The TaleTellers troupe features ETSU Storytelling teachers Dr. Joseph Sobol and Ms. Delanna Reed, along with the cream of our Storytelling graduate program. There is no fixed charge for our program. However, we do ask schools to provide a donation to help us continue our touring and other educational endeavors. The suggested donation is $100. (Bear in mind that similar programs often cost many times that amount.)
Possible sources of funding for a TaleTellers performance at your school include community benefactors, community-oriented businesses, private individuals, and the PTA. If you can’t afford a donation of $100, we will accept a lesser amount. Your donations enhance our efforts to bring storytelling to the young people of our region.
TaleTeller performances require an initial set-up time of thirty minutes prior to the show time. No microphone will be needed for groups of less than 100 students. If your school is able to provide a professional-quality sound system, we can tell to groups as large as 300. If the TaleTellers provide the sound system, an initial set-up time of 1 hour will be necessary.
Each program is approximately 45 minutes; please allow a 15-minute break between performances. For instance: K-Grade 2 from 9:00-9:45 a.m., followed by Grades 3-5 from 10:00-10:45 a.m.
Preparing for ETSU TaleTellers
In preparation for our troupe’s visit, your teachers might want to talk with their students about world oral traditions, and explore our region’s rich storytelling heritage. Storytelling and the oral tradition are the grandparents of the literature and entertainment we enjoy today. Many students--and teachers!--find it hard to imagine a world without cable television; compact discs; DVDs; the Internet; and videos. The teachers page has been set up for your teachers. You can copy the link below and paste to an email to let them know about how to prepare their students for ETSU TaleTellers.
Storytelling preserves traditions and values from cultures that thrived before written communication became accessible. And we’re fortunate enough to live in the heart of storytelling! Northeast Tennessee is home of the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, and is known worldwide as a cradle for the art of storytelling.
TaleTellers visits are always a refreshing and invigorating break, for students and staff alike, from the stresses of standardized test preparation.