Stories
- Bill Amatneek, Pickin’ for the Prez
- Mia Paschal, Heartbreak Velocity
- Michael Katz, Who’s the Student?
- Mark Kenward, Nantucket (excerpt)
Music
Michele Walther, violin and looper. Jazz, World Music, and some originals
About the Performers
String bassist Bill Amatneek has accompanied Peter, Paul & Mary, bluegrass patriarch, Bill Monroe, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, and other American roots music artists. Rolling Stone, Down Beat, and Yoga Journal have published his stories, and he is anthologized in the book, “Encounters with Bob Dylan.” Bill has been an Exchange Place Teller at the National Storytelling Festival, and in 2004 the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association conferred their Best Music Book award to the first edition of his book, Acoustic Stories.
Mia Paschal moved to San Francisco from Milan, Italy to study with Ed Hooks. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art commissioned her most recent performance, a site-specific solo work inspired by Jim Dine’s painting “Blue Clamp”. She is currently exploring how Judaism and Argentine tango approach time.
Michael Katz has been a paid professional storyteller for over 25 years, performing at such venues as the Disney Concert Hall, the LA Getty Center and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. He hosts his own storytelling radio program called Katz Pajamas, heard on NPR station KCBX on Saturday mornings. Michael’s other “hats” include being a mindfulness teacher in elementary schools, teaching adults storytelling, directing one-person performances, editing film scripts and washing dishes (unprofessionally). www.storytellermichael.com
Mark Kenward is a writer, performer, and director based in Oakland. He has written seven full-length one-man shows and performed them in over thirty-five cities throughout the US and Canada, including several main stage runs at The Marsh in San Francisco. “Kenward is a warm, wonderful storyteller who establishes an instant rapport with his audience.” (SF Examiner) Recent directing projects include full-length pieces by Angela Neff, Howard Howard Petrick, David Jacobson, David Kleinberg, David Caggiano, Victoria Doggett, and Kurt Bodden. markkenward.com
Michele Walther loves to play and perform a variety of music styles: jazz, world music, avantgarde, classical, tango, Balkan, Klezmer, and more. Michele graduated from the Conservatory of Music in Basel, Switzerland, and then from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.