We've heard it all before... we rejoice in the retelling!
State Parks & Historical Sites
State Park Storytellers Needed NOW
Please send your information to joyceslater20@gmail.com
MO-TELL has been involved with storytelling in Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites since its inception. This tradition was initiated by Missouri Storytelling, Inc. (MO-TELL's) founder, Perrin Stifel.
MO-TELL works with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to provide 12 storytellers to 12 different parks or historic sites each year. Please consider applying for these positions. Put together a bio of 200 words or less, your contact information. Send a good picture of yourself that can be downloaded.
Let us know if you have travel limitations. It is especially important to let us know your restrictions. For instance, if you only want to travel within 100 miles from your home, we need to know. If you only want to stay in your area, we need to know. I will relay that information to the person in charge of this project. You can say no if called and it is too far away.
Storytellers will receive $408.33 in compensation. This is the full amount. It covers performance, travel and lodging if necessary. In some cases, the individual state parks may provide a camping site.
Joyce Slater will put together all the information and send it to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. They in turn will contact the interested state park's personnel who select a storyteller that fits with their programming. Each park involved makes a list of their top three choices and contacts the storyteller regarding availability.
Some of the storytelling topics to be considered are nature, animals/birds/wildlife, Tall Tales, historic persons and events from Missouri, farming, ghost stories, the Civil War, Westward Expansion, Lewis and Clark explorations, slavery, the Ozarks, fishing and rivers, Holidays and more.
Upon completion of a program, each teller hired is required to provide us with an evaluation, a descriptive story of the event, an invoice so that you may be paid, and a photo of yourself at the park for our archives. We need this information to support our grant applications and reports.
The parks choose the tellers that fit their programs based on the information I send them. I also let them know that they can find more info about the tellers on our website. Anyone who is a member of MO-TELL can have a section on our storyteller page where you can add lots more information. Check that out on our website. www.mo-tell.org
If you have any questions, please contact Joyce Slater at joyceslater20@gmail.com or 816-804-2442. Deadline, March 16, 2026
Example Biography:
"Joyce Slater has been a professional storyteller for 30 years. She lives in the Kansas City, MO area but will travel within 250 miles of her home. She uses puppets and songs in her stories so there is lots of participation. Her story themes consist of the following: scary or ghost, nature, animals, pourquoi tales, Ozark tales, historical in third and first person, personal narratives, Holiday stories and Girl Scout camping stories. She has programs about the Civil War, including - Border Wars, Love stories of the Civil War, Civil War women in Missouri from both sides. These can be in costume. Other programs in costume are Mrs. Claus and an Old-fashioned Christmas and A One Room School house revisited."
Joyce Slater
7338 Belleview Ave
KCMO 64114
816-804-2442
