Cynthia Changaris (e-mail: cchangaris@aol.com), born and raised in Charlotte, NC, attended her first storytelling festival in Louisville in 1984. That visit to the famous Corn Island Storytelling Festival left her entranced with the art of storytelling, and she began studying everything she could find at the library and attending storytelling events wherever she could find them. She also began studying the art herself with experts like Doug Lipman, Laura Simms, Carol Birch, and others.

Since then, she has been telling stories both locally and nationally, performing at such festivals as the Riverboat Storytelling Festival in St. Charles, MO; Story Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM; and the Nebraska Storytelling Festival. She has presented at the National Storytelling Conference several times and serves as a state liaison to the National Storytelling Network. She also has produced a CD, Spin Me a Tale, which won a Parent’s Choice Recommended award, and has taught storytelling to teachers.

Cynthia is also the proprietor of Storyteller’s River House Bed and Breakfast in Bethlehem, IN and the co-developer, with her business partner, Mary Hamilton, of a “story coaching weekend” called WOW (Work on Your Work). Storytellers from across the country have attended the weekends to improve their styles and strengthen their stories.

Cynthia’s own style as a performer is playful and interactive, often incorporating musical instruments such as voice, dulcimer, guitar, and Native American flute. She loves to tell to all ages from babies to seniors, adapting stories and songs for the specific age group.

One of Cynthia’s newest projects is the Kentucky Storytelling Association, the first member-driven, statewide storytelling association in Kentucky, which held its first annual meeting in November 2004. The group is open to story writers, collectors, tellers, and fans.

Program 708

Writers Dianne Aprile and Amelia Blossom Pegram introduce the Jazz and the Spoken Word project at Louisville’s Jazz Factory, Cynthia Changaris shares her passion for storytelling, and Morehead author Bob Sloan reads from his works while accompanied by the fiddle and banjo. (#708)

Program 722

Writers Dianne Aprile and Amelia Blossom Pegram introduce the Jazz and the Spoken Word project at Louisville’s Jazz Factory, Cynthia Changaris shares her passion for storytelling, and Morehead author Bob Sloan reads from his works while accompanied by the fiddle and banjo. (#722)