Dylan Pritchett
Dylan Pritchett (pronounced DIE-lan) has been a full time storyteller since 1990, sharing his folktales with thousands of children and adults throughout the country in more than 200 performances a year. Dylan is inspired by cultural folktales with a positive message that cross cultural boundaries. Through storytelling, he hopes to encourage and bring joy to people from all walks of life.
As the president of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Dylan is dedicated to passing on the African oral tradition of storytelling. In addition to live performances, Dylan has provided narration and served as a performer and consultant for a number of historical broadcast documentaries, including the recent PBS program, View from the Mountaintop, the Thomas Jefferson biography.
Dylan has recorded several albums of folktales, and he has created the voices of many historical characters for museum recordings and exhibits, including the Smithsonian Museum, Colonial Williamsburg. Anacostia Museum, Monticello, Gunston Hall, Meadow Farms Museum, Valentine Museum, National Oregon Trial Interpretive Center, Museum of the Confederacy, and many others.
Dylan is one of a handful of artists selected to participate in the John F. Kennedy Center's Performing Arts Partners in Education touring program. He has been working with the Kennedy Center for nine years, performing and leading workshops for teachers to teach them how to use the power of storytelling in the classroom.
Drawing on his experience in historical research, Dylan has also created an exciting classroom presentation called, "Scraps of History," which uses actual documents from the 18th and 19th centuries to weave African-American history into the fabric of the American past, to make learning come alive for students of all ages.
In addition, working with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Consortium in Columbia, South Carolina, Dylan has created a five-week course that teaches middle school students how to write and present stories of women and children — black and white — who lived during the Civil War era. Students are lead step-by-step through the creative process using primary and secondary documents from Dylan's research in Kansas, Mississippi, and Kentucky. This sought-after course is a huge success in hundreds of schools across the country, as a vibrant, meaningful way to learn about our nation's history.
The First Music is Dylan's first picture book; the lush, vibrant illustrations were created by artist Erin Bennett Banks. Dylan Pritchett is a native of Williamsburg, Virginia.
See all titles by Dylan Pritchett.
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