Theater

Come listen to the folktales of the American South featuring trickster Br’er Rabbit! Sheila Arnold and Len Cabral, both experienced traditional storytellers, come together to share their versions of the tales about the famous trickster. 

Br’er Rabbit is an important character in the oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean. Seemingly naive, Br’er Rabbit always manages to get out of danger in the most unexpected ways and outsmarts his opponents. The little hero never has a dull day! 

Bio: 
Sheila Arnold has a talent for storytelling, a passion for history, and a compassion for people. She provides Storytelling, Historic Character Presentations, Christian Monologues, and Professional Development for schools, festivals, churches, and organizations nationally and internationally.  She is co-founder and Artistic Director of Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST), a source of inspiration, strength and action in the storytelling world.  Sheila has bee honored as a co-recipient of the 2021 National Storytelling Network Distinguished Service Award, 2021 MacDowell Artist Fellow, a 2020 Mt. Vernon Research Fellow and a 2019 Hewnoaks Artist Colony summer residence Noted Artist. Sheila lives in Hampton, VA near her son, grandsons, and parents.

Len Cabral is an internationally acclaimed storyteller who has been enchanting audiences with his storytelling performances since 1976. A great grandson of a Cape Verdean whaler whose grandparents immigrated to America from the islands off the coast of West Africa, Len’s strong Cape Verdean ancestry comes alive in his exuberant retelling of African, Cape Verdean, and Caribbean folktales as well as original stories and tales from around the world. Len is a popular storyteller at theaters, schools and festivals throughout the United States and has performed at festivals in Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Holland and Canada.