Healing Story Alliance Concerts & Workshops

HSA offers workshops, concerts, seminars, and panel discussions that explore the applied uses of storytelling in all forms of healing.

Midwinter Mirth Fundraiser
Sunday January 11
LIVE on ZOOM!
7:00pm-8:30 pm EST
Admission $20-50

About the Storytellers

Laura Simms is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer, teacher and humanitarian. She combines traditional stories with personal narrative.  She is artistic Director of the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center in NYC and served as a Senior Research Fellow for Rutgers University Peace Center under the auspices of UNESCO. She is a founding member of the Healing Story Alliance and serves on their programming committee. Laura saved a zoo in Romania, and won the Sesame Street SUNNY DAYS AWARD for work with children worldwide. She received the Hasbro September 11 Grant designing a manual and training for storytelling for children in crisis.  Laura has worked in post conflict and climate disasters with International Medical Corps, and Mercy Corps, Inc. She is a certified dharma art teacher and a senior meditation instructor in mindfulness awareness practice.  She has five books and many recordings. Recently Laura was story advisor for the Fetzer Foundation Sacred Story Project.  She continues to work with The Constellation.  www.laurasimms.com

Heather Forest, PhD, is an award-winning storyteller, author, musician, and organic farmer. A pioneer in the American storytelling renaissance, she has appeared in theatres, schools, literature conferences, and major storytelling festivals throughout the United States and abroad. She is the author of seventeen children’s books and recordings based on multicultural folktales. A modern-day bard, her dynamic fusion of original music, poetry, and the sung and spoken word brings multicultural folktales to life in the imagination of her listeners. She has been awarded both the NSN Circle of Excellence award for storytelling skill and the Talking Leaves Award for her contribution to storytelling literature. She is President of the Board of Healing Story Alliance, Inc. and views storytelling as both a fine art and a powerful tool for positive social change. www.heatherforest.com

Motoko is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s 2017 Circle of Excellence Award and has enchanted audiences of all ages at schools, community centers, and in major storytelling festivals nationally since 1993. An artist celebrated for her physical eloquence and poignant tales, she trained with master mime Tony Montanaro and renowned Appalachian storyteller Elizabeth Ellis. Motoko’s repertoire includes Asian folktales, Rakugo and Zen tales, ghost stories, mime vignettes, as well as oral memoirs from her childhood in Osaka and her life as an immigrant in the U.S. She has notably appeared on PBS’ Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and has created numerous award- winning recordings. https://motoko.folktales.net/

Lynette (Lyn) Ford is a teller of folktales, haunted tales and personal stories rooted in her family’s Black Appalachian storytelling traditions; an award-winning author and published poet; an Ohio Arts Council teaching artist and Creative Aging Project presenter; a certified laughter yoga teacher, a certified laughter wellness ambassador, a great-grandmother, and a collector of gargoyles. Lyn has shared her “Heartworks: Laughter, Breath, Joy” sessions and workshops at corporate retreats, education conferences, Mom groups, the Thurber Center, and storytelling gatherings in Australia, Hawaii, across the Midwest, and at the National Storytelling Network conferences and the National Storytelling Festival. Lyn’s poetry has appeared in “Callaloo: Black Appalachia Issue” and several Women Speak anthologies. Lyn is  the recipient of two NSN ORACLE Awards, and a National Association of Black Storytellers Zora Neale Hurston Award. Lyn loves sharing stories, hugs and joy. [email protected]

Carol Birch is a recipient of an Oracle Award for Excellence from the National Storytelling Network. Her style revitalizes language; her art is an absence of artifice; and her stories offer memories worth keeping. Her two books and eight recordings received multiple awards. She’s taught storytelling on both coasts at Loyola, Wesleyan, and Southern Ct Universities, and received two grants from NEH. Featured repeatedly at the National Storytelling Festival, international performances took her to Australia and Singapore, as well as five storytelling tours through Ireland, Scotland and England. “[Her] voice is a magnet for ears… a warm and enchanting style.” – NUVO Weekly https://carolbirchstoryteller.com/

Noa Baum is described by the Washington Post as someone who “spreads cultural truths that eclipse geopolitical boundaries…”. Born and raised in Israel, Noa is an award-winning storyteller, author and coach focusing on the power of narrative to heal across divides of identity and build bridges of peace. She was an actress at Jerusalem Khan Theater, studied with Uta Hagen in NYC and holds an M.A. from NYU in drama therapy. Noa presented at The World Bank; Mayo Clinic; NSA; National storytelling Festival, Kennedy Center; USDA, and Stanford University. Noa’s memoir A Land Twice Promised won several awards including the Anne Izard Storytellers Choice Award. How the Birds Became Friends is her newest children’s book. https://www.noabaum.com/

Donna Washington is an internationally known, multiple award-winning storyteller, spoken word recording artist, and author of numerous children’s picture books. A highly animated performer, she has been entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences with her vocal pyrotechnics, elastic face, and deep characterizations that bring folklore, literary tales, and personal narratives to life for over thirty years. Donna has been called a “Walking Disney Movie”, and told she was “better than television”. https://dlwstoryteller.com/

Ed Stivender is a self-described “full-time daydreamer who moonlights as a storyteller,” He has toured the world since 1981 presenting his one-man shows in Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Indonesia, and in festivals across the U.S.  Known for his delightful mixture of whimsy, wit and wisdom, he invites his audience into an interactive dance of the imagination. The author of two books of coming-of-age stories, his writing has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Catholic Digest, and Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul.  Stivender, an NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award recipient, is also an award-winning Philadelphia Mummer. The Miami Herald calls him “The Robin Williams of Storytelling.”  https://patchworkstorytelling.org/ed-stivender

Andy Offutt Irwin, with a silly putty voice, hilarious heart-filled stories, and amazing mouth noises (arguably, the greatest whistler in the world) is equal parts mischievous schoolboy and the Marx Brothers, peppered with a touch of the Southern balladeer. He has performed at Walt Disney World and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York.  He has been a Keynote Speaker/Performer at the Library of Congress-Viburnum Foundation Conference on Family Literacy, and he has appeared numerous times at the National Storytelling Festival. Andy is the recipient of multiple awards, including the NSN Oracle Circle of Excellence, and a Special Congressional Recognition – for outstanding and invaluable service to the community – from Rep. John Lewis. Andy lives in Covington, Georgia. He thinks he is funny. https://andyirwin.com/

Paul Strickland is a full-time professional storyteller and coach who lives in Covington, KY. He was a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival in 2023 and a Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in 2024. Paul’s heartfelt and hilarious original tall-tales, reupholstered folk tales, and thought-provoking songs have been performed in virtually every imaginable environment, from Off-Broadway to elementary and middle schools, libraries, corporate events and even two prisons – where he was NOT an inmate at the time. He has won “Best of Fest” numerous times at Fringe Theatre Festivals in the US and Canada, and selections from some of his funny-forward performances can be heard on Sirius/XM Radio. The Cincinnati Enquirer says, “An hour spent with master storyteller Paul Strickland is an hour well spent” https://www.ainttrue.com/

Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, is an interdisciplinary story theater artist who is a founding member of the world renown performance troupe, Eth-Noh-Tec. His work offers precision choreography, music and lyrical word-weaving. He performs ancient Asian mythologies, folktales and urban legends along with contemporary Asian American inspiring stories. With Eth-Noh-Tec he has performed nationally and internationally, has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and PBS, and is proud to have performed in President Clinton’s and Obama’s Inaugural Celebrations. Eth-Noh-Tec is a recipient of the NSN’s ORACLE Circle of Excellence and International StoryBridge awards. https://www.ethnohtec.org/

EMCEE

Lani Peterson, PsyD, known for telling and encouraging personal stories, has a specialty in story exploration as a healing art and change agent. Her background includes over 25 years as a professional storyteller and story coach combined with a doctorate in psychology from William James College, a master’s in counseling psychology from Lesley University and an undergraduate degree in literature from Smith College. She has taught Effective Organizational Communications Skills for Non-Profit Leaders in the master’s program at Wheelock College as well as Healing through our Stories in the Expressive Therapies master’s track at Lesley University. From CEO’s to scientists, doctors, mental health providers, ministers and the homeless, Lani has worked with individuals, groups and organizations to help people find their stories, share their stories, and come together with a deeper level of connection and understanding. Her ongoing mission is to bring to light and share the stories that will open doors within and between storytellers and listeners alike. https://lanipeterson.com/

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PAST EVENTS

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A one-man show written, directed, and performed by The Artist Anubis. This production takes audiences inside today’s contemporary Black man’s heart, mind, and fears. Fusing theater and improv into his technique, The Artist Anubis grapples with defining himself as a son, lover, and father—all while in the presence of his therapist. At times, his eloquence feels as if the artist is grasping for sanity and, at other times, his humanity. His introspection reveals the shadows and all that is light as he fights his way back to his mental wellness.

Anger is an uncomfortable, often taboo, sometimes dangerous, and very necessary emotion. It informs us when our personal needs are not being met, when there is injustice, and when action is required. Anger often covers painful emotions, such as grief, powerlessness, shame, and fear. Understanding how our anger is trying to help us is a crucial step in the forgiveness/healing process. By listening to our anger’s stories with compassion and curiosity, we connect to what is important to us, and live more authentically. 

Curl into winter’s cave this Samhain, as the myth of Persephone’s descent guides you into the mysteries of the underworld, where darkness is both a sanctuary and an initiation. The underworld asks for your surrender to its embrace, to seek and find a core of stillness, trust, and love. This sacred story is a potent journey of claiming your innate authority, aligning yourself with your inner core of wise knowing and creative vision. 

The goal of this workshop is to help build skills to manage controversial conversations in the family and beyond. Whether it be the conflict in Gaza or Ukraine, the climate crisis, border issues, or our upcoming political election, as people in our country take sides over controversial national and international issues, it can feel like the divide between us only deepens. Family relationships are becoming casualties of our toxic polarized environment. Family members are having nasty political arguments, avoiding each other, or even cutting off lifetime relationships. If you want to preserve important family bonds while still being true to your values and political beliefs, this workshop is for you! 

The Healing Story Alliance (HSA) presents a concert of healing stories told by women members of the HSA Advisory Committee. Enjoy a varied evening of personal narratives and folktales that will delight you at one moment and inspire you the next. Please join us for this exciting fundraising event and help support our programming.

You have something to say in a story, but how do you say it without sounding too pushy or opinionated? In this hands-on workshop, Sue O’Halloran will demonstrate and instruct how she approaches themes of race equity, diversity and inclusion into stories that respect, enlighten, and emotionally move your audience members to take action. You’ll leave with a better understanding of your motives for telling socially relevant stories and be given practical ways to overcome the fears all of us have about taking stands. Join us whether you are a veteran activist or you are still discovering what causes call to you. 

Healing Story Alliance is delighted to present a virtual concert, Social Action Stories curated by Dr. Kevin Cordi. Listening to and telling social action stories renders people and their stories visible. This program, which grew out of the recently released book, Social Action Stories, (Ed. Cordi, Milks, and Van Tessell, 2023) captures the voices of five storytellers, activists, educational reformers, therapists, and regular folks who advocate for change through deep listening and deliberate action. These stories are intended to move your work as a storyteller towards an equitable world.

Social Action Stories (Ed. Cordi, Milks, and Van Tessell) Marion, MI: Parkhurst Brothers Publisher, 2023) PO Box 356 Marion, MI 49665 Phone 800-621-2736. http://www.parkhurstbrothers.com/ $19.95 paperback (See website for other options) Free shipping for attenders of the program. (Code will be given out during program). You must call to order to receive the discount.

Join us for an HSA special event fundraiser featuring Lani Peterson Psy.D. who will guide us on a remarkable Heroine’s Journey. Through telling our stories and listening to the stories of others who walk a similar path, we will explore within ourselves and between each other, the underlying knowledge, skills, and support we need to help us live our lives more fully.

Throughout our life’s journey we face challenges that reveal to us who we are in our depths, who walks with us, what we know and what we still need to learn. Whether we are looking at the arc of a day or the journey of a lifetime, we find similar patterns of being pulled into experiences that we sometimes embrace, and many times just endure. As women, what aspects of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey are unique to us, and how might we benefit from sharing our stories of challenge and triumph with our sisters?

In this special event fundraiser for Healing Story Alliance join us to explore the art of Kintsugi with Kristin Pedemonti! Through guided reflections and hands-on learning, attendees will experience the physical art and profound metaphors of Kintsugi in a step-by-step process. Engaging in this uplifting endeavor, imagine how you will put the pieces back together! No experience necessary.

WHAT IS KINTSUGI? Kintsugi (golden joinery) is an ancient Japanese art of mending broken pottery with lacquer and precious metals highlighting the cracks rather than hiding them. Kintsugi honors the journey of the vessel and believes the mended piece is stronger and more valuable. Kintsugi is a powerful metaphor and art form used to explore layers of meaning- including challenges, changes, and new chapters in our lived experiences. This workshop offers an invitation to look at the pieces in new ways as we put them back together. 

Welcome one and all! Healing Story Alliance is delighted to present a free storytelling concert designed by master storyteller Laura Simms to celebrate HSA’s rejuvenation in the New Year. The event will be a tapestry of personal stories and fragments of myths uncovering the heart of joy in everyday experience. These stories within stories are woven into a remarkable Kurdish Jewish fairy tale called “What a Beautiful Road.”

Lewis works with aboriginal communities to develop uniquely aboriginal styles of healing and health care, particularly drawn from the Lakota and Cherokee traditions. As both a psychiatrist and psychologist, Lewis has been studying traditional healing and healers since his early days and has written extensively about their work and the process of healing.  Lewis is the author of Coyote Medicine, Coyote Healing, and Coyote Wisdom, a trilogy of books on what Native culture has to offer the modern world. He has also written Narrative Medicine, Healing the Mind through the Power of Story: the Promise of Narrative Psychiatry.  

Lewis has developed this special keynote and workshop for the Healing Story Alliance based on his recent book written with Barbara Mainguy, Remapping Your Mind: the Neuroscience of Self-Transformation through Story. 

CONCERTS

DEEPER THAN THE SKIN
Reggie Harris & Greg Greenway
Nov 20, 2022
On Zoom! 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
Tickets $25

DEEPER THAN THE SKIN is a musical presentation on race. It is an experience of singing and listening… of experiencing a connection so deep that it makes you laugh, smile, cry and reconsider what you know about our history. It’s an invitation to open your heart and mind to a story of shared humanity that can resonate with your own.
Two friends… one Black, one White… one from the North… one from the South! Musicians, storytellers, students of history and world travelers . . . born 3 day apart! Two separate narratives forged into one powerful friendship aimed at finding common ground and helping others to do the
same.

Past HSA Workshop Events

KIND STORIES WORKSHOP- June 6, 2021
After presenting several Kind Stories in Concert programs during the winter and spring of 2021, HSA offered story listeners an opportunity to work with facilitators Elisa Pearmain and Lani Peterson to explore the personal and family stories of kindness in their lives.  Take-aways included several story seeds, a more developed story shared, inspiration, and sense of our shared community.