what she does...
Storytelling Performances
Hannah performs for audiences at...
Schools: assemblies, classroom workshops
Community Locations: libraries, parks, etc.
Festivals: national and local
Hannah has been a repeat performer at The National Storytelling Festival, the International Storytelling Center's Teller-in-Residence series, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Natural Tunnel State Park's "Stories in the Tunnel" (VA), the Great Smoky Mountain Storytelling Center's "Tall Tales of TN," and is a mainstay teller in her community at local festivals such as the Witches' Wynd (TN).
She has been a featured teller at the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival (GA), The Virginia Highlands Festival (VA), Celebration of Tales (VA), Fusion Storytelling Festival (PA), the Storytelling Festival of Carolina (NC), the Roswell Magnolia Storytelling Festival (GA), the Christmas in Appalachia Festival (TN), the Russell County Heritage Festival (TN), the Hampton Storytelling "Everybody's Got a Story" Series (VA), and in ASST virtual performances.
Storytelling Focus (please contact for set descriptions):
Hannah's strong folk heroines and heroes rise from the rich cultural heritage of her native home in mountainous northeastern TN.
As an ethnographic storyteller, Hannah connects specific moments and contexts to universal experiences and traditional fairytales to our real lives.
Hannah's stories often trace the cultural roots of Appalachian folklore outward globally, and then connect this folk heritage back with the lived histories of Appalachian people and places.
She has a wide repertoire, with a focus on southern Appalachian oral histories, Scottish and Norse cultural heritage, and women.
Her work is characterized by blending comedic physical embodiment and gesture with vulnerable characterizations, research-based contexts and details, and immersed narration.
"very funny" - Theatre Guide London
"deeply moving" - Classical Voice of North Carolina
Workshops & Keynotes
Hannah has delivered keynotes & interactive workshops for...
Storytellers & Story-writers
Florida Story Camp, the National Storytelling Festival, the Virginia Highlands Festival (Oral History Storytelling Workshop series)
Educators & Librarians
The New England Library Association (NELA), the Niswonger Foundation Annual "Learning Together Day" (K-12 Teacher Training Event), the Mildred Haun Conference (TN), the Wilma Dykeman Foundation Lecture Series (NC)
Ministers
Interim Ministry Network International Annual Conference, the Eastern Synod of Wisconsin Theological Conference
Healthcare Providers
Yale University Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds, the Veterans Administration Hospital System
Business Leaders
TechServe Alliance’s Executive Summit: SIM/TechExec, Eastman Chemical Company, Leadership Tennessee, Virginia Tech's Women Impact Virginia Summit, IDEA Academy at Eastman Chemical Company, Create Appalachia (TN)
Keynotes, Workshops, & Seminars Topics (please contact for full descriptions)
• How to Tell Memorable Stories
• How to Develop Story-Centered Presentations
• Storytelling & Identity
• Listening
• Speaking the Human Story of Your Product/Service
• Developing Purposeful & Positive Team Culture
• Developing Emotional Intelligence through Storytelling
• Building Trust with Patients Through Story-Listening for Better Health Outcomes
• The Art of Performing Literature & Poetry
• Engaged Learning
• K-12 residencies (contact for a list of workshops that satisfy TN education requirements)
Community Collaborations
Hannah has partnered with a number of community organizations on community projects to help bring often unheard stories in our community to life. Here are some recent collaborations:
- Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium – Hannah recently worked with Friends of Bays Historical Committee to produce a live amphitheater and planetarium storytelling series based on original archaeological and oral history: Stories of the Mountain
- The Storytellers’ Legacy Project – Hannah helped design and launch this community-based oral history project documenting the legacy lessons of elder professional storytellers. Envisioned by Elizabeth Ellis and sponsored by the Storytelling Resource Place: www.ourslp.org
- Bellafina Chocolates – Hannah is a workshop leader with this amazing group of women, to help empower employees to tell their stories of resiliency, recovery, and transformed lives. Bellafina’s story is incredible: www.bellafina.com
Published Work
Hannah's research on storytelling has been published in
Storytelling, Self, Society journal,
Storytelling Magazine, and
The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM.
She has produced five albums of stories, which are available for purchase here.
You can learn more about storytelling and folklore in her three courses with The Great Courses.
reviews
"Storytelling is an age-old art form of our Appalachian region. Hannah's presentations are dynamic and spellbinding [rooted in] these traditions; she brings her listeners to the edge of their seat. For the last two years she has made our storytelling at the tunnel program unforgettable."
—Jim Gates, Natural Tunnel State Park Cultural Arts Volunteer
“Her stories, like a family tree, draw webbed lines from the present deep into the past...with humor and gravity in the telling, Harvey strives to give voice to a contemporary Appalachian identity richer and more complex than any of the stereotypes about the region she loves.” —Blue Ridge Magazine
“Hannah is a wonderful wordsmith, an energetic and articulate teller, with a remarkable insight into the souls of her characters.” —Storytelling Festival of Carolina
“I live and work in Shanghai, China. I am a language curriculum designer and teachers trainer. I took Dr. Harvey’s course on The Great Courses. I enjoyed it and practiced Dr. Harvey’s storytelling methods in my class. It was magic. The most wonderful thing is I feel happy when I tell stories to students. My students listened well, so well that we all immersed as a whole.” —Emma Chen, Shanghai, China
