Exchange Place 2010

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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Sharon Cooper-Murray

Sharon Cooper-Murray became fascinated by the tone and rhythm of the Gullah language over 30 years ago. Through participation in some oral history projects, Cooper-Murray heard Gullah stories first hand and developed a passion for their culture, stories, music and folk ways. This provided the catalyst that propelled her into storytelling. Since that time, she has traveled extensively across the U.S. East coast, telling their tales and teaching their crafts in a variety of venues that include festivals, conferences, and schools.

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Jeff Gere

Jeff Gere blends talents as painter, puppeteer, and mime into performances which have electrified audiences of every age for twenty years. His animated physical energy, wide range of voices, morphing elastic face and clear characterizations are the trademarks of his storytelling, which he’s presented in venues across the world. Gere has been the director of Hawaii’s Talk Story Festival since 1989, and created and hosts Talk Story Radio, a Pacific storytelling show with 13,000 weekly listeners. He is the recipient of the Storytelling Oracle Regional Service and Leadership Award.

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Hannah Harvey

Born and raised in southern Appalachia, Harvey has delivered award-winning performances and workshops at festivals and universities in the U.S., U.K. and Morocco. Her energetic style brings to life humorous and compelling stories of contemporary Virginia coal miners; life growing up in Appalachia; and folktales connected with the region’s Scottish heritage. Harvey has taught storytelling and cultural performance at UNC and Kennesaw State University, where she developed and directed the KSU Tellers storytelling company. She is managing editor of the Storytelling, Self, Society journal.

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Arianna Ross

Arianna Ross creates international, dynamic programs that weave the power of dance, theater, music and storytelling together. Ross is known for her ability to entertain and educate people through performances, hands-on workshops and long-term residencies. She strives to tell multi-lingual stories that can both bridge the gap between communities and remind us that it’s through the laughter and tears of our tales that the lessons of life are imparted. Her performances include the National School of Drama Festival in Delhi, India, the International Storytelling Festival in Vancouver, B.C., and the Fairfax County International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap.

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Pat Spalding

Before stumbling upon her true calling of storytelling for grown-ups, Pat Spalding made a career of puppetry with her touring company Ha’penny Theatre; she now refers to herself as "a recovering puppeteer turned monologist." Described as honest, moving, and downright hilarious, Spalding’s material and her physical storytelling style have been praised for both their depth and humor. Spalding specializes in original monologues for the stage and classical and contemporary tales for children and families. Her essays have been featured on NH Public Radio and she is on the touring roster for the NH Artists in Education.

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Nothando Zulu

Nothando Zulu has been telling stories that entertain, educate, motivate and inspire for over 30 years. She draws from an extensive resource of colorful and often funny characters whose antics and follies leave audiences pondering their own life's lessons. Zulu is President and Director of the Black Storytellers Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining the oral storytelling tradition as practiced by African people in the Diaspora. As such, she helps produce the festival Signifyin' & Testifyin', now in its 17th year, which celebrates the art of Black storytelling. Zulu has shared her stories at both national and international venues.