Storytelling Programs
"I open my eyes to see,
I open my ears to hear,
I open my heart to feel,
I open my mind to think,
Let the stories come!"
Barry joined the world of Storytelling in 1991 on a tour through New York's Lincoln Center Institute, and has been telling tales ever since. He is a member of the National and Georgia Storytelling Networks, and in 1999 was named the “National Storyteller of the Year.". Barry has told in hundreds of schools, libraries, festivals, camps, senior centers, museums, and beyond. A rich variety of voices, expressive movement, colorful props, puppets and costume pieces, and opportunities for audience participation abound as Barry draws on his theatrical training and experience to bring stories to life!.
For All Ages
A World of Stories
"The Mirror" from Japan, "Why Possum's Tail is Bare" from the Cherokee tradition, "The Fingers and the Thumb" from the Hausa of Nigeria, "Dinewan and Brolga" from Australia, Aesop's Fables, Jataka Tales, and many more, are among Barry's extensive repertoire. For any program, stories are selected to suit audience, age group, theme, or curriculum. Tales from the Spanish-speaking world , such as "Juan Bobo and the Pig" from Puerto Rico and "Cinco Huevos" from Ecuador, can be told fully bilingually or with a sprinkling of Spanish.
Barry getting help from a student volunteer in a retelling of the Chinese folktale "The Empty Pot."
Elementary School Programs - Primary
Mr. Bugaboo's Bugazoo (pre-K-1); various SCI and ELA GSE) - A whimsical collection of stories, songs and poems about bugs, including "The Ant and the Grasshopper," poems from Ogden Nash and Jack Prelutsky, and an original adaptation called "Eric Carle's Garden Party."
Smarty Barty's Arty Party (pre-K-2; various ELA and Fine Arts GSE) - The arts are front and center in familiar stories retold from favorite literature, including "Harold and the Purple Crayon," "Olivia", and "Amazing Grace", with musical verse from Seuss and Silverstein.
My Mouth Is Exploding! (K-2; 1st Gr.ELA GSE) - Farmer Phineas McPhonic leads a fun-filled exploration of the world of phonics—from sounds that pop, hiss, and vibrate., to expressive vowels with Big Mouth Arty Q. Later, and demonstrations from popular books including "Hop on Pop" and "Giraffes Can't Dance."
Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves: Cherokee Leaders and Lore (1-5;: 2nd Gr. SS GSE) - Folklore and lifeways of the Cherokee are shared through the voices of three famous figures - Sequoyah, Nancy Ward and Dragging Canoe - sharing a creation myth cycle, the Seven Clans, the Green Corn Dance, Cherokee Stickball, and the development of the Syllabary.
Who Put the Fizz in My Pop? Stories About the People and Science Behind Stuff We Love (1-5;; 2nd Gr.SCI GSE) - Explore the origins of fireworks, soda pop, popcorn and television through inventive and interactive stories that honor their inventors and the process of scientific development and discovery.
Space Monkeys and Starry Messengers: Real Stories from the History of Space Exploration (1-5; 2nd and 4th Gr. SCI GSE) - From Galileo to Jemison, stories of our fascination with the great beyond come to life through puppetry, story enactment, and non-stop audience participation, all with reference to popular non-fiction books that illuminate this fascinating history..
Barry as Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee syllabary, from "Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves."
Elementary School Programs - Upper
Far-Flung Fairy Tales (1-5; 3rd and 4th Grade ELA GSE) - Enjoy world variants on familiar fairy tales, including Lon Po Po, the Chinese Little Red Riding Hood; Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, a Zimbabwean Cinderella; Paco and Giant Chile Plant, and The Girl Who Spun Gold, a Caribbean Rumpelstiltskin, through retellings with vivid cultural elements,
Shakespeare's Fun House (1-5; various ELA GSE) - Barry becomes the Bard and then some of the his most popular characters - Puck, Romeo, Cleopatra, Falstaff, and Dromio - to share their stories in accessible, interactive retellings - a great introduction to the foremost poet and dramatist of the English language.
The Living Labyrinth: A-MAZ-ing Myths of Ancient Greece (2-7; various ELA GSA)) - Favorite myths come to life, including "Daedalus and Icarus," "Persephone in the Underworld," "Narcissus and Echo," and "Atalanta's Race."
First Contact: European Explorers Come to North America (2-7; 3rd Grade Social Studies GSE) - Partner Mari Martinez joins Barry to dramatize first meetings between explorers - Columbus, Cartier, and Hudson - and the native communities they met - the Taino, Huron, and Mahicans - with primary texts, authentically-styled costumes, and questions for audience reflection.
Barry as Cleopatra in "Shakespeare's Fun House."
Middle & High School Programs
Shakespearean Love: The Courtly Tradition in Shakespeare (6-8; ELA GSA) - Barry and partner Mari Martinez share the Romantic tradition through three of the most popular sonnets and key scenes from The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing, presented both in the original language and accessible contemporary phrasing, and culminating in a romantic sword fight.
The Highest Office: Campaign History of a Small-Town President (6-8; 8th Grade Social Studies GSE) Barry presents Jimmy Carter's rise from the farmhouse to the White House, through multiple voices including Carter, Hamilton Jordan, Lester Maddox, George Wallace, and Gerald Ford, and artifacts and projected images from the period. (Originally commissioned by the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.)
Taken Hostage: Carter and the Iran Hostage Crisis (9-12) A critical episode of American History comes into focus through multiple viewpoints: President Carter, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Walter Cronkite, diplomats, hostages, guards and operatives, against a backdrop of historical images, in this program originally commissioned by the Carter Presidential Library.
Young Jimmy Carter, in a photo that is part of the documentary background of "The Highest Office."
Libraries and the Summer Reading Program
Each summer, Barry creates original storytelling programs to align with the Collaborative Summer Library Program's Vacation Reading Program themes. For 2024, the theme was "Adventure Begins at Your Library," and Barry offered two brand new programs focusing on libraries, books, and librarians: "The Brilliant Donkey: World Tales of Beasts, Books, and Bravado," and "That Book Woman!, and Other Off-the-Shelf Adventures."
This year, with the theme "Color Your World," Barry is putting together three new programs: "Colors Across the Sky: World Tales About Rainbows," including “The First Rainbow” from the Philippines and “The Eagle and the Rainbow” from Mexico; "Polka Dots and Painted Pots: Magnificent Modern Masters," sharing the stories and art of contemporary artists including Jacob Lawrence and Yayoi Kusama; and, for the youngest story lovers, "Colors Everywhere!," a program of simple songs, poems and picture book stories, including Dr. Seuss's My Many-Colored Days, and Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. Please call or write today (head over to the Contact page) with questions or to reserve a date.
A storytelling super-hero from the 2011 Summer Reading Program, "CultureMan to the Rescue!"