Wednesday 24 April 2019

CHAPTER 3 - 24th April 2019


STORIES
1. Patrick Teoh - M'sia - Chinese New Year story
2. Antonio Rocha - USA - Piano, the Ox
3. Judith Elise Gomes - M'sia - Forever dog
4. Jaan Gill - M'sia - The Pig who wanted to be King
MUSIC
1. Bihzhu - "Heart Way" & " Easy Peasy"





PATRICK TEOH is a radio presenter and actor. He currently hosts a weekly radio programme, Pick Of The Pops on BFM89.9
Patrick also acts on TV, film and stage. He was General Red Brow in the 2014 Netflix production of Marco Polo and was most recently seen on stage in the Singaporean WILD RICE production of Supervision in 2018.
When he is not working Patrick loves to ride his tricycle. He has ridden with friends around the country and also as far as Thailand. Patrick recently, unofficially, took part in the Audax200. A 200km cycling event and completed it within the stipulated time of 13 hours.
Patrick loves to tell stories.
Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985.
In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro – (Montanaaro).
Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. ( pronunciation Marcel Marso) Mr. Rocha’s unique fusion of mime and spoken word has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between including 16 countries on 6 continents.
Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA.
Antonio has three very entertaining and educational award winning DVDs, a picture book and a few awards including the coveted Circle of Excellence Award by the National Storytelling Network.


Judith Elise Gomes is a 20 year-old who has a passion for the performing arts and is pursuing a diploma in Marketing and Advertising.
Previous items she has worked on include:
  • Won first place in a storytelling competition (School level)
  • Won third place in a storytelling competition (District level)
  • Worked on an illustration for a book in 2012 (The Jumping JellyBeans)
  • Directed two plays during high school
  • Stared as a witch in a high school play
  • Was President of the Music club and Drama club in high school
  • Worked as an intern for the Jumping JellyBeans from January to March in 2018
Ever since Judith was young, she always knew that she wanted to pursue a career in the performing arts, primarily in the acting and singing genre. However, she decided to pursue a career in Marketing and Advertising when she decided to enrol in college. She still tries to find ways to incorporate her love of the performing arts into everyday life by joining a dance club and using singing and acting during certain presentations in college.
Judith wants to have more opportunities to join more plays and is always looking to perform at open mics. She hopes that, one day, she will be able to find the perfect balance of her love for the performing arts and her studies.

Jaan Gill loves doing voice overs and narration and this is how he funds buying tech and gadgets. I welcome any and all work that allows me to explore my voice and expand my gaming life. One thing I haven’t done yet, but is a ‘Big Goal’, is to do character voice acting for Anime, Cartoons and film. I have quite a few cultivated voices and let me just say that Lego Batman is my forte - you gotta hear it to believe it…I find that cooking is my zen and am always creating new recipes for my family and friends, especially for mum. I am a gaming head and love my down-time drawing characters. I don’t fit into a box and that suits me fine. My motto is ‘kindness all the way’.  









Penang-born nightingale BIHZHU is blessed with a rich, soulful voice. Combined with her
genuine songcraft that she calls 'heart music', her charming presence has enchanted audiences all over the world, from intimate acoustic concerts to music festivals all over Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, China, and Australia, and she’s fresh from her tour in India, January 2019.

After years with pop-jazz band Rhapsody and dub outfit Layan Sound System, Bihzhu embarked on her solo career in 2011, launching it as a featured artist in Julie's Biscuits Nationwide 'Share The Love' campaign with her smile-inducing single, "The Heart Way".
The infectious tune was also chosen for a Penang Global Tourism ad featuring the famed shoe couturier Dato’ Jimmy Choo on the Asian Food Channel that aired for 14 weeks in 10 different countries.
Bihzhu also recently made a cameo appearance in the 2017 Penang Hokkien movie "You Mean The World To Me" directed by Saw Teong Hin, performing 'The Heart Way'.

In 2011, her debut album 'Nightingale Tales' received much airplay on Malaysia’s national radio stations 9.88FM, Capital FM, BFM Radio, Traxx FM, AFO Radio, Hitz.FM, RedFM as well as the Los Angeles-based ‘Woman of Substance’ radio and Minneapolis’ Big Brain Radio Show in the United States.

Her single "Bright Veins", released in March 2015, continues in the vein of uplifting music and she also penned the lyrics for "We Will Believe Again", the upbeat theme song for 2016's box office hit 'Ola Bola', by Chiu Keng Guan, Director of 'The Journey'.

HOST - SHANTHINI VENUGOPAL
REMEMBER; StoryTime is a platform NOT just for professional  storytellers, it is for anyone with a passion for stories; children, youth, young adults and adults wishing to tell their tales....so get that phone out and start recording! and email them to us at storytimejjb@gmail.com 

Wednesday 17 April 2019

CHAPTER 2 - 17th April 2019


STORIES
1. Shanthini - M'sia - Why JellyBeans are Colourful
2. Roger Jenkins- S'pore - Tongue Meat
3. Lavenia - Indonesia - Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah
4. Oni Lasana - USA/Tobago - 3 fishes in a pond
5. Connie Regan Blake - USA - Dog, she is smart!
MUSIC
1. Chelsia Ng - M'sia - "6am Sushi"
2. Weijun Loh - M'sia - "Like a Fish"



BIOS OF PRESENTERS

SHANTHINI VENUGOPAL, host of StoryTime tells her original story “Why JellyBeans are Colourful”. She’s been in the performing arts industry for over 25 years. She lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Blog to view work www.thejumpingjellybeans.blogspot.com Her book is a National Best Seller with over 4000 copies sold. 
Unique feature of this book is that the illustrations for the book is done by 22 young illustrators ranging from 8 years to 24 years. She also produced an audio CD that was inserted in the first 2000 copies. The story you hear today is taken from that CD. The music is the artistic MUSICAL input of composer Saidah Rastam with effects done by Retnaguru Sandrkasan. Recording was done at ImagineX studio. If you’d like a buy the book, email;
thejumpingjellybeans@yahoo.com








CHELSIA NG is an actor, singer, linguist, MC, TV, stage and film actor back with us this for Chapter 2. She’ll be playing her ukulele and singing one song live at the studio. It’s her latest composition called 6am Sushi.









ROGER JENKINS is a Singaporean storyteller - really (born there and lived there over 40 398.2 Storytelling Festival in 2015 and along with Sheila Wee and Jeeva Raghunath is a Director of FEAST, the Federation of Asian Storytellers, which aims to promote the art of storytelling and tellers working in Asia. He has performed frequently at the PINKS Festival in Penang as well as in story festivals in Bangkok, Chennai, Jakarta, Kuching and Nairobi.  www.rogerjenkins.com.sg







LAVENIA THALIA is a high school student from Stella Maris School in Indonesia. She's 17 years old and she won second place in the Asian English Olympics for storytelling.
Her story: "Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih" or "The Shallot and the Garlic"
Origin: Nusantara – a folklore adapted by Lavenia
Contact her via Instagram: @laveniathalia or via email: laveniathalia@gmail.com









WEIJUN is no stranger in the Malaysian performing arts scene. Since his return to Malaysia
after completing a Bachelor of Arts, Dance Degree in 2001 at Queensland University of Technology (Australia), he has been involved in many acclaimed theatre productions. He is best known for his involvements with Sutra Foundation under the artistic direction of Datuk Ramli Ibrahim.
His many interests include photography, figure skating, teaching, multimedia production and making music.
On the music front Weijun has produced music for numerous local theatre productions, short films and also dabbled in pop music.
Weijun was nominated twice for Best Music & Sound Design for Dance at the BOH Cameronian Arts Awards
A finalist in the SUTASI Song writing competition
2 top10 songs on the AMP Channel[V] charts
Currently producing a show titled In Pieces featuring top Malaysian contemporary choreographers and actors with music and artistic direction by Weijun




ONI LASANA is the "drama mama" of storytelling! She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the USA. She now lives on the island of Tobago, in the Caribbean sea.
Her professional life as a storyteller started in 1994 and has presented her one woman show in theaters, schools, universities and storytelling festivals, across the USA, Germany and in Zimbabwe, Africa.
To learn more about Oni.
Visit www.OniLasana.com






CONNIE REGAN-BLAKE  is one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. She has captivated the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe with her powerful performances and workshops. Entertaining audiences in 47 states, 18 countries, and 6 continents she brings the wisdom, humor, and drama of stories to main stage concert halls, libraries, and into the corporate world.  
Both as a solo artist and a member of the acclaimed Folktellers duo, Connie has been featured on seven award-winning recordings – five audio and two videos produced by PBS. New Age Magazine, School Library Journal, and Southern Living have praised her work. She has been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, ABC Good Morning America and CNN.  
When Connie takes the stage she generates a brightness and warmth, drawing in listeners with her engaging humor and Southern charm. Her stories range from hilarious traditional Appalachian Mountain tales to poignant true-life drama. A consummate professional, Connie’s rare talent can transform a convention hall into a wondrous landscape and turn a packed theater into an intimate circle of friends.  
Connie has performed at the nation’s top folk music and storytelling festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Her groundbreaking collaboration with the Kandinsky Trio - an innovative blend of storytelling and chamber music - has been hailed as a “new art form.”  
As a founding board member of the National Storytelling Association (formerly NAPPS), and a frequent host and featured performer at the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Connie helped ignite and shape the American storytelling revival.



Tuesday 9 April 2019

CHAPTER 1 - 10th April 2019



STORIES 
1. KIRAN SHAH - One Wish
2. MEENU SIVARAMAKRISHNAN - The King and the Drum
3. ARIC RAY (MR.KIND) - Mr. Bluff 
SONGS
1. THE BEATLES - "She's leaving home" & "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" 
Stories narrated by Edwin Sumun 


Kiran Shah moved from being a social worker and early childhood educator and became a professional storyteller in Singapore 20 years ago. She has been called the Godmother of Storytelling in Singapore (along with Sheila Wee) in being instrumental in reviving the art of oral storytelling. She loves telling folktales from her heritage and is particularly drawn to Asian folktales. She enjoys telling stories to anyone, anywhere. Her audiences have ranged from babies to seniors and she has told in schools, libraries, museums, parks, art galleries and even on trains! Apart from performances, she also conducts storytelling workshops and has participated in conferences and festivals all over Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Indonesia) and in Australia, where she now lives.
Kiran strongly believes the world now needs even more stories to be told and shared for us all to understand and respect one another. Web: www.kiranstryteller.com Member of FEAST- www.feast-story.org to find out more!
Meenu Sivaramakrishnan is a performance storyteller from Bengaluru, India. She began telling stories by passion. During her interactions with children as part of her corporate work, she realized that children of this generation are missing that beautiful journey of travelling through the world of stories, especially stories told orally. Thus began her initiative called KATHA GALATTA; to revive the love for oral storytelling and unleash the joy of discovering different characters.Through KATHA GALATTA, she does interactive storytelling sessions, sharing stories of different genres like mythology, folklores, societal stories etc. She writes short stories occasionally. She is a classically trained singer and tries to incorporate music & movements to make her storytelling more engaging and interesting for children. 
FB https://www.facebook.com/KathaGalatta/





Mr. Kind uses an entirely unique lyrical rhyme coupled with the marvelous graphic imagery of Zacc Pollitt to weave stories that last for generations: With “four marbles, and a shooter quite fat,” a stranger teaches Bluff about the dangers of arrogant boasting. The Story of Bluff is Spectacularly illustrated, with read-aloud rhythm and a virtues message of humility.http://mrkindstories.com/
EMAIL; aricray@hotmail.com



MUSIC FROM THE BEATLES - "She's leaving home" & "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"


Edwin Sumun tell us the stories behind these songs which he edited from the book “The Girl in the Song’ written by Michel Heatley and Frank Hopkinson