Many of our Women’s Storytelling Festival tellers – including several we’ve already highlighted – are already well known in the DMV. That’s DC, Maryland, and Virginia, not the Department of Motor Vehicles. Here are some of our local heroines.
Sarah Brady is based in Virginia, but recently spent three years in the U.K. Her repertoire includes history, from the Civil War to World War II to the Civil Rights movement, as well as folk tales and Bible stories. She’s also taught speech at the college level.
Bonnie Gardner is relatively new to storytelling, having debuted at Better Said Than Done in January 2020. She’s also performed with the Scheherazade Project and Stories for Healing. In her spare time, she helps run Big Big World Project, which supports children at orphanages in Vietnam.
Jenn Kamara is a policy analyst by day and an absurdity magnet by night. She has performed on the stages of Story District and Risk! with stories that include the Worst Job and the Worst Date.
Vijai Nathan had been scheduled to be a featured teller at last year’s Women’s Festival, but withdrew due to the pandemic. She’s told at numerous venues in the D.C. area, include Better Said Than Done and Story District, and has also appeared at the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and Constitution Hall. She draws inspiration for her stories – and stand-up comedy – from her experiences growing up as an Indian-American in the DC burbs. Her newest show is “I’m not racist, but …”
Kristin Pedemonti has performed numerous times for Better Said Than Done and other local venues. She has also been a storytelling consultant to the World Bank. She moved on from being a children’s librarian in Pennsylvania to performing her stories at festivals in Colombia, Poland, Kenya, and Romania. She was the first American storyteller to be invited to participate in the Kanoon International Storytelling Festival in Iran. Her current focus is trauma recovery and healing stories and she founded Steer Your Story to further this work. She is also now working on a master’s degree in Narrative Therapy.
Margarita Rozenfeld has performed with Better Said Than Done, as well as other D.C. stages. She’s also been part of both the Rochester and DC Fringe Festivals. Her stories focus on growing up in the Soviet Union and on her experiences as an immigrant to the United States.
Andrea Young has performed for Better Said Than Done and emceed at last year’s Women’s Storytelling Festival. She finds her stories from her global nomad experiences, having lived on four continents outside of North America for over 10 years and having traveled to over 26 countries.
