"Women of Strength and Valor" at College of Southern Nevada

By Marianne Donnelly

Marianne Donnelly tours the country as Louisa May Alcott and others. 

She welcomes comments: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"Women of Strength and Valor" at College of Southern Nevada

Special to Las Vegas Round The Clock

"Women of Strength and Valor", a program featuring engaging stories of women who demonstrated courage, past and present will take place at the College of Southern Nevada's North Las Vegas Campus, in the Laxalt Education Center (building S, Room 144) at 12:30 p.m on March 13, 2019.  The event is FREE and open to the public.

This exciting program is presented by the Nevada Storytelling Guild, which was started in about 2012 by its current President, Dr. Rochelle Hooks, and is an affiliate of the National Storytelling Network. 

In addition to monthly tellings, workshops and touring performances, NSG also engages in TELLABRATION, which is a worldwide annual storytelling event held traditionally on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It is wildly popular around the world and gaining new followers every year, thanks to efforts by dedicated Tellers, such as you will enjoy at this free event!

Recently, the Guild collaborated with the Office of Cultural Affairs and received a grant from Nevada Humanities to host,
"Thy Why and How of Story Conference," which included two master-workshops, a concert featuring local storytellers and an evening performance by national storyteller Kevin Kling. 

Continuing their community-building, this upcoming Showcase is produced in collaboration with CSN's Diversity and Cultural Affairs Office. Four talented NSG members will perform engaging sections from larger works they perform for conferences, schools, chautauquas and more.

Judy-Ann Davis Young will perform, "Coming of Age." She is a native Alaskan and truly a Renaissance woman who has hiked through a rain forest in Ghana, West Africa; walked on the Great Wall of China; gazed upon the vastness of the Grand Canyon and led a group of women on a 27 day motorcycle trip across 25 states, which is the basis of her featured story.  
JudyAnn is an ordained minister, Inspiration Speaker and a professional storyteller.  Ms. Young wrote a one-woman show called, When Spirit Cries, which attained critical acclaim in Alaska. 

Marianne Donnelly will perform as, Louisa May Alcott using Louisa's recorded words on suffrage, abolition and liberation circa 1880 from, "BEYOND LITTLE WOMEN," which streams on NPR-NH. Marianne comes from the Boston storytelling outer-circle and tours nationally as Alcott, Nellie Bly, and Janis Joplin. Her work in media ranges from Sesame Street script analysis at Harvard to writing a children's cable TV series to performing in schools, and non-traditional settings.  She is a theatre reviewer for Las Vegas Round the Clock and other publications.  Currently she is with Nevada Arts Council's Rural Arts Project, "Basin To Range," which will bring programs like these to rural Nevada communities. 

Sandra J. Pearlman will perform as, "Helen J. Stewart: First Lady of Nevada."  Stories have been a part of Sandy’s life as a mother, teacher and psychotherapist. She believes stories are important for a community to hear. As a psychotherapist, her patient’s stories were often used as a catalyst for change…in a sense, changing the outcome of their life story. She studied theatre at UNLV. Her stories range from folktales, literary stories, monologues, healing stories and pieces she has written or lovingly adapted. 

Dr. Rochelle Hooks will perform as,"Mary McLeod Bethune." Rochelle has been an educator and storyteller for over 40 years. Her love for storytelling and the performing arts have been an integral part of both her personal and professional life.  Dr. Hooks’ love for stories came from her mother. She has honed her storytelling skills by telling Multicultural Tales, Literary Tales, Personal Tales and Famous Narratives to people from 1 to 101 years old! She tells at workshops, schools, and community events across the country. She enjoys teaching the craft of storytelling to teachers, families and other professionals. Dr. Hooks loves sharing the power of storytelling and uses it as a vehicle to teach, entertain and heal.

Storyteller M. Samela Dingus will emcee the program. She is a stage manager, producer, director and transition coach. She worked at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, produced concerts for the UNLV Dance Department, and stage managed various performances and stage plays for the Clark County Library District. She hosts storyteller events and annual Tellabrations at the West Charleston library.

In the spirit of "sharing the fire" the Nevada Storytelling Guild invites anyone with a passion for telling-- beginners to professionals-- to the meetings at CSN's North Las Vegas campus, 4th Tuesday of each month (with the exception of December and July) from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Diversity and Cultural Affairs room N-204.

STORYTELLING LAS VEGAS facebook page has more information. Also, you may contact Karla Huntsman, storyteller and Nevada Storytelling Guild liaison at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 
She warmly welcomes new tellers to join the journey.