Artist Detail

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Wendy Gourley

Actor - Singer - Storyteller - UAC Teaching Artist - Writer

About the artist:

Wendy Gourley came to professional storytelling from a background in musical theatre. She was on the teaching staff at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah where she was the founder and co-director of VocalWorks, a musical theatre program for children, grades 2-12. She developed curriculum and helped oversee the education of hundreds of children. She wrote and directed many of the children’s productions, and acted and musically directed for the main stage as well. Wendy was also the music and drama teacher at the Colby School. She had her own vocal studio for years, where she taught singing lessons. She has written and directed many community and school productions. When she found performance storytelling, she felt like she found home. Here was an art form that encompassed all of her loves and she uses them all in her stories: writing, acting, singing, production design, and playing instruments. Wendy feels that storytelling pares theatre down to its purest and most powerful form: story. Through her storytelling, Wendy performs at festival, concerts, schools and conferences. In 2005, She was a featured regional teller at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, the second largest festival in the United States and has performed at other festivals in the Western region.  One of her career highlights is when she opened for Michael Feinstein, one of her favorite singers, in 2007. She continues to teach many children through storytelling residencies. She is currently the President of the Utah Storytelling Guild. She is on the membership committee of the National Storytelling Network and writes a column for their Storytelling Magazine. She has produced many storytelling events, including co-chairing the Utah Storytelling Guild’s annual conference and now serves on the Timpanogos Storytelling Conference committee. Wendy is the founder and co-director of Resonance, a non-profit corporation that funds story work with at risk populations. Currently, Resonance is bringing a story-based character education program to Title One schools