“The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling.”

Cecil B. DeMille

Classic Storytelling Entertainment

“Early on when introducing myself as a storyteller, a common response was ‘What age do you read to?’  I don’t get that now as storytelling basks in mainstream limelight,”  Haynes says. One-person shows thrive on Broadway, local main stages, little theaters, and at numerous smaller venues, some on a monthly basis.  Primetime Saturday night shows on NPR (National Public Radio) are “Snap Judgement – storytelling with a beat” and “The Moth – true stories told live.”

Unique Interactive Storytelling Entertainment

After telling a story, Haynes invites people from the audience to join her on stage. Through an inventive blend of interviewing acquired from her news reporting experience and coaching based on her years of teaching storytelling, she entices participants to share their own personal story highlights, based on the theme of her story.  Weaving together the group’s multiple narratives never fails to delight audiences.  Examples:

At their gala annual spring event for some 200 attendees – this one to introduce the new rabbi and his wife – the Women of Temple Sinai’s “New Beginnings” program read: “Solo Performer Jeanne Haynes presents A Bed for All Seasons  – one woman’s humorous, poignant journey from childhood to marriage, motherhood to divorce, singleness and maturity.”  After her telling, other women were easily coaxed on stage to tell highlights of similar stories.

For their annual spring fundraiser, the International Philanthropic Educational Organization U.N. chapter featured Haynes at their “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” in Alameda for 200+ attendees.  P.E.O. is an international organization providing scholarships for women.  After telling, My Grandmother’s Tea Party Surprise, willing audience members came on stage to tell their stories. 

Haynes venues include classrooms, living room salons, libraries, story swaps, Toastmasters, family camps, book stores, senior centers, medical facilities, churches and cafes, plus fitting the bill for special bookings:   

  • Oakland Children’s Fairyland – 25 appearances

  • School Assemblies – 50+ appearances

  • Mayor Jerry Brown’s first inaugural event at the Oakland Museum

  • Earth Day at the Oakland Zoo

  • Jack London Square’s Oakland Port Fest

  • Cisco Systems Family Connection Opening

  • Ardenwood Farms Spring Festival

  • North Oakland “Invisible Lines – the Welcoming,” hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “The Mother of all block parties.”

  • KPFA FM 94.1 Berkeley Public Radio Station has aired a dozen or more of Haynes stories over the years

“Storytelling is what we do. We restore order with imagination.  We instill hope again and again and again.” 

Walt Disney

Interactive Storytelling Workshops for Medical and Senior Facilities

“Jeanne has the quality of creating a happy and amicable atmosphere. She motivated me to bring back in my mind and tell my childhood stories from India.”
Saeeda Khas, Strawberry Creek Lodge Senior Residence
“My residents must have thanked me for a whole week after the show.”
Landmark Villa Activities Director

Recognizing the healing value of people telling their stories, Haynes developed a similar format of interactive storytelling to create workshops for medical and senior facilities.  Through Stagebridge and as an independent facilitator/teller she has conducted these workshops, some on a monthly basis, at:

  • AEGIS of Pleasant Hill

  • Carlton Plaza of San Leandro

  • Elmwood Nursing Home, Berkeley

  • Excel Health Care Center, Oakland

  • Hayward Hills Health Care Center

  • Lakeshore Convalescent Hospital, Oakland

  • Lifelong Learning, Oakland

  • Park Merritt Intermediate Care

  • Pinole Senior Village Adult Day Care

  • Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living, Danville

  • Salem Lutheran Home, Oakland

  • San Leandro Health Care

  • St. Paul’s Towers, Oakland

  • Seniorcare of San Leandro

  • Strawberry Creek Lodge Senior Residence

  • Summerville at Landmark Villa, Hayward  

  • Sunrise Senior Living, Oakland

  • Tice Oaks Senior Apartments, Walnut Creek

  • Valley Adult Daycare, Orinda

 Haynes is also certified facilitator for TimeSlips. A nationally acclaimed  storytelling program for people with memory loss.