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Tale Tellers of St. Augustine, a 30-member collective of professional storytellers and storytelling enthusiasts, is an outstanding example of what a small “local” organization can accomplish, and as such provides a strong role model for any storytelling organization of like size and purpose.
Since its founding in January 1993, the guild has devoted itself to the advocacy of storytelling as an art form and an entertainment medium. The organization primarily develops projects and programs which enable and educate its membership, provide cultural enrichment to the St. Augustine area, and benefit the needy and disadvantaged of the community.
The Tale Tellers of St. Augustine dedicates itself to expand public awareness of storytelling, and has always endeavored to make significant contributions to the larger storytelling community of Florida and beyond, exemplified by the following:
Since 1994, programs staged by TTSA have generated THOUSANDS of dollars for charitable concerns:
Championing storytelling by youth, TTSA matches tutors with interested students, and offers sponsorship to student tellers who qualify to participate at the Florida Storytelling Association “Youthful Voices” and/or National Junior Storytelling Hall of Fame. Several St. Augustine student tellers have participated in semifinal competition at National Junior Storytelling Olympics in Tennessee and California, and the guild provided stipends to these students for travel expenses.
Guild members serve the community in the following areas:
January 2005, will mark the beginning of the seventh year of bimonthly storytelling concerts featuring seasoned TTSA performers at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine, FL. The “Theater of the Mind: Storytelling” series was established to offer stage performance opportunity for guild members and provide storytelling entertainment and cultural enrichment for the community. The concerts are as diverse in content and style as the interests and talents of the tellers, and continue to enjoy a growing reputation, community appreciation and support.
Since 2000, TTSA has observed Storytelling Week by sending tellers into the schools and libraries of St. Johns, Putnam, and Duval Counties. Annually the guild issues letters of notification to St. Johns District school principals and media representatives offering the services of Tale Tellers to visit schools during National Storytelling Week and Florida Storytelling Week. In 2000 requests for tellers to perform during Storytelling Week were returned from three counties, and participating tellers visited numerous schools. In 2001 Tale Tellers were also invited to visit various branches of the St. Johns County Public Library System and presented programs enjoyed by all age groups.
(NOTE: Florida State Resolutions affirming Florida Storytelling Week were presented by former St. Johns County Representative Doug Wiles and passed by the Florida State Legislature during 2000, 2001, 2002.)
Beginning in 1994, Tale Tellers of St. Augustine, as a storytelling guild, applied to perform at the Florida Folk Festival, the oldest and largest continually operating state folk festival in the United States. TTSA was the first and only such group or organization ever to apply and be invited to participate. Each year since that time, TTSA has taken part in this impressive celebration of Florida folklife by sending a troop of storytellers to the festival. Annually TTSA receives commendation from the Secretary of State and festival organizers who express gratitude for the group's service to the citizens of Florida by sharing storytelling. Tale Tellers draw larger groups of festival friends and storytelling enthusiasts every year.
Since 1996, a contingent of TTSA members, who refer to themselves variously as the “Historic Women of St. Augustine, Storytellers of History,” have participated in programs funded through grant monies from the Florida Humanities Council. It is stipulated that the inaugural performance of any FHC sponsored program shall be presented free to an adult community audience. Carefully researched, these programs are developed to be entertaining as well as educational. Additionally, The Women have been invited to bring their historical programs to other Florida locations for such occasions as Florida's Sesquicentennial Celebration, the Tallahassee San Luis Heritage Festival, county centennials and celebrations, dinner theaters, and the Florida Folk Festival at White Springs, FL.
All of the foregoing—along with presenting workshops and learning opportunities for its membership, regional educators, storytellers, media specialists, and interested citizens—requires significant commitment from members of the group. It is because of this dedication to the organization that TTSA members continue to grow and develop personally and professionally. They are renowned for generously sharing their talent—individually and collectively -- at schools, libraries, festivals, and other programs across Florida and the United States.
A number of Florida’s finest storytellers call TTSA their storytelling “home.” Their esprit de corps is noteworthy, making TTSA widely recognized for its contributions to storytelling, storytellers, educators students, and the larger community they serve.
TTSA is a nonprofit Florida Corporation holding IRS 501(c)(3) status, which produces or stages 8-10 ticketed events per year. The guild was formed by a small number of enthusiasts who worked with renowned Florida storyteller Gamble Rogers to organize and produce the first St. Augustine Storytelling Festival in 1990. After Rogers’s untimely death the following year, the people of the town clamored for “more” storytelling. At that time a mission statement begin to form to accomplish this goal and was embraced by a tiny, intrepid group—none of whom had ever told a story. It was the members of this group who joined energy, mind and spirit to form Tale Tellers of St. Augustine and, ultimately honor one man’s simple dream: to have storytelling in his hometown.
Tale Tellers of St. Augustine
(904) 823-7969
Tale Tellers of St. Augustine
P.O. Box 1343
St. Augustine FL 32085
tel: 904-829-8711
email: info@taletellers.org.
Last modified: 03 January 2008, 20:32:08.
