"IN HIS HANDS, STORYTELLING IS AN ART. NOT TO BE MISSED."

A professional storyteller since 1980, Jon knows more than 24 hours of stories. He performs almost anywhere: including theatres, schools, arts centers, living rooms, board rooms, museums, and libraries.

His repertoire includes:

PROGRAMS FOR:  CHILDREN / FAMILIES / ADULTS
PROGRAMS WITH OTHER PERFORMERS

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:

    ELEMENTARY SCHOOL : Stories and poems from kids, collected with a commission from the Smithsonian Institution. Kids' views of their world: school, family, pets and other animals, journeys, scrapes and bruises, and things that go bump in the night. For Grades K-3, 4-6 and Families.

   SOME GOOD OLD TALES : Multi-cultural tales are a Spelman specialty. Versions of classic stories from many cultures. Includes old favorites like "King Midas", "Hansel and Gretel", "Raven Lights The World", "Brer Panther Eats It All", an Asian "Cinderella", and "El mono y el cocodrilo". For Grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and for Families.

   MYTHS AND LEGENDS -- STORIES OF HOW AND WHY : Specially adapted versions of ancient tales and more recent stories from the oral tradition. Can include a riveting version of "Beowulf". For Grades 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and for Families.                             

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    THREE STORIES TALL :  Folktales and personal stories, both warm and funny, gathered from the richness of American rural telling, urban folklore, family anecdote, and folk tale. For Grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and for Families.

   FRANKENSTEIN :   THE myth for our time. Based on Mary Shelley's classic novel, and told from The Creature's point of view. For Grades 9-12, and for Families.

    TALKIN' TALES : Traditional American stories told by Jon as a character named Yancey Register, a rural raconteur and "liar". For Grades K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and for Families.

•    Other Stories of Interest:
  
     -- THE BROTHERS GRIMM:  Both old favorites and surprises for Grades 3-12, and for Families.
     -- War Stories Nam:   in a version for high school students and for Families.
     -- MARK TWAIN: Some of his funniest and most unusual short stories. For Grades 6-12 and for Families.

    A STORY PROGRAM for you can be tailored from any of the programs above. 

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

FRANKENSTEIN: THE BEAUTY OF THE BEAST. A theatrical version based on Mary Shelley's exquisite 19th century novel, "THE myth for our time", and retold from the Creature's Point of View. For Adults.

TALES FROM CANTERBURY. Stories from a comic class reunion at Spelman's high school, Canterbury High. Some of these tales are original, others are versions of Chaucer. Medieval zanies and contemporary goof-balls are all on the same pilgrimage down the Ohio River. Commissioned by the Washington Storytellers Theatre. For Adults.

ON THE BEDPOST OVERNIGHT. Bed/Time Stories. Beds and times, and what happens in, on, and around them. Love, parenthood, and loss. Commissioned by the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. For Adults.

WAR STORIES NAM. Oral histories of the men and women who served in Southeast Asia. The war and its aftermath, seen through the eyes of participating American G.I.'s and nurses, as well as a Vietnamese woman. Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery of The Smithsonian Institution. For Adults, and in a special version for high schools.

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GREASE HEAT : TALES FROM THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE. A collection of stories and contemporary fables from both the literary and oral traditions. Includes the title story "GREASE HEAT", a sharply-humorous tale of racial prejudice in a roadside diner. Other stories include "THE ROAD TOAD", about a young woman who is dated by a bull-frog, and "GRASS CAPE", a witty and moving combination of King Lear and Cinderella. For Adults.

PROGRAMS  WITH OTHER PERFORMERS

FRANKENSTEIN : THE BEAUTY OF THE BEAST. A theatrical version based on Mary Shelley's exquisite 19th century novel, "THE myth for our time", and retold from the Creature's Point of View. Performed with composer, musician, and actor Andy Teirstein. For Adults.

AN AMERICAN STORYFEAST : MAIZE, ROAST BEEF, AND COLLARD GREENS.  Jon Spelman is joined by African American storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston and Native American teller Gayle Ross.Three cultures telling together in a theatrical format.  Programs for Adults; and for Children and Families.
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