PERFORMANCES
Steven’s casual, friendly performances blend the easy conversation of his family's traditional storytelling with the focused energy and incisive imagery gained in his work as an actor and writer for the theater. And he’s a nice enough guy.
"Henegar's twelve year background in theater has given him a comfortable manner, with a dramatic flair.
His stories . . . immediately involve his audience in wild or surprising adventures."
Gilmer, The Mountain Times, NC
Wry talk, whimsy, movement and song mix as Steven calls up the everyday and the fantastic – deftly joining past and present to discover those feelings and experiences
that connect us all.
"He changed the mood of the tales by gestures, smiles that were contagious, and with a magical energy. . ."
McCormick, Selah Valley, WA
Performances for adults, children or that curious combination called families draw on a lively mix of personal experience, original fiction, literature, legends, and traditional American stories of adventure and magic – the variety of storytelling that takes place in our lives whether from long ago or just last week.
"Henegar's tall tales tickled the funny bone and touched the imagination. At one point, mesmerized students,
their mouths open wide in amazement, listened intently and then gleefully joined in as Henegar sang."
Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, VA
Adult
Likely Stories
Truth and lies from long ago or just last week. Steven celebrates the wonderful stories that friends, families and communities use to share our lives – sense and nonsense in vibrant traditional and original stories.
Embarrassment & Death
Growing up was trickier than Ozzie and Harriet led us to believe. Hilarious and touching original stories as Steve grows up in the 1950's and 60’s. Alternately amazed and determined, he navigates his first swimming lesson or that surprising class trip, along with all the other everyday ambushes of his life.
All in the Family
Fairy tale love stories, difficult times, or well-intentioned monsters? Every family has the tales. In my migrating clan, family stories wrap around us, creating a shared memory of who we are, where we come from, and help us guess at where we’re going.
The Everyday & the Fantastic
Whether or not you believe in magic, it’s not all that unusual for the everyday ground beneath our feet to suddenly shift, so we stumble into the unexpected. It happens regularly enough that it’s easy to confuse the two. Of course, you didn’t expect to get bit by a lion, or dance in the hallway with the cat lady. You expected everything to go pretty much the way it had gone the day before. Didn’t you?
Under The Moon
Magic, mystery and a distant howl - the dead moon, a hungry skeleton, the doctor-werewolf and others beckon as chills and laughter wrap around you in these tales of light and shadow.
Student & Families
Performances range from off-hand conversation to high-energy participation and support curriculum standards in language arts and drama or introduce the library’s traditional literature collection. With smaller groups, Steven’s presentation allows for give and take touching on the place of storytelling in their lives or in their studies.
Likely Stories: From True Life to Tall Tales
Vibrant original and traditional American tales celebrate the wonderful variety of stories that friends, families and communities use to “share their lives.” Steven finds the everyday and the fantastic in stories that grew up here or took root with new arrivals—an often funny, personable trip through growing-up stories, veracious tall tales, legends and traditional stories of adventure and magic. Truth and Lies from long ago or just last week.
Chilling Tales
Mystery, magic and a distant howl – a Vanishing Hitchhiker, the dead moon, a hungry skeleton, and others beckon as chills and laughter wrap around you in these tales of light and shadow.
Urban Legends:
Truth and Lies from a Friend of a Friend
Everyone knows and tells these informal stories about the real ingredients of that hamburger, or the poodle in the microwave. None of them happened to us, but we heard about it from a friend, who heard about it from a friend. They’re funny and scary and gross, and are probably modern legends.
These modern folktales circulate actively among family, hanging out with friends, and over the Internet. They reflect legitimate anxieties, offer practical lessons, but also traffic in rumor and stereotypes.
Part performance, part discussion - a thoughtful, fun and participatory presentation helps to spot these stories, asks why we tell them, what we are saying about each other, and invites audiences to share the versions that they have heard.
