Rosemary Cutrer

I started life as a storyteller in first grade when I fell on the floor pretending to faint to get out of class for the day. The stories have gotten bigger and bigger ever since.

For 23 years I taught elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. At one point in my teaching career I took a storytelling workshop in Kansas City. I learned a folktale & tried it out on my 1st graders. They loved it & wanted more stories. As time went by I found that those stories, told orally, stimulated t heir interest in literature more than anything I had ever tried before. I was hooked! Soon I began to get requests to tell for summer reading programs & family fun nights.

Since then I have developed a wide repertoire of original stories, songs and my own versions of folktales & literature based stories. In the spring of 2000 I left teaching to become a full time storyteller performing at: festivals, schools, libraries, museums & social gatherings. I’ve performed in many states in the U.S. & in The Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland.

Having taught for 23 years I’ve become an expert at letting kids have fun without getting out of hand. With young children I use lots of music and audience participation. For older kids and adults I have some great funny pieces, ghost stories & inspirational stories. I also compose music & bring my banjo along for a song or two.

• Books Alive!: Great for award assemblies, American Education Week, Read Week, Book Week, etc. Rosie tells stories based on books. Books performed will be donated to your library. Kids will help act out at least one of the stories.
• Folktales from the Pioneers: Good for fall festivals. Some pioneer artifacts included.
• Animal Tales: Earth day or pet theme friendly.
• Something Ghostly This Way Comes: Ghost Stories & just plain creepy stories & songs for all ages.
• For Grownups Only: Folktales, stories from literature & original works.
• Irish Folktales: Stories from the Emerald Isle.
• Holiday Programs- Entertainment for your holiday event (Winter/Christmas, Mother’s/Father’s Day, Spring/Easter, Fall/Thanksgiving, etc.)
• Library Programs: Music & stories designed with your library in mind.
• After School Jamboree: Programs for after-school care groups. Discounted rates for block bookings.

Also Available: Costumed pioneer program, Native American stories, multicultural tales, folk & fairytales, preschool programs & workshops.

• $200 for one program. (Plus mileage fee.)
• $300 for two programs in the same day (Plus mileage fee.)
• $1,300 for two day residency or two days of festival performances. (Plus mileage food and lodging fees.)
• Five day Residency: $2,000 (Plus mileage, food and lodging fees.)
• Community Activity: $100 for each additional program.
• Educational Activity: $200 for one workshop/$300 for two workshops

Additional programs available for retirement homes, nursing homes, daycare facilities, or any other community or church organization.

Workshops available on:

• Public speaking skills
• How to create and share new versions of folktales and fairy-tales
• How to create and share personal stories
• How to create and share family stories
• How to create and share songs
• How to take stories from literature and develop them into oral tales

All of the above can be geared down to elementary school level or used with ages 12 and up.