Particulars
"This site is under contruction as I learn my away around HTML. Read on, all the information is still here. Thanks, Dennis"
Ex Viet Nam helicopter pilot, commerical pilot and ocean sailor. Dennis Freeman has been a storyteller and a roster artist on the the Arizona Commission on the Arts for more than seventeen years. He has toured throughout the Southwest performing in schools and communities while facilitating hundreds of artist-in-residencies presentations in schools and rural towns.
Dennis's BLM mustang horse, Turquoise Boy, is now nine years old. He’s a wonderful horse with a gentle disposition. Dennis also has a quarterhorse mare, Tika. Arizona weather is finally cooling down so it will be time to hit the horse trails again.
By the way, if you're interested in an excellent horse and rider trainer near Phoenix, Arizona, call Kim McElroy, 623-465-5778.
Dennis continues to work in oral history gathering projects. Most recently he collected the oral histories of neighborhood activists in Mesa, Arizona. Their comments and stories will be presented by Dennis in the keynote address to the City of Mesa Neighborhood Conference.
Previous oral history projects include the gathering of Mexican-American narratives in Wickenburg, Arizona. From these interviews Freeman wrote an acclaimed two hour storytelling history pageant, “The Wickenburg Way”. Dennis directed the pageant featuring eighty members of the Wickenburg Community. Historic Wickenburg came to life from 1860 to 1935 and a great African-American pioneer, Elizabeth Hudson Smith, was rediscovered and included in the roster of Arizona Pioneer Women.
Another project to collect the oral histories of the class of 1935 Peeples Valley, Arizona country school was a great success! The old schoolhouse was standing room only and families whose names ring through Arizona history were in attendance. The performance included a dramatic vignette depicting life in the Peeples Valley School and a history presentation of Peeples Valley, Arizona which was the beginning region for the Arizona gold rush.
Dennis’ CD of gathered family stories, Bumper Crop, has been a hit. The stories are all true, the people are all real. With guitar interludes by Fingerstyle Champion Todd Hallawell, Bumper Crop projects a wide arc of family experiences and emotion. Bumper Crop is available on Amazon.com
In collaboration with Bay 6 Productions in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dennis has produced “Turtle Recall” a great video for primary aged children and the whole family. Beautifully shot with computer animations, Turtle Recall is available on Amazon.com
If you’re a subscriber to Pearson Broadband Schools Group’s Knowledge Box, you’ll see Dennis’s work. Freeman wrote the first versions of the scripts for Pearson’s Folktale series as well as the video introductions.
Dennis is currently in a series of twenty-day artist in residencies through the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Phoenix Arts Commission. He’ll be working in eight different schools throughout the school calendar in the Phoenix metro area.
Dennis would like to introduce his artist representative, Marilyn Chilese. If you’re interested in a truly unique storyteller/singer/songwriter working in one of a kind stories not told by anyone else, contact Marilyn about bringing Dennis to your venue. He can perform for any audience. You won’t be disappointed.
You can reach Marilyn Chilese at repden1@earthlink.net. Her toll free number is 800-653-1483
Some Useful Links
Bay 6 Video Production Services
Angel Fire
Purchase Dennis' Video, Turtle Recall, on Amazon
Purchase Dennis' CD, Bumper Crop, on Amazon
Dennis' ACA Roster Listing
Marilyn Freeman's Arbonne Products Page
