Eshu Bumpus and Motoko Dworkin

An evening of storytelling for all ages

October 12, 2011 7pm

Augusta Savage Gallery

Eshu Bumpus, a renowned storyteller, accomplished jazz vocalist and a master at physical characterization captivates his audience by telling a variety of African, African-American and World folktales leavened with music, humor and mystery. His love for working with children began when he was a child himself. At the age of 12, he began tutoring young children in math, nurturing their understanding and encouraging learning. In 1976, while a student at Hampshire College, he began teaching at an alternative elementary school housed at the University of Massachusetts. He would write stories based on the children's history assignments that they would then perform as plays. It was then that he realized working with children and the arts would be his calling.

Motoko Dworkin, a native of Osaka, Japan, first came to the U. S. as an exchange student to University of Massachusetts. Her earlier career included working as a Japanese language instructor at UMass for ten years. She trained with late master mime Tony Montanaro and has performed professionally since 1993, going to hundreds of schools, libraries, museums and festivals. Motoko  appeared on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” an educational video by Harcourt, and also has been awarded numerous grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and New York State BOCES. Her debut CD, “The Promise of Chrysanthemums” won a 2002 Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award and a 2003 Storytelling World Award. In November 2003, Motoko toured Miyazaki, Japan, as a part of CarnegieKids in Miyazaki Project, sponsored by Carnegie Hall.