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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Sept. 6, 2012) — Milligan College will host “Buffalo Tales,” a storytelling exhibition featuring members of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild, on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre of Milligan’s Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5, and proceeds will benefit Milligan’s Introduction to Storytelling class.
The featured storytellers include Kate Agmann, Larry Kelley, Gayleen Kelley, Saundra Kelley, “Mountain Man” Bob Phillips, Madelyn Rohrer and Marci Salyer Nimick.
A native of northeast Texas, Agmann now lives on the banks of Nolichucky River, where she uses her storytelling skills to weave together the facets of her life that include everything from teaching adults and children in public and private schools to selling art and antiques.
Larry Kelley is a full-time storyteller from Chuckey, Tenn. He has a master’s degree in storytelling from East Tennessee State University. He is known for his original Appalachian humor, stories from real life, children’s stories, Christian stories and unique twists on old fables and yarns. He often performs in tandem with his wife, Gayleen Kelley, who enjoys telling original and historical stories to mixed-age audiences. She is a member of the Tennessee Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (TAPPS).
Saundra Kelley is the author of “Southern Appalachian Storytellers: Interviews with Sixteen Keepers of the Oral Tradition.” She has a master’s degree in storytelling from ETSU and performs throughout the southeast, telling personal narrative, original stories, family legends, folk and fairy tales, and now, the stories of her adopted state, Tennessee.
Phillips creates and tells his own stories from the mountains. He became a professional storyteller in 1994. In 1997, he was selected as one of eight semi-finalists to compete in the National Storytelling Competition held in Hillsboro, Ohio, where he finished third. In 2000 he was again selected and captured first place.
After retiring from a 30-year career in corporate America, Rohrer moved to northeast Tennessee in the mid-1990s and started strolling the streets of Jonesborough as a tour guide. That launched her into her second career — storytelling. She has performed at many storytelling events, including the Swapping Grounds at the International Storytelling Festival.
A native of Eastern Kentucky, Nimick is an instructor of speech at Walters State Community College. She is an accomplished storyteller and country singer.
To learn more about the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild, visit www.storytellersguild.org. For more information about arts events at Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.