The Family Series
was created to help families make the
arts a priority in their
lives by providing
high quality, cultural,
and entertainment
events at an affordable
price, suitable for all
ages.

The Family Series
celebrates the creative
spirit in everyone,
young and old alike.

In presenting superior
quality, affordable
productions for
families, we endeavor
to create your family’s
most memorable
performing arts
experiences.

Play Party - The Songs and Stories


"When we reached the old unpainted house at the top of Beech Mountain in North Carolina , Ray Hicks was in the middle of a story. There were no greetings, no handshakes, just head nods which said ‘sit there’; so I did.

Ray sat in an old upholstered chair in front of the ancient wood stove. At first, I had trouble understanding him; his speech still had traces of his English/Irish/Welch ancestry, people who settled there over a hundred years ago.

This tall (six feet seven!) lanky man in blue denim overalls was telling stories he’d learned from those ancestors. As I listened, I realized I was witnessing a piece of living history. I watched, fascinated, as he rolled a cigarette without missing a beat. At funny moments, his face would crinkle up with glee and he’d laugh with us. This was FUN!

That was my introduction to traditional Appalachian storytelling. There were others: “Cuz”, who told stories with his guitar and his wife, Jan, at the Dillsworth Diner in Jonesborough , Tennessee , “Treetop” who spun fanciful yarns and poignant true stories. So many of them… and I owe them all more than I can possibly repay. These are the people who taught me what it means to be a storyteller. This program is for them." -- Jill Johnson



Fiddle Medley
Steve Showell (fiddle), Judy Magidson (guitar)

“Jack and the Two Bullet Hunt” - A Jack Tale
A Jack Tale, a type of folk tale which was created in the Appalachian Mountains. The hero of these stories, Jack, invariably gets himself into trouble, but with his resourcefulness, courage -- and just plain dumb luck -- he manages to get out of it. The stories were passed down (orally) from generation to generation from folk tellers who came originally from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The stories were adapted to the new Appalachian environment and now are told by storytellers everywhere.

Banjo/Mandolin Medley
Steve Showell (banjo, mandolin), Judy Magidson (guitar)

“Whitebear Whittington”- An Appalachian Fairy Tale
"Whitebear Whittington" is an Appalachian adaptation of well-known tales told in England, Scotland, Germany, and Norway. A girl marries a magical bear/man and then betrays his trust. She embarks on a long journey and faces many challenges to win him back. It is a gentle, poetic story, full of love and magic and redemption.

“The L and N Don’t Stop Here Anymore”
Steve Showell

“ Jordan is a Hard Road To Travel”
Jill Johnson, Steve Showell, and Audience

Shape Note Singing
Bruce Rowland and The Shape Note Singers

“Ray”
"Ray" is the story of a nationally known traditional storyteller who grew up in the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina. Ray grew up poor, but "rich" in the cultural traditions of the mountain people. In later life, he shared those traditions with millions of people through performance, recordings, and books and articles about him. Jill Johnson lived in Appalachia for five years and knew Ray and the story of her development as a teller is intertwined with Ray's story.






The Artists

Jill Johnson began her storytelling career in Jonesborough , Tennessee , the home of the annual National Storytelling Festival. "For five years," says Jill, "I sat - and listened to - and learned from - tellers from all over the world. Talk about an opportunity...!" Since then, Jill has performed and given workshops all over Puget Sound and in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and overseas. Little, But OH My!, her story of Berte Olson, ferry boat captain, premiered at WICA in 2003 and she has appeared in several WICA productions: Barnstorming, Little Women, This Child, Rabbit Hole, and A Child's Christmas in Wales. "But," says Jill, "it is a special joy to be able to share some of what I experienced in Tennessee ."

Steve Showell has been playing his fiddle and mandolin at music festivals, farmers markets, street fairs and local stages for the past 30 years. Steve picked up his first fiddle in 1976 and found his first tune, Turkey in the Straw, it is still one of his favorites. Steve has played with The Dead Goat Dirt Band, The Swinging Nettles, The Island Contra Band and spent time playing with The Testing Testing House band. Recently Steve performed as a guest on Tim Noah’s “Kaddywompas Radio Show”.  With a repertoire of hundreds of fiddle tunes Steve Showell is always ready to have a great time playing for any occasion.

Bruce Rowland and the Shape Note Singers
Bruce Rowland has sung in a number of choirs but his heart lies in a musical tradition of singing from shape note hymnals called "Sacred Harp", an acapella community singing tradition dating back to the early 1800s and kept alive mainly in the rural south. He has sung with the Seattle and Portland Sacred Harp singers for 20 years but was introduced to the sound by his grandparents in Haleyville, Alabama (hardwired before he could talk), where the Denson "Sacred Harp" was published for many years.



special thanks

The Everett Herald; Gemkow Construction; Charles and Jane Hadley, “Ray and Rosa Hicks: The Last of the Old Time Storytellers”, Queens College, Charlotte, NC, 2000. Used with permission; Rob Isbell, “The Last Chivaree”, University of North Carolina Press, 1996; Sandy Paton, “Ray Hicks”, Folk Legacy Records, Inc. 1964; Connie Regan-Blake and Jay O’Callahan: storytellers; Sound Publishing; South Whidbey School District; The Whidbey Daily.