John holds a Master of
Fine Arts degree from the University of Oregon. He has also won a
fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Ned Freeman Literary
Award from the American Council of the Blind and Dialogue Magazine's
award for Best Story of the Year.
His annual appearance is a much-looked-forward-to
event in many Northwest schools. Constantly updating and expanding
his repertoire of more than 40 original and traditional tales, John
can present a fresh and exciting program every time he appears.
In The Tradition...
...of the great storyteller or Seanachie (as he was called in Ireland),
John Dashney uses no props, puppets, costumes or any other multimedia
gimmicks. Instead, he relies upon what a reviewer in the Salem Statesman-Journal
called "a rich powerful voice and an effective stage presence."
Grouping his listeners about him, John spins
his tales from the fabric of his imagination, using a powerful memory, vocal
variety, inflection, timing and gestures to create the image in the mind of the
hearer.
In this way, each listener
can create his or her own mental pictures of the scenes and
characters - thus
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becoming an active participant
in the story, rather than a
passive onlooker. This stimulates the imagination and creative
power of the audience, as they realize that things do not have to
appear the same way to everyone.
Stories For All Ages
John Dashney has worked with students
in grades K-12. He also has
experience working with classes of
mentally/emotionally disturbed, developmentally disabled and physically/mentally
handicapped students. His own handicap, blindness, demonstrates
to students that nothing is impossible for those who try.
John's stories are tailored for specific
age groups. Thus he does not do all-school assemblies, but rather
works with a grade level or one or two classes at a time.
His collection of original and traditional
material ranges from classic tales by Dickens and Hardy to his own
special blend of the fantastic, the eerie and the nonsensical.
Odd rhymes, tongue-twisting alliteration
and verbal gymnastics highligh many of these tales. More than twentty-five
year and five thousand performances have given John the ability
to gauge an audience and to know just which of his many tales will
be the most effective. |
