Featured Tellers are World Class Entertainers

This year, the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival will include six tellers who have worked with some of the best names in the entertainment business—from Grammy award-winning producers to Walt Disney World to NPR’s All Thing’s Considered:

Donald Davis

ddavisstoryteller.com

Born in Southern Appalachia, Davis recalls, "I didn't learn stories, I just absorbed them." Davis is a graduate of Duke University Divinity School, a retired Methodist minister, and a featured teller at the Smithsonian Institution, the World's Fair, and festivals and concerts throughout the United States and the world. He is also a prolific author and producer of books and tapes of his works, a guest host for the National Public Radio Program Good Evening, and a father of four sons. For Donald Davis storytelling "...is not what I do for a living...it is how I do all that I do while I am living."

Syd Lieberman

sydlieberman.com

Syd is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, an author, and an award-winning teacher. Many of his best-loved stories deal with growing up and raising a family in Chicago. His work has garnered awards from the American Library Association, Parent's Choice, and Storytelling World. He has taught storytelling at the Kennedy Center and Disney World, and received commissions from NASA and the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Syd holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.A.T. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The National Storytelling Network inducted him into the Circle of Excellence for his work as a storyteller. Lieberman resides in Chicago, IL.

Kevin Kling

kevinkling.com

Best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and storytelling stage shows like Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log, Kling delivers hilarious, often tender stories. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are. Kling has released a number of CD collections of stories and most recently his first book titled The Dog Says How. Kling resides in Minneapolis, MN.

Minton Sparks

mintonsparks.com

Fusing music, poetry and her intoxicating gift of storytelling, wildly original spoken word artist Minton Sparks is a raucous, provocative, brilliant one-woman show who performs alongside world-class musical accompaniment. Sparks has been featured nationally on NPR’s All Things Considered and internationally on the BBC’s Bob Harris Show. Sparks has opened for musicians Ben Fold and John Prine, performed at the 2006 Americana music festival MerleFest, and performed in various venues across the country. Her most recent CD release was Sin Sick, produced by Grammy winning Gary Paczosa, (Reba McEntire, John Prine, Alison Krauss, The Dixie Chicks), and guides us into the soul's dark struggle. Sparks serves as adjunct professor of Psychology at Tennessee State University for the past 13 years. She resides in Nashville with her husband and two children.

Priscilla Howe

priscillahowe.com

“All my stories start with a seed of truth,” says Howe. With over 15 years of experience telling stories, Howe tells funny, scary, serious, goofy and sophisticated stories, tailored to her audience. When performing for young children, Howe uses hand puppets to bring her stories to life and when performing for older kids and adults, she reaches into her grab bag of stories to perform tales for more refined sensibilities. Howe has performed in English, French and Bulgarian and has produced a number of CDs and DVDs of her work. Howe resides in Lawrence, KS.

Marilyn Kinsella

marilynkinsella.org

Since 1981, Marilyn Kinsella has been telling stories. For 16 years she has worked as a storyteller at the Edwardsville Public Library in Edwardsville, IL, where she honed her skill as a storyteller and puppeteer. After her retirement in 2002, she has worked as a full-time, freelance professional storyteller. Her collection of stories has grown from a handful to hundreds of stories which include: personal experiences, folk tales, literary stories and historical tales. Her stories will make you laugh or cry or think or, maybe...see yourself. She resides in Fairview Heights, IL.