Personal, mythic, magical, transformational AND improv stories!

Jennifer Ferris, featured teller at the June Story Swap.

Jennifer harnesses the power of humour (note her Canadian spelling!) and language to engage listeners. She will take you for a glorious ride with her personal stories as well as tales of myth, magic and transformation from around the world. When she tells an improv story, you discover the magic of being in the moment of story creation with her!

Victoria storyteller, Jennifer Ferris, has been active as a storyteller for 25 years. She has performed in schools, at community events, nature sanctuaries, festivals, concert and café tellings. Last fall she was invited to perform at the St. John’s International Festival and told to audiences in Newfoundland and Laborador. She came away with more stories than she took. Jennifer believes that the answers to the great questions of who we are, why are we here, what comes next lies somewhere in a story.

As an educator she has had an opportunity to share her stories with all grades from K to 12, tailoring the story to the curriculum, to the situation, and just for fun. Through her professional work and volunteer activities in the community she has used story to engage and entertain tellers of all ages.

Jennifer’s family arrived in Victoria in 1858 in time for the gold rush on the Fraser River and, later, in the Caribou. Family stories, given to her by her grandmother, and her own research have helped her to develop a number of stories about that period.

As a mentor she coaches emerging storytellers, helping new tellers to develop and perform their stories for peers and the larger community. In addition to her work with new tellers, experienced storytellers also seek her out for advice and coaching. She has organized storytelling clubs in elementary school and high school and has provided telling opportunities for students in Victoria.

She gives workshops to adults, children, families and international ESL students. Participants find that her gentle approach and enthusiasm offers a safe environment to try new ideas.

Jennifer has just completed a term as president of Storytellers of Canada – Conteurs du Canada and is now active on the board as past president. This has involved working on a national level on behalf of Canadian storytellers and the art of storytelling.

For more specifics about the story swaps, see our story swap page.