Past Events
- Storytelling – Writing Group, Easthampton Public Library, 9 Park St., Nov. 16, 2019, 11:00 am-12:30 pm
- TELLEBRATION! Sunday, NOV. 24, 2019, 4-5:30 pm At Mill 180 Park. A Night of Storytelling around the World, encouraged by the National Storytelling Network. Storyteller John Porcino along with storyteller Gail N. Herman and others will share stories and then open the mic to community members. The event is free. Any donations offered will be given to the National Storytelling Network Grants and to a charity for new citizens.
- BOOKFEST Story Slam – April 14, 2:00 pm-4. Storytellers and community tellers share 5-7 minute stories about Luck and other themes at ECA’s BookFest Story Slam. To register as a storyteller call Gail Herman 203-5247. The event is free and open to the public; listeners are welcome and will vote for the favorite story of the day. The teller receives a $50 award. Several tellers will also be chosen from the hat at the event. The Story Slam is held at Eastworks, Easthampton Media, Suite 102, 116 Pleasant St. April 7th at 11:00 am is an optional workshop for Slam storytelling held at Easthampton’s Emily Williston Memorial Library, 9 Park St.
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2018 National Storytelling SUMMIT – July 26-July 29, 2019. Kansas City, Missouri www.storynet.or
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New England Storytelling Conference/Festival = Sharing the Fire March 23-25 2018 March 25, 2-3:30 pm, Hotel 1620 Families with elementary and middle school age children will enjoy a lively afternoon of storytelling. Professional storytellers will share personal stories, folktales, and tips. Family groups with help from the tellers will then craft their own versions of favorite family tales and folktales. Some groups may even choose to come up on stage and perform for the audience or videotape their family stories! $15 ($5 ft students – elementary through college)
- February 8, 2017. Storytelling Workshop, Family and Personal Stories. Viera, FL.
- Story Slam, Sunday Sept. 24th at 5:00 at the Apple Orchard in Easthampton, 82 Park Hill Road . Tellers include Tamara Smith, Andrew Shelffo, Lauren Mattone, Dean Nimmer, Richard McKeown (musician-storyteller), Brian Vierstra, Dorothy Cresswell (singer-storyteller), Chris Futia, and others.
- Workshop on story slams. Sept. 23, 11:00 am. call 203-5247 for info.
- I will teach Storytelling, Mime And Movement: Making Learning Creative and Kinesthetic at the University of Connecticut July 9-14, 2017. CONFRATUTE is a conference – institute on creativity and talent development in all subjects (from STEM to STEAM) for all students. Over 400 teachers attend, many for the second, third, and fourth year, to hear lectures and participate in week-long workshop strands! Enthusiasm, engagement, enjoyment help in developing strengths and talents, and raising the ceiling on learning.
- National Storytelling Network Conference: June 28-July 2, 2017. All Our Voices: Stories of Immigration and Migration.
- BookFest Story Slam, April 8th 3:00 pm at Room 160, Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St. Easthampton, MA 01027.
- Connecticut Storytelling Festival & Conference: April 28-29. Connecticut College, New London, CT.
- Story Slam – April 8th, 3:00 pm in Room 160 at Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton, MA 01027.The following tellers are scheduled to share their stories:
- Sue Curewitz Arthen “So There I Was & Here I Am”
- Christine Carlton Australia
- Tim Van Egmond “New Year’s Eve Off I-84.”
- Chris Futia “Nowhere to Run”
- Lauren Mattone “Reunion”
- Alison Murchie ” The Halfway House”
- Dean Nimmer ” Helper”
- Tamara Smith “Change of Plans”
- Jean Pao Wilson “Dogs!”
The second part of the story slam includes any other volunteers from the audience who did not register. They will put their names in a hat to share a story while the audience votes are being counted for the “favorite story” of the day. The person with the favorite story will receive $50 prize. Everyone who tells a story will receive a thank you gift, as well. In addition people whose names are picked from the hat to tell will receive small thank you gifts.
Businesses in the area who help support the story slams (besides ECA+) include Pioneer Valley Fencing Academy, White Square Books, Off the Map Tatoo, Wow-Frozen Yogurt of South Hadley, Storytellers: Nora Dooley, Gail Herman, LANES.Org, as well as Western Nails (72 Cottage St.) and an anonymous giver from GCC.
- March 24-26. League for the Advancement of Northeast Storytelling Conference. Sharing the Fire. Hotel 1620, Plymouth, MA. www.lanes.org
- March 15-16, 2017. Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Children (AEGUS) Conference. Cooper Union, New York City. Contact http://www.aegus1.com.
- January 10, 12, 17 & 19, 2017. Storytelling Workshops and J-Term Story Slam. Mount Holyoke College. Call Dr. Gail N. Herman for information 413-203-5247 or email gail@gailherman.net
- November 20, 2016, 4:30- 6:30 pm. Tellabration! A Night of Storytelling Around the World. Mill 180 Park, 180 Pleasant St., Easthampton, MA. Motoko, Eshu Bumpas, Tim Van Egmond, Bob Reiser, Dorothy Producer, Performer, & Emcee.
- November 19, 11:15 am- 12:30 pm. Storytelling-Writing Group. Emily Williston Mem. Lib. 9 Park St. Easthampton.
- November 5, 12:00-1:00 pm. National Association for Gifted Children Conference.
- October, 28, 2016, 4:30-6:00 S’more Spooky Stories for Halloween around the firepit. Gail N. Herman will share stories and audience members who tell afterwards will receive a S’mores treat!
- October 15, 11:15-12:30 pm. Storytelling-Writing Group at Emily Williston Memorial Library. All welcome.
- October 1, 11:30 am. Storyteller Linda Marchisio, also a librarian from CT will entertain us with storytelling, “Folktales, Fantasies, and Fun.” Gail N. Herman who will tell stories with musical folk percussion sound effects and audience participation 100-4:00 pm.
- September 24, 2016, 1:30 pm. Storyteller Katie Ross and Musician Otto Ross will entertain us with Music and Stories from Appalachia. Accordion and banjo Music begins at 12:30 pm. Hear about Mayor Macho and Old Gus, participate in a Jack Tale or two. Look for the Storytelling Tent attached to the gazebo.
- September 18, 3:30 pm. Story Slam in the Apple Orchard. Park Hill Orchard, 82 Park Hill Rd. Easthampton, MA. These September and October storytelling events were made possible with support from ECA+, a local agency which is supported by Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
- August 30, 2016. Performance “Creatures of our Mind’s Eye” for Our Lady Child Care at 35 Pleasant Street, Easthampton.
- August 15-19, 2016 Creative Arts in Teaching and Learning. Adjunct Professor. College of New Rochelle Graduate School. New Rochelle, NY/
- July 10-15, 2016 Storytelling, Mime, and Movement: Making Learning Creative and Kinesthetic. Strand Coordinatory at Confratute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. http://confratute.uconn.edu/
- July 14 Confratute Variety Show. University of Connecticut. To register for the week call 860-486-4826 or go to http://confratute.uconn.edu/
- July 11 Kinetic Energy in Visual Arts: Exploring the Art-Sound-Movement Connections. Evening Session. Confratute, Univ. of CT, Storrs, CT. http://confratute.uconn.edu/
- June 18 Storytelling Writing Group. Emily Williston Memorial Library, Downstairs, 9 Park Street, Easthampton, MA 01027. We tell our stories to discover what we want to write.
- May 23-27, 2016 Storytelling and Poetry Residency & Workshops, Mansfield Middle School, Mansfield, CT
- May 16, 2016 Poetry in Sound and Music, Workshop with Doreen Babola for DKG Service Org. Contact Gail for further information.
- April 29-30, 2016 Connecticut Storytelling Festival, Workshop– “A Trunkful of Stories and Oral History” Sat. 4-30, 3:30-5:00 pm.
- April 24-25, 2016 Performances at Mother Catherine Academy’s Family Sunday, Mechanicsville, Maryland
- April 9, 2016 2:00 pm Story Slam at BookFest. 116 Pleasant St. Room 160, Easthampton, MA. Gail is the EMCee. The theme is Roots.
- April 1, 2016 9:15 College Story Swap at UMass for Sharing the Fire, LANES Storytelling Conference.
- The Storyteller TV Show with Gail N. Herman. Vimeo and Channel 191. Easthampton Media. Episode 1 is now available at https://vimeo.com/12753049
- Feb. 20, 2016, 11:30-12:30, Emily-Williston Memorial Library, 9 Park St. Easthampton. Storytelling-Writing Group. Adults and students will create their own Story/Poem-origami for the BookFest project. Jean Pao Wilson will bring the paper for the origami. I will guide the story-poem section. Fun for adults and students.
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- March 6, 2016, 11:45 am. Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence. The Art of Storytelling. “Join us in the parlor for a family-friendly presentation by Dr. Gail Herman, professional storyteller and creative arts education consultant. She will tell us a bit about storytelling though the ages and entertain us with a few stories of her own. All ages welcome. Gail would love to listen to any of our stories over the bagels and fruit that will be served! FMI: Rich West at rwest@periodyssey.com.”
- March 14, 2016. Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St. Holyoke, MA. Tickets $7, $5 for members. I will conduct a 90 minute workshop for the general public to help them see how storytelling can be a way of capturing family history. I can’t wait to be back to the beautiful former home that is now the Wistariahurst Museum. It is the perfect place to have a family storytelling workshop.
- March 16, 2016. Greenfield Community College Story Slam and Optional Pre-Slam Workshop. 10:30 am-1:30 pm. Call 413-203-5247 to apply to tell.
- March 19, 2016. Story Slam Workshop. 11:00-12:30. Storytelling Group. All welcome. I will be going over the story slam process for the April 9th event and helping people to frame their story to fit into the 5 minute time limit. The theme is “Roots.”
- April 9, 2016. Story Slam at the Easthampton BookFest. Go to easthamptoncityarts.com/bookfest for more information and to apply to tell.
Details for the Easthampton StorySlam at BookFest:
- April 9, time is TBD
- Where: Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton
- Storytellers are given up to 5 minutes to share a story related to the theme.
- Limited space available.
- Theme of the story slam is “Roots”
- Organized by Gail Herman who will offer workshops prior to the Easthampton BookFest to help you learn how to tell your story. Call 413-203-5247 for more information.
MORE about the theme to inspire your story: “Root canal, root of the problem, gardeningroots, root for your team, rooting for the underdog, historical roots, family roots, digging up the roots, roots of gray hair, Is there a story to share about your root canal? a team you’re rooting for? learning about your family roots? Did you have more success solving a problem when you dealt with the root of the problem?”
- January Term Storytelling Workshop Course at Mount Holyoke college, Jan.5-14, 2016.
- 2015
- Storytelling, Mime, and Movement: Making Learning Kinesthetic and Creative. July 12-17, 2015. Confratute, Learning through Enjoyment, Engagement, and Enthusiasm. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
- Storytelling-Writing Group. July 18, 11:30 AM-12:45 PM. Emily Williston Library, 9 Park St. Easthampton, MA 01027. For more information, go to Contact Gail. Adults and families welcome with child storytellers welcome.
- Summer Teacher Art Retreat. August 10-12, 2015, Mon.- Wed. 8:00-3:00. St. Jame’s Lodge, 77 Tide Mill Rd. Hampton, NH. This is the fifth year for Masks, Storytelling, Art, Music, Books, and Movement
- Story Statues. Wed., July 29, 2015 10:30 AM-12:00. Become a living statue using theater games: King of this Land, Signature Postures and Wave Craze Gestures. Bring a hero to life by creating voices, postures, and gestures. Materials for costumes will be available and optional. Students.
- Story Slam. August 15, 2015, 12:00 noon-1:45 pm. Emily Williston Library, 9 Park Street, Easthampton, MA 01027. Contact Gail N. Herman for a spot to tell. Stories may be up to 6 minutes in length or shorter. Share a true or tall story! Truth is stranger than fiction! Beyond Ordinary is the theme.
- Storytelling-Writing Group Workshop, December 13, 2014, Emily Williston Memorial Library, Easthampton, MA
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- 2014
- Storytelling Workshop and Optional Story Slam, January Term at Mount Holyoke College
- Gail N. Herman and Sally Stephenson, NAGC, Bringing Biographies to Life with Poems, Sound Effects and Songs
- Gail N. Herman presented Creating Philosophical Discussions with Primary Grade Students, Nov. 14, 2014, Baltimore, MD, National Association for Gifted Children Conference.
- Storytelling-Writing Group Workshop, December 13, 2014, 11:30 am- 12:30 pm Easthampton, MA – With Gail N. Herman, Emily Williston Memorial Library, Downstairs.
- Storytelling Workshop and Optional Story Slam: January Term at Mount Holyoke College, Times: 6:30-8:30 pm, Dates TBDRegister: gnherman@comcast.net – Give your name, college (MHC, AC, SC, HC, UMass), year of graduation, major.
- Nov. 9 Storytelling “Tellabration!” 5:00 pm- 8:30 pm, Haymarket Cafe in Northampton,
- 5:00 = Dinner, 6:00 = Stories with Gail N. Herman, Tom McCabe, Rona Leventhal, Rob Peck, and Bob Reiser, 7:45= Community Storytellers: Nicole Birkolzer, Jean Pao, Jenny Powers, and youth tellers: Esme, Jordan, & Madelyn
- Nov. 5, Girl Scouts, Holyoke Library
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Oct. 11, 2:00 p.m. – Story Slam at Park Hill Orchard on Park Hill Road in Easthampton, MA.
- Art Walk, September 13, 5:00-6:00 PM, Mime Time with Gail N. Herman, Union and Railroad Streets. Come watch and learn mime.
- September 13, 11:30-12:30 Storytelling-Writing Group, Emily Williston Memorial Library, 9 Park St. Easthampton, MA.
- August 30 – STORYTELLING IN THE ORCHARD – Park Hill Orchard, Easthampton, MA.
- August 16 – Storytelling- Writing Group, Emily Williston Memorial Library.
- August 1 – Mime Time Workshop, Emily Williston Memorial Library, 9 Park St. Easthampton.
- July 31, 2014 – Circle Story Puppet Time, Emily Williston Memorial Library, 9 Park St., Easthampton.
- July 13-July 18- Confratute, University of Connecticut’s Conference and Institute for Engaging, Enriching, and Enthusiastic Education! Strand Coordinator for Storytelling, Mime, and Movement: Making Learning Creative and Kinesthetic.
- June 14th- Puppets and Stories, Easthampton Arts Council (ECA+)
- May 17th – Storytelling -Writing Group, Emily Williston Library, 11:30. We tell our stories to discover what we need to write and rewrite!
- April 28- May 2, 2014 Poetry for Sound and Motion, Smith Middle School, South Hadley, MA, 7th Grade classes for Miss Doreen Bobala.
- April 19- Storytelling-Writing Group, Emily Williston Library, Easthampton. We tell our stories to discover what we need to write and rewrite.
- April 17- “Kinetic Energy in the Visual Arts,” Northampton Collaborative for Education, Arts Integration Workshop.
- April 12- Essentials of Literacy Conference, Central Connecticut State University, Presentation: “Visual and Verbal Storytelling Enhance Student Writing.” Co-Presenter, Tara Ashane.
- March 22- “Hearing Between the Lines” Workshop at the Children’s Music Network for Educators, Arlington, MA.
- March 12- Story Slam at Holyoke Community College, 11:00 AM.
- March 3rd Story Slam at Greenfield Community College at 12:00 Noon in North 250, second floor, Main Building. All students and community members are welcome. Throw your name in the hat to tell. All names chosen tell stories up to five minutes long.
- February 18- “Kinesthetic Visual Arts,” George Mason University, Workshop for Art Education Graduate and Undergraduate class of Dr. Renee Sandell.
Recent Press Coverage:
- The Summit, March 17, 2016, pg. 4: Calendar Photo: Free Workshop at Emily Williston Memorial Library March 19.
- The Summit, August 13, 2015, pg. 2: Speakers Calendar: Easthampton Story Slam.
- Hampshire Gazette, November 6, 2014: Sec. C pg. 1. Weekend Planner: Stories “Tellabration” by Dan DeNicola.
- Hampshire Gazette, August 28, 2014: Kids “Storytelling in the Orchard.”
- Hampshire Gazette, September 20, 2013: Hampshire Life Magazine, : Art People: Gail Herman, storyteller, educator.
- The Republican, August 28, 2013: Storyteller Awarded $1,220 grant. Storyteller Gail Herman wins Easthampton City Arts grant.