Barry Stewart Mann is an actor and storyteller based in Atlanta. He holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University, and an M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of San Diego. Barry has been teaching about drama and storytelling for almost as long as he has been an actor and storyteller. Over the years, he has been a roster teaching and performing artist with the Alliance Theatre, Georgia Wolf Trap, the Atlanta Partnership for Arts in Learning, the Teaching Museum, Young Audiences, the California Playwrights Project, the San Diego Institute for Arts Education, and the Old Globe Theatre.

Arts Disciplines: Storytelling, Theatre/Drama, Puppetry

Core Content Curriculum Areas: Science, Technology, English/Language Arts, Social Studies/History, Theatre/Drama, Math 

Specialized Content Areas: Arts Integration, STEAM, Literacy, World Cultures

Grade Levels: Pre-K, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Special Populations: ELL (English Language Learners), Special Needs Students, Autism Spectrum

Pre-Service Learning and Professional Development: Post-Secondary/Pre-Service Learning, Professional Development for K-12 Teachers, Professional Development for Teaching Artists

Geographic Availability: Metro Atlanta, North Georgia, Middle Georgia, South Georgia

Program Fees:

• Solo assembly programs for schools or libraries:
  • $220 single program
  • $400 double on same day, same site or area
  • $540 triple on same day, same site or area
  • $680 quadruple, same day, same site or area
• Duo assembly program for schools or libraries (involving two performers -Viajando por poesía, First Contact, Shakespearean Love, and Passion, Power & Poetry):
  • $400 single program
  • $750 double on same day, same site or area
  • $1,050 triple on same day, same site or area
  • $1,300 quadruple on same day, same site or area
• Workshops:
  • Individually $75, minimum of 3
  • Full day $375 (up to 6 sessions)
• Residencies:
  • 1 week – $1,750
  • 2 weeks – $3,400
  • 3 weeks – $5,000

Artistic Profile:

Barry is an actor and storyteller based in Atlanta.  He holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University, and an M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of San Diego.  He also attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York, where he trained with Sanford Meisner.  Barry has appeared at theatres across the country, from San Diego’s Old Globe, Arkansas Rep, and the South Florida Shakespeare Festival, to off-Broadway stages in New York City. In Georgia, he has performed with Theatrical Outfit, Horizon Theatre, Theatre Emory, Jewish Theatre of the South, ART Station, and Théâtre du Rêve.  Favorite roles include Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Ned in The Normal Heart, Antonio in The Tempest, and half the characters in Greater Tuna.  Barry has been a storyteller since 1991, telling tales to audiences of all ages in schools, festivals, camps, libraries, elder-hostels, and other venues.  He was named “National Storyteller of the Year” in 1999, contributed regularly to the public radio program “Recess!”, and was featured at the 2nd Festival Internacional de Cuentacuentos in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  On screen, Barry has appeared on One Life to Live, A&E’s Short Stories, and The Dr. Ruth Show.  Barry is a member of Actors Equity Association, the National Storytelling Network, and the Southern Order of Storytellers.  Barry values the traditions of the classical theatre, classical mythology, and folklore from cultures around the world, but also delights in exploring new forms, new plays, and new ways of telling stories.

Teaching Experience:

Barry Stewart Mann has been teaching about drama and storytelling for almost as long as he has been an actor and storyteller.  Over the years, he has been a roster teaching and performing artist with the Alliance Theatre, Georgia Wolf Trap, the Atlanta Partnership for Arts in Learning, the Teaching Museum, Young Audiences, the California Playwrights Project, the San Diego Institute for Arts Education, and the Old Globe Theatre.  He also offers professional development workshops with ArtsNow, and has been a regular presenter at the Woodruff Arts Center’s annual Educator Conference.  He teaches at all grade levels, using such approaches as Improvisation, Process Drama, Readers Theater, Digital Storytelling, playwriting, puppetry, mime, and play production.  At the university level, Barry teaches courses in Storytelling and Drama in Lesley University’s Master of Education program in Creative Arts in Learning.  He has also taught, lectured, or performed at Emory University, Georgia State University, the University of Florida, Utah State University, Idaho State University, William Paterson University, and Grossmont College.  Barry has traveled to more than 50 nations on 4 continents, speaks French, Spanish and bits of other tongues, and brings a citizen-of-the-world sensibility to his work in arts education. He has been a bilingual storyteller and scholar with the Prime Time Family Reading Program through the Georgia Public Library System since 2008.  Barry strives to use the arts of drama and storytelling to inspire students’ imagination, enhance literacy, and support learning across the curriculum.

Sample Programs:

• Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves:  Cherokee Leaders and Lore – An assembly program for up to 300 students that explores of lore and customs of the Cherokee people, including creation myths, the Seven Clans, the Green Corn Ceremony, and the stickball game, as shared by Sequoyah and two other historical Cherokee figures.  The program is appropriate for grades K-5, and specifically addresses 2nd Grade SS Standards.  Program fee is $220 for a single presentation in the metro Atlanta area. Travel fees apply for other parts of Georgia.
• The Great Depression Experience  – A 3-day classroom residency hat uses primary sources, improvisation, journal-writing, and oral interpretation to help students understand the Great Depression by imagining and experiencing the lives of a Depression-Era family.  Workshops suit up to 30 students, and address 5th Grade Social Studies Standards.  Workshop cost is $75 per session, or $225 per class residency, with a minimum of 3 classes per day. Travel fees apply outside of metro Atlanta.
• Dinner at the Periodic Table – A classroom workshop for up to 30 students that creatively encounters the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements by engaging students with metaphorical thinking, characterization, and improvisation to embody the elements and bring their properties, reactions, and relationships to life.  Program addresses 8th Grade Science Standards.  Workshop cost is $75 per class, with a minimum of 3 classes per day. Travel fees apply outside of metro Atlanta. Program can be presented in one or two-day formats.

Sample Lesson Plans/Study Guides:

• “Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves: Cherokee Leaders and Lore”
• “Dinner at the Periodic Table“
• “The Great Depression Experience”

Program Videos: 

• “Peace Pipes and Talking Leaves”
• “First Contact: European Explorers Come to North America”

• Listing ID: 5998