Marilyn McPhie: Mormon Storyteller
Marilyn McPhie is a professional storyteller and is a member of the Storytellers of San Diego and the National Storytelling Network. She has told stories for assemblies, classes, and festivals, has lectured for several colleges and universities, and has performed for schools, libraries, museums, civic and church groups, and corporate and private gatherings.
She learned to love words as a child and was influenced by her maternal grandmother, who studied elocution and recited poems; her paternal grandmother who wrote poetry and presented her poems publicly; and her mother, who taught English and drama. McPhie was on the speech team in high school and earned her bachelor’s degree in English and French literature. She fell into storytelling when her two oldest children were old enough for preschool and she was asked to donate her time every week. On the list of possible ways to participate, she selected telling stories every week. She soon added telling stories at the local library and for friends, schools, and festivals. Every summer she judges a storytelling CDs for a national award program.
McPhie says that stories “link us to the past and connect us with each other in the present. They lift the spirit, acknowledge feelings, illuminate thinking, challenge, and inspire.”[1]
She has worked with a dance company, a musician, and other storytellers to hone and present her craft. She has directed a troupe of student storytellers and writes a review column for a national parenting publication. She lives in San Diego, California, where she has taught a one-day, one-unit class on storytelling at the University of California, San Diego. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She and her husband, Craig, are the parents of five children.
