Amy Douglas - Storyteller

Amy Douglas is a vibrant professional storyteller with a passion for traditional stories and riddles.

From the age of 14 she has delved deep into the folklore of Britain, reveling in tales of the strange and macabre; memories of magic and other worlds; proud recollections of folk history; stories to make you smile, sigh or shiver; stories that have been moulded by the land, weather and generations of tongues wagging.

Amy is experienced in community projects, performance, workshops and working with children, teenagers and adults in all environments using storytelling for education, or pure entertainment.

Her subtle wit, gentle humour and soft, strong voice breath life into her stories, opening doors to other times and possibilities, so that somehow, even when she is gone, a gleam of magic still lingers.

All art begins with a story. The desire to create, to let your soul shine and share the joy and pain of life with another soul begins with a word. Although there are varying levels of experience and expertise everyone can share a story. Storytelling is a creative and accessible artform and is also an ideal medium to focus on team building, lead into creative poetry and prose, speaking and listening skills and presentation.

A year studying with professional storytellers in Britain and America, 1993/1994

● Arts Award Advisor qualified to mentor young people for their bronze and silver arts awards as part of the National scheme to recognize young people’s involvement in the arts and give them an accredited qualification

Memories of Pontcysyllte, Amy Douglas and Fiona Collins, Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 0-7524-3770-4
Available online from: The History Press - Potycysyllte

Evesham Voices, Genevieve Tudor and Amy Douglas, Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2000, ISBN 0-7524-2092-5
Available online from: The History Press Evesham Voices

English Folktales: (Winner of the 2007 Storytelling World Award for best storytelling collection)
Dan Keding and Amy Douglas, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 1-59158-260-1

2009	Find Your Talent	Currently working with Dance Xchange, Telford and Wrekin Libraries, and High Ercall and Crudgington Primary Schools using Shropshire myths and legends to inspire a dance performance to be shared at Charlton Secondary School
	Inspiring Arts Ideas for Teachers	Workshop leader for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts conference for KS2 teachers in Liverpool
	Young Storyteller of Wales	Judge for the competition held at the Llangollen Arts Pavillion

2008	Find Your Talent	Worked with Dance Xchange, Telford and Wrekin Libraries, and High Ercall and Crudgington Primary Schools using Shropshire myths and legends to inspire dance, creative writing and narration.
	Keep the Home Fires Burning	Worked with the army cadets, primary school and WWII veterans in Bishops Castle to share memories of conflict and the home front
	Stories from the web	Recorded a selection of stories which are currently being edited and posted on the library run educational site, www.storiesfromtheweb.org. Check with your library whether they have subscribed to the service.
	Haden Hill Old Hall	Worked with Year 6 students interpreting the Hall through stories of its residents as part of a project to connect communities with their heritage
	Sensational Celebration	Told stories to KS2 students as part of the celebrations at the end of the first phase of Telford’s Culture Zone
	The Young Storyteller of the Year	Worked with Ludlow Secondary School to prepare young storytellers for the national competition.
	Step Forward in Storytelling	Leading day workshop on intermediate storytelling skills for adults
	HP Fan Trips	Artistic leader during a residential week at Ford Castle recreating the atmosphere of staying at Harry Potter’s school, Hogwarts
	Festivals including:	Festival at the Edge’ national storytelling festival on Wenlock Edge
		Whitby Folk Festival’, week long celebration of traditional song, music and story in North Yorkshire
		Gypsy and Traveller Festival, Edinburgh, participated in a week long tribute to the great traveller storyteller, Duncan Williamson
	Finished maternity leave

2007	The Twisting Field	A collaboration of storytellers and musicians, blending song and narrative. Toured nationally at storytelling clubs, arts centres, literature festivals and through rural touring schemes
	Footfalls	Collaborated with award-winning theatre company Pentabus leading reminiscence workshops feeding in to their mission to open a window onto the lives of all the people who lived in Nag’s Head Yard in Ludlow from the 1800s to the present day
	Gifted and Talented	Led a storytelling workshop for gifted and talented students at Bishops Castle Community College
	The Young Storyteller of the Year	Worked with Burton Borough Secondary School in Newport to help prepare young storytellers for the national competition
	Craven Arms - Face It!	Bringing together KS2 students and elders of the diverse communities of Craven Arms to encourage intergenerational sharing with the aid of fantastic fruit faces!
	Had a baby!

2006	Moving On	Leading storytelling workshop at Winter’s Edge Storytelling Festival
	Beginner’s storytelling	Workshop leader, National Society for Storytelling AGM
	Shropshire Story Tours	Taking secondary school students out into the Shropshire countryside to experience the local stories in their settings
	Pontcysyllte Memories	Launched a book of reminiscences published by Tempus Publishing collected during ‘Voices around the Aqueduct’, a nine month reminiscence residency, celebrating the memories of people living around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
	Word of Mouth	Featured performer at Manchester’s Storytelling Club
	The Welcome Wall	Collaborated with visual artist Michelle O’Connor and 14 - 17 year old special needs students from The Bridge to design and create a nine metre square welcome wall for their new school (part of the Hadley Learning Community
	Light Horse Heavy Horse	Worked with Acton Scott Historic Farm Museum, visual artist, Michelle O’Connor, local day-care centres, residential homes and local primary schools and nurseries to produce an installation of 300 clay horse lanterns drawing inspiration from the Sacred Groves of Tamil Nadu and celebrating the role of the heavy horse in our past and folklore.
	Harry Potter Fan Trips	On board storyteller for week long Harry Potter based UK tours, celebrating the wealth of traditional stories and customs drawn upon by J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series and interpreting the landscape through folklore and mythology
	Festivals including:	Whitby Folk Festival, North Yorkshire;
		Chinquapin Storytelling and Music Festival, Illinois, USA
		The Exchange Place’ at ‘The National Storytelling Festival’, Tennessee, USA

2005	Voices around the Aqueduct	A nine month reminiscence residency, celebrating the memories of people living around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, culminating in a series of performances and a book of reminiscences published by Tempus Publishing, April 2006
	Their Past, Your Future	Collaborated with Wrexham Arts Centre to interpret the Imperial War Museum WW2 touring exhibition for KS2 pupils through drama, storytelling, reminiscence and intergenerational discussion
	English Folktales	Co-edited a collection of traditional English stories retold by English storytellers, published by Libraries Unlimited, November 2005, ISDN 1-59158-260-1 (Winner of the 2007 Storytelling World Award for best storytelling collection)
	Festivals including	Whitby Folk Festival and Winter’s Edge Storytelling Festival
	Storytelling Cafes	Toured the midlands network of venues for quality performance storytelling for adults
	Harry Potter Fan Trips	On board storyteller for week long Harry Potter based UK tours, celebrating the wealth of traditional stories and customs drawn upon by J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series and interpreting the landscape through folklore and mythology
	Storytelling Apprentices	A residency with Harlescott afterschool homework club (7-12 age range) working to generate enthusiasm about stories, both told and written
	Boundary Oak Arts Project	Working with visual artist Michelle O’Connor, Worcestershire Countryside Services and A-level students from Worcester RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) college using stories to interpret the natural world and inspire creativity
	Sanctuary 2005	Using storytelling with refugees and secondary schools in Birmingham to discuss issues surrounding the need to seek sanctuary

2004	Words on Wheels	5 day residency with a Birmingham Libraries initiated project supporting and promoting literacy in education
	Stories into Art	4 day residency with year 5/6 children, artist, Marcia Knowles, using storytelling for inspiration to create a mural for Brynteg Library, Wrexham
	Camper Cymru	(ITV1 Wales) Exploring the mythology of Pistyll Rhaeadr
	Ellesmere interpretation and audio guide	Recorded local stories for use in the audio guide
	Talking Buses	Provided on board interpretation and storytelling for the Stiperstones Shuttle buses, Shropshire
	Here on Earth	Winsconsin Public Radio, US - Featured as English storyteller in a series of storytellers from around the world.
	Harry Potter Fan Trips	On board storyteller for week long Harry Potter based UK tours, celebrating the wealth of traditional stories and customs drawn upon by J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series and interpreting the landscape through folklore and mythology
	Parklife – The Hole Story	Co-managed and delivered a seven month arts and reminiscence intergenerational residency celebrating the community of the village of Llay and their links with Alyn Waters Country Park, Wrexham