Mama Edie

Beverly Art Center -

The Drums Are Calling Us Home

Mama Edie & Spiritual Journey Storytelling
Musically at Taste of Chicago

The Call for Storytelling Time!

Mama Edie & Mama Afi Susan

Mama Edie is a bilingual storyteller (Spanish/Enlgish), published writer, percussionist, speech/language pathologist, and voice-over artist who has provided international storytelling performances and workshops to parents, teachers, children, social workers, steel workers, attorneys,and various other professionals since 1989.  Her stories are largely inspired by her passionate regard for her African and Native American ancestries.  She believes that the power of story can help us to connect with the importance of knowledge of one’s self, of belief in one’s self, of understanding our connections to the rest of the world, and of honoring the right each of us has to strive to attain our highest potential.  Whether fun and frollicky or somber and serene, these presentations are powerful reminders of our own beauty and strength and the gifts we are to the world.

Mama Edie Armstrong

Chicago, Illinois

phone: 773-768-6773

email: MamaEdie2@aol.com

 

 

What people are saying about Mama Edie’s performances and workshops

 

Performance & Workshop Themes
(some presentations are a little of both!)

 

Televised/Filmed Highlights:

  • In 2006 Mama Edie was selected from among all storytellers accepted onto the Illinois Arts Council’s ArtsTour Roster to be featured on “Arts Across Illinois,” an annually televised broadcast hosted on PBS Channel 11-WTTW.  For instructions on how to apply for the Illinois Arts Council subsidy toward performance fees, visit www.state.il.us/agency/iac.
  • “The Storywatchers Club” – This award-winning set of 5 delightful storytelling videos features Mama Edie, along with several other storytellers, with titles such as World Folk Tales, Keys to the Imagination, Our Planet, Good Character, and Christmas.  www.storywatchersclub.com
  • “30 Good Minutes,” PBS Channel 11-WTTW.  Program that features speakers with messages of encouragement and spiritual insight. www.csec.org
  • “New Morning,” Program of the nation’s largest coalition of Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith groups dedicated to achieving interfaith understanding through the production and distribution of media.  Hallmark Channel.  www.odysseynetworks.org

Publications:

  • Armstrong, Edith C., (1996). “Storytelling: A Powerful Tool for Educating Children,” Black Child Journal, Vol. 9, pp. 35-37 (Publisher: Useni Eugene Perkins)
  • “Senna and the Drum”, Chicago Percussion & Rhythm Magazine, April 1998. (Publisher: Terry Reimer)
  • "Storytelling With Deaf Children in Ghana,” Spread the Word, Sp/Sum 1998. (Publication of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.)
  • “Boca Linda, the Shrinking Girl,” (Included in the first anthology published by the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.)  2006.
  • “The Road to Reaching a Multilingual Audience,” included in Tell the World: Storytelling Across Language Barriers.  Edited by Margaret Read MacDonald.  2008.
  • “Teaching History, Language, Literacy & Cultural Pride through Storytelling, Music & Movement,” article with lesson plan included in Literacy in the Storytelling Classroom.  Edited by Norfolk, Stenson & Williams.  2009.
  • “Garrett Morgan: the Traffic Light Genius,” article with lesson plan included in Literacy in the Storytelling Classroom.  Norfolk, Stenson & Williams.  2009.

 

Affiliations:

  • National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.
  • National Storytelling Network
  • ASE: The Chicago Association of Black Storytellers
  • American Speech, Language & Hearing Association
  • Illinois Speech, Language & Hearing Association
  • National Black Child Development Institute
  • Afro-Latin Institute
  • National Council of Teachers of English
  • American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP)

 

Mama Edie, the Storyteller

Celebrating the Beauty in Us All

 

Venues Have Included: