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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 9, 2014) — Milligan College will once again host “Buffalo Tales with the Guild,” featuring members of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild, on Friday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre located in Milligan’s Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts.
The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. General admission is $5 and $3 for children or students. Proceeds from the event will defray costs for Milligan’s introduction to storytelling class.Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door. For advance tickets, contact Adjunct Storytelling Professor Larry Kelley at 423.502.6076.
“The Milligan storytelling students are blessed to have the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild come and share their professionally structured and delivered stories,” said Kelley. “The students not only benefit as they learn from the region’s best storytellers, but they also gain the experience of planning and promoting a storytelling event.”
The featured storytellers include Leon Overbay, “Mountain Man” Bob Phillips, Rebecca Alexander, Linda Poland, Bruce Montgomery, Isaac Freeman, Sherril Miller and Gayleen Kelley.
- Leon Overbay specializes in southern humor and performance poetry. Living all of his life in the Boones Creek community, Overbay writes poems and stories about growing up in rural East Tennessee. He is a founding member of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild and a charter member of the Barter Storytellers.
- “Mountain Man” Bob Phillips creates and tells his own stories from the mountains. He has been telling stories professionally since 1994. He is a founding member of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild.
- Milligan alumna Rebecca Alexander grew up in a Christian home on a farm in East Tennessee. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and sociology/psychology from Milligan and a Master of Education in storytelling from East Tennessee State University.
- Linda Poland has created award-winning historical storytelling tour programs and directed Tennessee Humanities oral history projects throughout Tennessee and beyond. She was officially honored in 1997 with the title of resident storyteller for Jonesborough. Poland is a founding member of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild.
- Dr. Bruce Montgomery, professor of communications at Milligan, loves to use spiritual, Biblical and personal stories that relate to his audiences and make them laugh and see things in new ways. Previously, Montgomery spent 27 years in preaching ministry in Ohio, Indiana and Texas. He has spoken at national and regional gatherings often for Youth in Ministry and Higher Ministries. This is his 20th year at Milligan. He began the storytelling program at Milligan seven years ago and is working toward creating an emphasis or minor in storytelling.
- Isaac Freeman got his start telling stories as an administrator for a member of Congress. He has told stories at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and gained recognition at the National Storytelling Festival. He was the featured teller at the Exchange Place during the 2013 National Storytelling Festival.
- Sherril Miller is a storyteller, writer, editor, retired teacher, wife and mom. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in storytelling at ETSU and is a performing member of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild. She likes telling multicultural and personally-crafted stories of characters from her life and from her own family’s background in West Virginia and Northern Arizona.
- Gayleen Kelley was born in Killeen, Texas, and has been sharing stories in churches, schools and at storytelling festivals for over 20 years. She specializes in sharing inspirational, personal and historic stories. She often uses her beautiful singing voices in her performances and especially enjoys telling stories in tandem with her husband, storyteller Larry Kelley.
To learn more about the Jonesboro Storytellers Guild, visit www.storytellersguild.org.
For more about arts events at Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.