Preschool children process information and ideas through their senses, their
body movements, and their play, every bit as much as they do through the
spoken word. In this exploration of Interactive Storytelling for the very, very
young, we will examine ways of incorporating movement, sounds, play, props,
and children’s own creative input into stories designed to engage and include an
audience that is not quite ready to “Sit still and be quiet!”
Judy Engles Wiener is a playwright, screenwriter, actress and storyteller. Her
plays have been produced in New York, in regional theaters throughout America,
and internationally. Her numerous television writing credits include, ABC's
Afterschool Special series; The Arts and Entertainment Channel's, "Biography for
Kids"; Nickelodeon's "Welcome Freshmen" and "Weinerville" series; PBS's
musical children's series, "The Reppies", Comedy Central's "Random Acts Of
Variety" and "The Kovacs Mystique". She has worked as a consultant with
Scholastic Productions and Nickelodeon developing stories and programs that
teach while they entertain.
She has been a New Jersey State Council on the Arts teaching artist in
playwriting, story building, and has conducted residencies in schools and preschools
throughout New Jersey as a Wolf Trap Artist in NJPAC's Early Learning
Through the Arts Program.
For the past decade, Ms. Engles Wiener has been the resident interactive
storyteller at Montclair State University's Ben Samuels Children's Center, where
she works as a member of a transdisciplinary team addressing the educational
needs of all kinds of learners. You can find her there, every day, telling
interactive stories to children from 4 months to six years old.
About The NJ Storytelling GuildThe New Jersey Storytelling Guild meets once a month, September through June, at the Vincent Building, to the right of the Union Congregational Church, 176 Cooper Ave., Upper Montclair NJ. Guild membership is $30.00 a year for five workshops. For non-members, workshops are $10.00. Swaps are free to the public. For information and details, please call: 201-836-8209