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The Baden Storytellers’ Guild
Since 1989, the Guild has been the forum for those who wish to work together to learn more about the art of storytelling.
 Members network, coach each other, and make use of the large resource library which is housed in The Story Barn.
This year’s members come from Guelph, London, Burlington, Brampton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Elmira, and Baden.
The Guild meets on the third Friday of the month, from September through June, at 7:00 p.m. Annual dues are $25.
Some Guild members are available for hire. One of them might be perfect for your special event. Fees vary according to experience and qualification.
Current members who are available for performances are:
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Mary McCullum Baldasaro
Mary McCullum Baldasaro's love of language, voice, and story find natural expression in teaching (French as a second language), storytelling, acting, and playwriting. She is a regular teller at Stories Aloud in The Story Barn and has performed in schools, libraries, at the Toronto Storytelling Festival, Latitudes Festival, and Heart & Hand Festival.
To contact Mary email barrynmary@sympatico.ca.
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Michele Braniff
Michele finds magic in the sharing of stories. Telling with passion and drama, Michele has been inviting story-listeners to climb imaginative heights since childhood when she began sharing interactive make-believe games for younger siblings and friends. Michele creates her own stories based on dreams, history and sacred texts. She has been a member of the Baden Storytelling Guild for several seasons and tells stories, regularly, at the Baden Story Barn, and also, from time to time, at festivals and other events, such as: Kitchener Latitudes, Enabling Gardens in Guelph, Harmony Square in Brantford and at the Scarborough Guild Inn story-telling festival.
Contact Michele at mbraniff@rogers.com.
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Derek Brisland
From his time as a child actor performing in B.B.C radio dramas and listening to stories in air raid shelters during World War 2 to that of a Deacon preaching in the Roman Catholic Church, story has been part of Derek Brisland’s life. His roles as engineer, family man and volunteer in the community gave him fodder for the stories he tells now in his vocation as storyteller, which began in earnest after his retirement in 1991.
A member of the Storytellers School of Toronto, The Baden Story Tellers Guild, Derek has shared his talents at the Bon Soo Carnival and other venues in Sault Ste Marie. In the K/W area he has performed at Steckly Heritage Farm, and Joseph Schneider Haus Museum. He also tells in schools, for community groups and of course for his grandchildren.
dbrisland@sympatico.ca.
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Judy Caulfield
As a teacher/storyteller, Judy Caulfield has used storytelling extensively in school settings for over two decades. Judy has presented workshops on becoming a storyteller and using storytelling with students. She has told in a variety of venues from The Storytelling Festival of Toronto and Goderich’s Celtic Roots Festival, to conferences and classrooms. Currently, she teaches Language Arts to student teachers at OISE/UToronto. To contact Judy email: jcaulfield@oise.utoronto.ca.
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Greg Kay
As an active and long-time member of Toastmasters International, Greg has discovered the power of story-telling whether it be to inform, persuade or entertain an audience.
Greg enjoys telling favorite folktales from around the world and is prone to embellishment and exaggeration as he shares tales of wonder, tricksters, numbskulls, and heroes. He will sometimes solicit ideas from the audience so that he can improvise and create a story in the moment.
Greg has been a regular teller to adults at Stories Aloud in Baden. Over the last 2 years, he has performed for adults and children at the Steckle Farm Halloween events in Kitchener. He also showcased improvisational and prepared stories at the Word on the Street Festival this past summer. To contact Greg, email kaygreg@gmail.com
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Mary-Eileen McClear
Mary-Eileen has been a freelance storyteller since 1982. She is the founder of The Story Barn (aka The Second Story Workshop) in Baden, and the Baden Storytellers’ Guild. Contact maryeileen at maryeileen@thestorybarn.ca Read about her at www.thestorybarn.ca.
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Stephen Van Vugt
Stephen is a singer and storyteller who enjoys telling traditional fairy and folk tales to children of all ages as well as personal and historical stories to adults. He has enjoyed annual local performances for non-profit organizations at heritage sites and churches.
stephen.vanvugt@sympatico.ca
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John Wesselson
John Wesselson has been a frequent teller to adults at Stories Aloud in Baden since 2003. He tells 19th-century authored short stories and Middle Eastern and African folktales. He has told to children at community events including the Heart & Hand Festival at Joseph Schneider Haus. Contact John at jwesselson@cogeco.ca.
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Carolyn Wilker
Carolyn Wilker is a freelance writer and speaker from Kitchener, Ontario. A former preschool teacher who loved story time as much as her students, and a Toastmaster experimenting with storytelling, she came to the Baden Storyteller’s Guild to experience the art more fully. Her repertoire includes folk tales, poetry, and stories from her pen and her experience. She tells at Open Story Night and in the wider community.
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