Nancy Donoval
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Contact Information
contact name: Nancy Donoval
phone: 612-721-8489
email: NancyDonoval@mac.com
mailing address:
2415 24th Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55406
Similar Artists:
Spalding Gray, David Sedaris
Related Organizations:
National Storytelling Network
Northlands Storytelling Network
Northstar Storytelling League
Metropolitan State University
Experience
M.F.A. in Directing from Northwestern University
B.A. in Theater from Marquette University
Metropolitan State University, Community Faculty - Teaching Storytelling; 2001- present.
Northwestern University, Adjunct Lecturer, Taught storytelling course; 1995 - 2001
"I laughed so hard my cramps went away!" - menopausal audience member
Funny and insightful, Nancy invites audiences to reconnect with the stories in their own lives. Whipsmart comic timing and unerring instincts for the truth combine to illuminate the complex realities of contemporary life...even traditional tales take on new relevance.
Nancy Donoval was featured at the 2004 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Other performance venues include the Illinois, Hoosier, Nebraska and Timpanogos Storytelling Festivals, New York Storytelling Center, Washington Storytellers Theater and the WisCon Feminist Science Fiction Convention. Her show Dancing Rats and Vampire Moms played to sold out houses at the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival and was named to the “Cream of the Crop” by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
With an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University, Nancy is also a highly respected story coach, workshop leader and communication consultant. She teaches Storytelling as a Modern Communication Art at Metropolitan State University as well as leading story coaching intensives and private coaching sessions for performers and other public speakers.
Nancy’s storytelling consulting work ranges from helping lawyers craft opening statements to training advertising executives in presentation skills. Clients have included Draft FCB Group, United Airlines, DDB, Character LLC (General Mills and Unilever), Antioch Company (Creative Memories) and Leo Burnett.
She served as guest editor for the July/August 2004 issue of Storytelling magazine, published by the National Storytelling Network, on the topic of "Private Life on the Public Stage: Autobiographical Stories in Performance". Nancy’s newest workshop Artistic Vision" received rave reviews at the 2006 National Storytelling Conference in Pittsburgh.
Nancy moved to Minneapolis in 2001 from Chicago where she was executive director of the Wild Onion Storytelling Festival for nine years. While in Chicago, Nancy worked extensively with school age audiences, both as a performer and as a residency artist. She was on the Illinois Arts Council’s ArtsTour and Arts-in-Education rosters for many years. She has released several recordings and was awarded a Parents’ Choice Seal of Approval in 1996 for :Brave Hearts and Faithful Friends: Tales of Courage and Cleverness from around the World."
Nancy credits her career path to her 2nd grade teacher, Miss Czyzewski, who asked her to narrate their classroom’s Christmas play, A Visit from St. Nick. Everything else follows that moment.
Awards
Parents' Choice Award
Starred reviews in The Storytelling Review of the Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
Exhibitions/Performance History
Featured Teller at 2004 National Storytelling Festival
Creator/performer - "Dancing Rats & Vampire Mom"s - 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival
Co-creator/performer of "MOUTH" with Gerald Fierst at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival
"Attack of the Killer What-Ifs" at the 2002 Minnesota Fringe Festival -- a one-woman performance about surviving date rape. And it was funny, too.
Performed and led workshops at festivals, theaters, universities, museums, libraries and schools across the Midwest and nationally since 1988.
Collections
Recordings released:
- The Dancing Rat of Paris and Other True Life Adventures (2004)
- My Father's Daughter (2004)
- Brave Hearts and Faithful Friends: Tales of Courage and Cleverness from around the World (1996)
- Cemetery Mary and Other Spirited Tales (1996)
- Mothers and Other Wild Women (with Beth Horner and Susan O'Halloran) 1993
-Changes of Heart: Tales of Laughter, Loss and Love (1990)
Publications
Guest editor July/August 2004 issue of Storytelling Magazine published by the National Storytelling Network on the topic of "Private Life on the Public Stage: Autobiography in Performance."
Biographical Information
Country of Citizenship:
United States
Birth Place:
Chicago
Birth Date:
March 14, 1960
Gender:
Female
Active Place:
Twin Cities, Midwest and Nationally
Minnesota County:
Hennepin
Artist Information
Roles
Storyteller