Jeff Gere

Jeff Gere is a master storyteller living in Hawai`i.   He blends his talents as a painter, puppeteer, mime, and director into a performance style which has electrified audiences throughout Hawaii and the mainland for two decades. Jeff becomes his stories!

Gere has a BA in Painting & Art History (junior year Florence, Italy) and MA in Inter-Relating Arts (multi-disciplinary program). Back in Italy (‘80-82), caretaking a 600-year-old villa, he created & toured Dream Theatre (experimental puppet, mask & mime, 13 city German tour) before moving.
 
In Hawaii (’82), Jeff’s become one of its most popular storytellers. He’s taught and performed in literally every venue conceivable (all museums, private & public schools; all ages, sizes, & incomes; bars, prisons, shelters, conferences, conventions, state-wide solo & group tours).

Gere is the Drama Specialist in the City & County of Honolulu’s Parks Department (since ’87). In ‘89, he created the Talk Story Festival (www.honoluluparks.com), Hawaii's largest annual storytelling event. It features local talent, a few mainland guests, and large crowds. All tells are videotaped. His Story TV airs monthly storytelling shows (since 1990) on Community TV. Audio from these videos created Talk Story Radio, which aired 2 years (05- 07) on Hawaii Public Radio and 2 small stations. It reached 13,000 listeners a week (www.talkstoryradio.com, free podcasts).                        
Jeff told/enacted The Arabian Nights (with 2 musicians & a bellydancer) presenting ten tales over 18 months to packed houses in a swank Chinatown bar (Indigo, 03-04) and in Hong Kong (Fringe Theater ‘05). The Honolulu Academy of Arts commissioned Yo Pharaoh (Egyptian myths, ‘00) and Van Gogh’s Ghost (’99). He directed/ performed "Art Off The Wall", a collaborative inter-disciplinary series interpreting Honolulu's Contemporary Museum exhibits (97-00). Gere teaches his "Tell Well" Storytelling System (Univ. Hawaii 90-97 & concerts) annually.

Tour tells/ workshops include Wisconsin (4/10 Northlands Story Conf.), Georgia (Kennesaw Univ, 3/08, + Tennessee & Florida), Yukon Story Festival (6/10); Vancouver Story Fest. (04), Turkey (Karagoz Shadow Puppet Fest. 04); Thailand (Story-In-English Camps, 03), and workshops at the National Storytelling Conferences ('10, ’04, ’99, ’93). He’s told at festivals in Arizona, Nevada, Idaho & often toured to California (93-02). Jeff toured to American Samoa, Guam & Saipan and the Universal Expo (Sevilla, Spain) in ‘92, He received the 2007 Oracle Award for Service (Western US) from the National Storytelling Network (NSN). He produced NSN's Pacific Regional' Talk Story' Conference in Waikiki (5 days, 7/09 and 4 days on Maui), the first ever in Hawaii. He performs at the Exchange Place at the 2010 National Story Festival (Jonesborough, Tennessee, 10/10).

Jeff’s made 8 CDs: Haunted Hawaii vols. 1, 2, & 3 (true supernatural tales), Rank Devil Mountain (fire tales, 3 musicians, Honors as 2007’s Best Storytelling Recordings by Storytelling World) and Silly ‘N Spooky (kids in Hawaii). His 2008 releases are The Two Brothers (rockin’ 73 minute musical Grimm tell), Yakkity Yak (talkin’ about tellin’) and Cultures in Collision (with Lyn Ford & Alton Chung- Honors as Best Story Recording 2008, Storytelling World). He co-produced/ performed in "The Storytellers" series (KITV 4, 95-97) and appears on Mystery Hunters (Canadian’06), Travel Channel &  History Channel shows about Haunted Hawaii (’02, still airs).