upalong to ply his trade as an airline pilot.
Dylan Pike
Dylan is an eleven year old grade 6 student at Mount Pearl Intermediate. He has done dance performances and school plays but this is his debut as a storyteller. He’ll be sharing a story he learned in English class.
Ellen Power
Ellen Power has been performing at folk music events around Newfoundland since the tender age of 4. Now 20, Ellen still sings folk songs that have been passed down through generations of Newfoundlanders before her. Many of the ballads she performs come from her father, Pius Power Jr., and her grandfather, Pius Power Sr., who were well-known traditional singers from Placentia Bay. Ellen hopes that her voice will keep the old songs alive and that these songs will someday be passed on to future generations.
Tony Power
Tony Power was born in Branch, St. Mary's Bay. His parents Anthony and Mary Power were great storytellers, singers and dancers. Theirs was a special way of life; Tony remembers and tells about life before there was electricity in Branch. Evenings, after school work was finished, the kerosene lamp was lit and his family would sit on the end of the couch, listening to his father tell of the day's events singing songs – some that were past down from generations from Ireland; others more recently composed. His mother told stories from when she lived in Golden Bay – stories of hidden treasure, fairies and ghosts, along with remedies for cuts, nose bleeding and infections. Tony will tell you some of these tales. You don't believe in them? He just might change your mind!
Pete Soucy
Newfoundland producer/comedian Pete Soucy has been writing, acting, designing, and directing for stage, radio, and television for over 25 years. He is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and taught Visual and Theatre Arts for many years. FLUX, the most successful of his four stage-plays, was published (PUC), produced in Canada and the US, and adapted for television. Film work includes the CBC mini-series Above and Beyond, series Republic of Doyle, and feature films Rare Birds, Young Triffie, and The Grand Seduction. Pete founded Day Job Theatre Ltd. in 1987, and won the Kari Award for best performance in a Canadian television commercial in 1996. In 2002 he concluded a three-year appointment as Artistic Director of the NaGeira Theatre Festival in Carbonear. Most noted for his downtown-corner-boy character SNOOK, Pete first appeared on the CBC Fresh Fish specials in the early '90s, and then on Here & Now. He was a frequent guest at the Halifax Comedy Festival, hosted his own CBC-TV variety series called Wicked Night Out, and now appears weekly on the NTV Evening News. SNOOK released several hit CDs and DVD from 2004 to 2009. Pete also co-founded the annual St. John's Comedy Festival in 2007, and performs with the music-comedy group WickedAltogether! with Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne. He has hosted a daily VOCM Radio call-in show since 2011.
Noah Taylor
Noah Taylor is a grade 2 student at Cowan Heights Elementary. Noah enjoys a variety of
activities, from beavers and tap dance to rugby and Tai Kwon Do. An enthusiastic chef,
he has never met a vegetable he does not like. This is Noah’s first time telling a
story to an audience.
Jim Thomson
Jim Thomson is a jazz musician who came to St John’s from Scotland forty two years ago and loved it so much that he never went back. He first started performing with the great Ralph Walker and was soon established as a fixture on the local music scene. With his vibraphone (and now, tenor sax) he performs with his own trio playing the standards from the “Great American Song Book”. Out of curiosity, Jim went one night with his wife Margaret to the storytelling at the Crow’s Nest. As fate would have it, they were short of storytellers that night and Jim plucked up courage and, for the first time in his life, volunteered to tell a few amusing stories. The audience response was so good that he did it a second time. Now Jim has been invited to share more stories at this year’s Festival.
Ava Whitten
Ava is in grade 5 at Newtown Elementary and she turned 10 just a few
days ago. She loves public speaking, acting, and, any opportunity to
perform. She always enjoys listening to storytelling but this is her
first chance to tell a story in public.
Catherine Wright
Catherine Wright is a multidisciplinary artist who has been active in the St John's community for over twenty years as a performer, arts advocate and enthusiastic arts educator. She has presented independent and collaborative works at many events and venues for a range of audiences from preschoolers to seniors. Her performances often interweave storytelling, movement/dance, music/song, exploring a range of themes, oft-times autobiographical. Over the past year, Catherine has performed at ARTFUSiON, Killdevil Fair, Peter Pan Festival, Lantern Festival, Festival of New Dance, St. John's Storytelling Festival and AC Hunter Children's Library. Catherine appears at St John's Storytelling and Song Circles at the Crow's Nest. She also tells nightly to her son Benjamin, who is a source of encouragement and inspiration, and enjoys collaborations with musical/life partner Len Sperry.
2014 Festival Schedule