Exchange Place 2009

At Exchange Place, explore the diversity of American storytelling at this Friday evening concert featuring six tellers new to the festival stage. Exchange Place is a revered festival tradition where specially invited storytellers from across the country share their finest tales.

The Exchange Place event is included with your weekend admission, but has limited seating.

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Baba the Storyteller

Baba the Storyteller is a world-renowned kora musician, fabulist and practitioner of the ancient, ancestral bardic craft known as Jaliyaa. He has received numerous honors for his work as a folklorist, traditional musician, and storyteller, including recognition by the California State Assembly for his creative use of storytelling in working with at-risk and incarcerated youth. Baba was also awarded the Distinguished Arts Award “Artist of the Year” by the City of Long Beach, California, and has received commendations for his storytelling work from both the U.S. Senate and Congress. Currently Baba tours and hosts the progressive tale-telling podcast Timeless Tales Told Tastefully.

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Slash Coleman

Storyteller, comedian, and Off-Broadway performer Slash Coleman is best known for his one-man shows, including the award-winning PBS special “The Neon Man and Me.” He is also the creator of “21 Hours” a series of classes aimed at helping teens and adults build confidence while meeting and exceeding their personal creative goals. Among Coleman’s many industry accomplishments, his shows have earned him the Groucho Award for Best One-Man Show of 2005 and Style Weekly’s Top 40 under 40 Award. Says Backstage Magazine:  “Audiences everywhere deserve to see him!”

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Tyris D. Jones

A native of Laurinburg, North Carolina, Tyris Jones received a Theatre Arts degree from North Carolina Central University, where he was first introduced to the world of storytelling. Jones has toured the U.S. and Europe as an independent lighting designer for hip-Hop artist COMMON and various others. He made his debut at the Storytelling Festival of Carolina, where in 2008, he was named “Bold-faced Liar of the Southeast.” Jones has written and performed various works including an original one-man show depicting the life of a former Underground Railroad Slave. 

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Bernadette Nason

Award-winning storyteller and actress, British Bernadette Nason has performed all over the world. She is acclaimed both for her spirited re-telling of multicultural folktales and for her personal stories pulled from the contrasting lifestyles of places where she’s lived: England, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Nason brings stories to life with facial expressions, character voices and amazing energy in an unusual blend of storytelling and stand-up. Her extraordinary tales present an Englishwoman’s take on being a foreigner abroad with the more profound theme of seeking out new cultures in the search for self. With humorous self-mockery, she draws from her cultural experiences to highlight universal truths and life lessons learned through her travels.

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Bob Reiser

Bob Reiser is an expansive and joyous storyteller, teacher and award-winning author of books for children and adults. His books, Carry it On and the award-winning Everybody Says Freedom, (both written with Pete Seeger), along with David Gets His Drum, are read around the world. Reiser has shared his unique, energetic telling of new and old tales in multiple venues, including the RiverWay Festival, the Hudson River Clearwater Revival, the 3 Rivers Festival, and Vancouver, BC's International Story Festival. Often accompanying himself with flute and drum, Reiser brings warmth and wit to traditional and original stories.

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Ellouise Schoettler

An award-winning old-time southern storyteller, family historian and visual artist, Ellouise Schoettler learned her craft listening to family storytellers spin tales on her grandmother’s front porch in North Carolina. For nearly 20 years she has performed her stories and solo programs for audiences throughout the U.S. as well as in Nova Scotia and Prague. Schoettler blends personal experience, primary source historical materials, family lore and traditional tales to give new voice to the uncommon experience of ordinary men and women in American history. Storyteller host for two local public access cable TV programs, she also produces a monthly storytelling salon for adult audiences.