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STORYTELLER


STORYTELLER

THE MASTERFUL STORYTELLER

STORYTELLING, DRUM CIRCLES, IMPROVISATION, ENTERTAINMENT, EDUCATION, CULTURAL, PRESERVATION, FAIRY TALES, FOLKTALES, MYTHS, LEGENDS, FABLES, CONTEMPORARY, INTERACTIVE, AGELESS, ENGAGING, FABLE, FANTASY, DRAMA, IMAGINATION, NOVEL, YARN, NARRATIVE, CONCOCTION, HOOEY, WHOPPER, CLIFFHANGER, FIGMENT, TALL STORY, PARTICIPATION, PLAYFUL, and most of all FUN!

ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

Percussion Things loves sharing stories and music to inspire and delight audiences of all sizes and ages at schools, libraries, festivals, and conferences in Texas and throughout the country. Storytelling includes but is not limited to folktales, legends, stories from around the world and personal tales. Stories are spoken in a theatrical way, enlivened by music and audience participation. Percussion Things is happy to work with educators by tailoring a school program ideal for each grade level designed to meet specific academic objectives.

 

PERCUSSION THINGS performs "The Little Boy Who Tried To Hide From His Father." We produced this video for our library clients during the pandemic to use online since we couldn’t perform in person.

 
 

Our Storytelling Program is awaiting approval by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Once approved, support may be available to assist with booking fees through the Cultural Connections Performance Support grant application. This quarterly program provides support to Texas schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations for hiring an artist from the TCA Touring Roster. These applications are funded based on a sliding scale or percentage of contracted fees. Support is based on TCA’s available funds. We hope to hear good news in June and we’ll keep you posted!  If we’re selected, funds become available for bookings in September 2024.  If you have questions or would like to book an event, please contact us today!

Cathy, our master storyteller, loves entertaining people and children and uses her rich vocals to illustrate musical influences of jazz, blues & gospel in her singing and storytelling. Catherine can literally bring books to life for children of all ages by engaging imaginations and guiding listeners into real and imagined worlds with movement, sound and song. Her specialty is “interactive storytelling”: combining storytelling with creative dramatics. She engages the imagination, brings listeners into the world of the story, guiding them to create that world with movement, sound and song. By combining storytelling with creative dramatics she elevates storytelling to another level. Often, her storytelling is accompanied by percussion, for example, the Steelpan Drums authentic to the Caribbean or Hand and Stick Drums found around the world from Africa to Asia and everywhere in between. Catherine is available for performances, master classes and class workshops, in which she works hands-on with students to create a short play from a story.

Catherine Whiteman

 

More About Cathy...

Cathy has performed throughout the state of Texas as an actress / singer / storyteller for over twenty-five years. She has appeared in a variety of roles on Dallas-Fort Worth stages, and in locally produced commercials and television programs, such as “The Deep End,” “Walker – Texas Ranger,” "Logan's War: Bound by Honor" and “Sons of Thunder.” Cathy enjoyed a “storytelling adventure” in Fresno, California, where she was the featured performer in 24 libraries across Fresno and San Joaquin Counties, as a part of “2001: A Book Odyssey.”

Cathy recently culminated a 30+ year career in television when she retired from Irving Community Television Network (ICTN.)  She produced and anchored ICTN’s award winning arts and entertainment program About Town, among several other shows and interviews during her long career.  She’s extremely proud to be featured in an award-winning public service announcement for "Gilda's Club: A Special Place," recipient of the prestigious Women in Film Gracie Award.

Credits in children’s theater include Sojourner Truth in “A Woman Called Truth” - Dallas Children’s Theater; Mrs. Cratchit in “A Christmas Carol” - Addison Center Theater; and Narrator in “African Folktales” - African American Artists Alliance.

Other highlights include: Juneteenth, the African American Heritage Festival and the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration at Dallas Heritage Village; Narrator of “Peter and the Wolf” with the Irving Symphony Orchestra; featured performer, along with Eddie Coker and the Beledi Ensemble, in the little d festival, part of the Dallas Theater Center’s acclaimed Big D Festival of the Unexpected, and appearances in libraries and schools throughout Texas. Catherine was also a guest on one of the final episodes of “Peppermint Place”, with Mr. Peppermint (Jerry Haynes), telling her original story, “Eboh, the Little Boy Who Talked Too Much.”

Arts-in-Education programming: in cooperation with Big Thought (Young Audiences of Greater Dallas), ArtsReach, Imagination Celebration, City of Dallas Cultural Arts Program (with Percussion Things) and Fort Worth ISD Fine Arts Program.

Cathy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater at the renowned University of Dallas.

CATHY WHITEMAN ACTING CREDITS

  • Gilda's Club: A Special Place (2004)

  • Logan's War: Bound by Honor (1998)

  • Curb Service (2003)

  • Texas Walker Ranger (1995-1997)

Children's Books

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

ICTN’S CATHY WHITEMAN CELEBRATES 300TH EPISODE OF ‘PROFILES’

BY DEBBIE FLECK

Published: 02 August 2013 11:29 AM

"Cathy Whiteman has interviewed the movers and shakers of Irving for many years. She just reached a milestone in taping her 300th episode for the ICTN program, Profiles. To commemorate the achievement, ICTN has released a 40-minute video of her most memorable interviews.

The program starts with a look at those connected to Irving’s history and government. There are snippets of interviews... (continued)."

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...

ANGELA ENRIGHT - "CATHY WHITEMAN IS A TRUE MEDIA PROFESSIONAL. HER ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM ARE CONTAGIOUS!"

Photo by Gerald Brazell. "Mural in the children's section of the Richland Library, Columbia, SC." (CC 2.0)

The 100 Best Children's Books of All Time - Time compiled this survey in consultation with respected peers such as U.S. Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt, children's-book historian Leonard Marcus, the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, the Young Readers Center at the Library of Congress, the Every Child a Reader literacy foundation and 10 independent booksellers. 

Cathy Whiteman - Master Storyteller 

Stories Grandma told me

- STORYTELLER, DRUMMER SHARE TALES FROM WEST AFRICA, CARIBBEAN

Our most popular program is a collection of dramatic, animated tales from West Africa and the Caribbean fused with highly energized percussion. Cathy and Len create an unforgettable experience for their audiences. The beat and creative dramatics draw listeners into the world of the story and engage their imaginations. The program expertly weaves words and timed movements with sound and song creating a rich tapestry for the mind’s eye. This popular program affirms and promotes the value of inter-cultural sharing while inviting audiences to travel on a journey filled with exotic rhythms.

To book this popular program for your school or organization please scroll down for contact information. Cathy & Len look forward to hearing from you today!

"New Drum Circle" by Chris Murtagh. (CC 2.0)

DRUM CIRCLES

KIDS OF ALL AGES LOVE TO JAM! A Drum Circle is any group of people playing (usually) hand-drums and percussion in a circle. They are distinct from a drumming group or troupe in that the drum circle is an end in itself, a mass jam session, using drums and percussion instruments. We assemble in a circle and everyone improvises to make music in the moment, no prior experience is required, and instruments are furnished. 

Percussion Things was proud to be part of the 31st Annual Tejas Storytelling Festival’s ghost tales concert

"Who wants to get the creeps? The Texas Storytelling Festival opens with its traditional ghost tales concert. This year, “Witches Cauldron” starts at 7 p.m. March 10 at the Denton Civic Center. The free concert will see Denton’s Shelly Tucker, the owner and curator of the Ghosts of Denton tour, host a lineup of storytellers: Steve McCluer, Paula Schlegel, Kimber Fountain, Catherine Whiteman with Len Barnett of Percussion Things, Loren Niemi, Donna Ingham and Charles Porterfield. We’ve been to a fair number of these ghost tales — expect the heebie-jeebies."  by Denton Record-Chronicle (Published: 04 February 2016 07:16 AM) 

FOR BOOKING OR MORE INFORMATION

PLEASE CONTACT ME AT:

email: WOWWHATASTORY@PERCUSSIONTHINGS.COM

Phone: +1 (972) 365-5891