“Jon Spelman. Tall enough to look up to, and we do in many ways. In Word Ways. Performance Ways. It’s like looking up a tree — he’s rooted in the ways of the earth, yet has this great overview of how to live wisely on this planet. Life-wise. Love-wise. And, what an outrageous beautiful laugh!” Gwenda LedBetter, Performer
“A stunning performance: hilarious, informative, deeply moving piece delivered by a master craftsman. Breathtaking!”: Thomas, Audience Member
“Jon Spelman’s approach to storytelling allows children (and their teachers) to ‘experience’ the role of a storyteller. Because the process is supportive and positive the students learn to listen to themselves and to each other. It was a delight to see the enthusiasm of the entire class to volunteer to tell their stories.His methods naturally spill over into the writing process. In my classroom, revision conferences have taken on a new dimension. Students now help each other to clean off the blurry windows of their written expression. The processes that I have learned from Jon Spelman are something that I can readily add to my teaching practice. The experience of working with a master performer has benefited my class tremendously and we had a lot of fun in the process.” Joanice Tarcza, Teacher
“FACING THE BULL was great. It was immersive in a way that made me lose track of time. Your ability to turn from humor to pathos on a dime is amazing. I was really impressed with the structure and the use of time and situation; how you would sometimes put us in the middle of things and work toward the context, and sometimes would set a context and then put us into it. I also saw you operating on multiple levels of storyteller, actor/reenactor of yourself, actor of characters around you, and I thought you were doing some great things in moving between these, like an emotional reaction before we heard the narrative of it. So much to admire. John, Audience Member
“With his beginning and intermediate classes and his personal coaching, Jon has been almost single-handedly growing the storytelling community in the Washington DC area. He draws on a deep well of personal experience as writer, performer and coach, and has a sure ear for both for technical and structural aspects of performance, and for the realization and development of a personal voice.” Cricket Parmalee, Workshop Participant
“I was floored by the power of the narrative, and deeply moved. Plus, I laughed a lot. It was a real gift. Thanks Jon for the gift of your story and yourself.” Susan, Audience Member