A former teacher in public schools, Paula has stories that would make you glad to do detention in return for the chance to hear. Now she brings her interpretive talents to adult audiences, serving up stories with generous portions of comic hilarity. When Paula takes the stage, “life is now in session.” Expect to learn something valuable you missed In school.

“I wear the chain I forged in life! I made it link by link and yard by yard! I gartered it on of my own free will and by my own free will, I wore it!”

Like Dickens’ old Marley, we can find ourselves chained to the past. Painful memories weigh us down. But when we discover the power to break those links, and replace them with wings, we can be truly free. This is how it happened for me . . . 

Toni is the board president at STAGEtwo Productions and Evansville Shakespeare Players. She thrives on the energy that comes from bonding with an audience. In that magical moment when the lights dim, Toni opens a door and beckons us to enter a place where, in the words of Ted Lasso, we can ”be curious, not judgmental.”

The phone rings. A soft, sombre voice says “This is Doctor Burns at Mercy Hospital. Please come as soon as you can . . .”

Stories take shape all around us. They may appear in the stark light of day . . .  or step quietly from the shadows. “No matter where we find stories, if we give them an honest telling I believe they lead to a place where we are all connected.”

Elizabeth is an Evansville native living in Nashville, Tennessee. Someone told her once that while she loved new things, she didn’t love trying them. Ever since, she’s made it her mission to live a life full of firsts.

A former west sider, she is raising a great kid and a terrible dog in the South. She is an executive, a writer, and travel aficionado. “Wherever I go, I am just happy to be there.”

Tammy aspires to be a Sherlock Homes or a modern-day Columbo for finding a story. Sometimes it’s hidden and sometimes it’s there for the listening.

She treasures the unique stories shared with her from such sources as a jeep tour owner in Crystal, Colorado,  a singing boat captain in Dunnellon, Florida, and a farm-dwelling abuela in Santiago, Chile. “Stories are everywhere, if you listen.”

Jessica Hillyard is a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway. She is attuned to the stories of the people she serves; what brought them to this moment in life and her own part in their quest to live happily ever after.

These interactions have spawned a rare collection of stories (with names changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty) not to mention a few she keeps locked up in the vault . . .