I have performed stories at Thanksgiving Point, Pioneer Days, Ellis Island Orem event, Community fairs, Provo Park, South Town Mall, Pioneer village, Orem’s Library Liars Competition (twice), Springville Art Museum, family reunions, Pioneer Park, Patriot camps, family parties, and Weber State Story Telling Festival as well as Story Crossroads.
Reviews
- Comments from the WSU Storytelling Audition committee:
The balloon head story would be a fun and silly story to share with the kids. Many kids would giggle at the idea of a head getting bigger and bigger. The audience interaction with us shouting out “Melva!” made it a more memorable experience. You had appropriate gestures that allowed the audience to visually see the story while you told it. Overall, you are a wonderful and dynamic teller!
- Comments from Pioneer park:
You were fabulous! Your stories were meaningful, well thought-out and powerfully presented. The times that I was there, people really responded to you. You kept a professional air about you while relating to and looking at people. I loved your stories – – they were captivating.
Testimonials from fellow storytellers:
These are reviews from fellow storytellers who have had plenty of opportunities to observe my style.
Melva’s direct humor and articulate phrasing catches you into the world of the story and opens it up to your mind. – Rebecca Pendleton
Quirky mischievous unexpected unique. Nothing like you’ve ever seen fast-paced. Tori Ann Perkey
Cleaver-new thought cretins, creative, fun engaging -anonymous.
Melva is theatrical. She creates excellent puns impromptu. Melva’s loves language and the fun manipulation of language. Melva’s eyes sparkled as she tells a good tale. Pamela.
Melva studies and knows the characters she portrays in her stories – bringing them to life. -anonymous
Melva, you’d better listen well or you will miss the wit and wisdom of her dry humor -anonymous
Melva is armed with humor and a water-ballon-full-of- laughs. Who knows what may splash bout you next! – Rachel Hedman
Melva is mischievous in her crafting of stories her ideas and images will surprise you. She has a lovely voice. Her intelligent humor builds sturdy and complexity wins you over as she tells. She is a word lover and its like an adventure listening to her words and phrases tumble out into her stories. She is an asset to our guild and keeps us connected with her persistence – Steffanie.
Melva tells it like it is. She uses language to molds her stories and brings them to life. She helps you see things in ways you never imagined – Paige funk
Credentials:
– Utah Storytelling Guild member
– Timp Tellers member
– Toastmasters member
A past event:
https://coyotetalesstories.com/coyote-tales-virtual-storytelling-march-26th-2021/
A future event
https://storycrossroads.com/story-artist-melva-gifford/ Scheduled May 2022
Performance Options:
Need a story to be told, or a workshop? Here are some possibilities. Others are available upon request.
- Story or presentation menu
- Evolution of a hero, Presentation
(An hour and a half with audience participation)
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=melva+gifford+storyteller
I tapped into multiple references of history to give examples of heroes and how their traits can be used in our own storytelling or stories and novels if you’re an author.
Family Stories:
A little Art: Making a snow fort into a museum for a school project
Conquest: sibling rivalry over a tree house
Dirty Little Secret: Various family stories
Family Business: Tales of my youth
Family Miracles: stories handed down in my family of miracles and adventures
Got Ya: catches sibling taking something by a trick
My Twin: adventures of my mischievous twin brother
Relli’s Diary: old sister teaches younger sister to stop reading her diary by a prank
Snow Fort: Adventures of siblings and cousins building a snow fort
Sticky Fingers: One sibling sees the consequences of a family member stealing things.
War Stories of my youth: sibling relationships
What about home:: A teen creates a new family tradition
What My Sisters Taught me (experience of living under older sisters)
Fantastical Stories:
An Inconvenient Task: Earth turns off the sun temporally to address global warming.
Boomerang: A toy provides a lesson against a bully.
Dandelion Queen: A park becomes magical to two girls.
Dust Bunnies: A child interprets dust bunnies to be real but unusual bunnies.
Fiddlestick Serenade: Stick bug plays limbs like a fiddle.
Gail: A girl finds she can create a strong wind with her breath where she can defend herself against bullies.
Hand me Downs: Girl gets clothes and provides the abilities of the person who previously wore them.
Jig Saw: child eats chips and body breaks up and he is still functional.
It was a scratch and Sniff Day: A child’s adventures through the day creates spots on their body to be relived at the end of the day.
My Tree: A sentient tree protects a child
The Adventure Hat: Through imagination two kids go through a series of adventures
The Token: A SF tale of a child losing his beloved AI he loved since his youth.
Torrent: Teen learns she can make it rain when she cries.
General Stories:
Badge A child learns from personal experience her red badge of courage and integrity.
David Crocket Experiences from the life of David Crocket.
Ginger Bread Man A gingerbread man becomes sentient.
Homecoming: Fear of coming back to the first day of school after a long summer.
Johnny Appleseed: Experiences from the life of Johnny Appleseed.
Locked bathroom: Being locked in a bathroom by a bully provides a surprise.
Off Key: Agirls hate square dancing, whose parents love until she meets a certain boy.
Smart Farmer: A farmer tricks some bullies (fairy tale).
Stupid Ball, Great Ball: The adventures of kids chasing after an errant ball through the neighborhood.
The Field of Bolianuns: (fairy tale).
Humor Stories:
Balloon Head: A child’s head becomes a balloon and I fly away.
Stupid Wad: Adventures gained from trying to throw away a wad of gum.
War with Grandma: A balloon fight with Grandma and her grandchild
Inspirational Stories:
A voyage across the sea: Adventures of children on the ship from England in 1800Ice Castle
Miracle Maker
Patriotic Stories:
1. Lt. George Washington during the French and Indian war.
2. Miracle at New York and crossing the river.
3. Ben Franklin, the first postmaster general.
4. The Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights (pleasant grove patriot camp).
5. Hopscotch to the Seven Wonders of the World.
6. Molly Pitcher lady patriot (Payson patriot camp)
7. Francis Key and the Star Spangled Banner.
8. Miracle in Boston (John Adames at 10 yrs old)
9. Boston Tea party
Presentations (short)
A lot of work: How many people, working together, can make a task lighter
A matter of perspective: Examples of misunderstandings that can be cleared up
A Necessary Evil: A skeptic point of view (Humor of various occupations.
Addressing Burnout in an organization: How to keep participants in a group, club or organization exciting.
Cracking the shell: Examples of people opening themselves to a new perspective or world
Different Ways to be funny: Techniques you can you to enhance the humor of your speech or presentation or manuscript.
EduTainment Using entertainment sources to embellish a lesson.
Establish a Rapport with your customer: Humor techniques I use as a customer rep.
Give them all a raise: Challenges one faces doing customer support.
Kick them all out: Woes of bad politicians and term limits.
Your Personal Mission Statement: How to define the type of person you want to be.
Maintaining the Republic: Difference between a democracy and a republic.
Mnemonics of the 10 Commandments.
Mnemonics of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Paths of character Examples of people stepping up to the plate, where they were needed.
Preparing our family reunion techniques of my and other families in organizing their reunions.
Putting meat in your journal: Observations of how to improve our journal experience for yourself and later, your descendants.
Taking Humor: seriously techniques of humor.
The ABCs of mentoring: Techniques of training new members of your organization.
