Type of Entertainment: Folk, History, Story Telling Rating: Everyone
"Storytelling is the embodiment of the wisdom, stories, and experiences of my family, teachers, and storytellers. When inspired, these pieces come together to create a new story or workshop. My gift to others is the use of my stories and workshop ideas to take, reshape...call it their own...and pass it along. " Marilyn A. Kinsella
Since 1981, Marilyn Kinsella from Fairview Heights, IL, has been telling stories. She started while teaching school in the Metro-St. Louis area. Her collection of stories has grown from a handful to hundreds of stories include personal experiences, folk tales, literary stories and historical tales. Her style has been described as "animated." She uses "word imaging" to color enhance the story.
For 16 years she worked as the storyteller at the Edwardsville Public Library where she honed her skill as a storyteller and puppeteer. After her retirement in 2002, she has worked as a full-time, freelance professional storyteller.
She now travels extensively telling her stories. Her main area for telling includes the St. Louis area and the Southern Illinois region, but she has been known to tell stories "to the four corners."