History is Her Story - March 3
Prime Performance - Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 2pm
Featuring Marni Gillard, Aya Mahmoud, Claire Nolan and Stephanie Ward
To kick off Women’s History Month, this program features four storytellers spinning yarns about strong and influential women: both past and present, famous and lesser known, real or imagined in myths, folktales and legends. Honoring and exalting their contributions and the experience of being female, the stories acknowledge that women across the world are ground-breakers shattering conventional wisdom, defying naysayers and making history theirs.
- Free admission
- No tickets required
This performance is part of a series spotlighting local artists. Presented in collaboration with the NYS Writers Institute. Funding support provided by the University at Albany Foundation, University Auxiliary Services, Office of Intercultural Student Engagement and the Alumni Association.
Kicking off Women’s History Month, the program features Marni Gillard, Aya Mahmoud, Claire Nolan and Stephanie Ward spinning yarns about strong and influential women: both past and present, famous and lesser known, real or imagined in myths, folktales and legends. Honoring and exalting their contributions and the experience of being female, the stories acknowledge that women across the world are groundbreakers shattering conventional wisdom, defying naysayers and making history theirs.
Story subjects in the program include Ida B. Wells-Barnett, investigative journalist, educator, early leader in the civil rights movement and one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Sojourner Truth and her fight to end slavery and racism in the United States. A much-loved story from India, Nala and Damayanti, from the epic The Mahabharata will also be shared.
Marni Gillard, a former educator, performs locally and has also traveled to Ireland, South Africa and India where she has met storytellers and shared her tales. She was awarded the Northeast’s Regional Service Award from the National Storytelling Network in 2002. Gillard specializes in workshops where students or adults find the life stories or folktales they can tell.
Aya Mahmoud’s deep connection to her roots in Sudan forms the heart of her storytelling, as she draws upon her personal experiences to share captivating tales with her audience. A UAlbany student, Mahmoud embarked on her journey in storytelling with the Children at the Well Program. She has also been a storytelling coach assistant at the Underground Railroad Educational Center.
As the seventh of ten children, Claire Nolan has a wealth of personal stories and enjoys telling myths, literary tales, and folktales. Nolan can be found telling tales locally at Caffe Lena in Saratoga, Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady, Wiawaka Women’s Center at Lake George and Thacher Park. She is also an instructor in UAlbany’s Intensive English Language Program.
Stephanie Ward is an actor and a storyteller. As a storyteller, she has performed for the Interfaith Story Circle of the Capital District and is a coach for Children at the Well, a program where children from different traditions learn the art of storytelling together. As an actor, Stephanie performs at the Sterling Renaissance Festival.
This event is one of several this season that shines a spotlight on local artists as part of the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s Prime Performance Series. Others area performers on the schedule are the Jeanne O’Connor Jazz Group which will feature the jazz vocalist on Thursday, April 4, along with Peg Delaney on piano, Pete Toigo on bass, Bob Halek on drums and Brian Patneaude on saxophone. Other local performers in the series who have already been presented this season as part of this initiative include Quintocracy, composer/conductor Brett Wery, Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company and Capital Trio.