Biographical Note
Storyteller Connie Regan-Blake was a key figure in the 1970s American storytelling revival. She has performed at every one of the National Storytelling Festivals, and is a founding member of what is now the International Storytelling Center. She began her career telling stories in a public library in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and later teamed up with her cousin, Barbara Freeman, to form the storytelling duo, Folktellers, from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. They wrote and starred in a two-woman play, Mountain Sweet Talk, the longest running theatrical production in Asheville, North Carolina, with seven seasons and more than 300 performances.
Regan-Blake was born January 20, 1947, in Alabama, raised in Florida, and has been a resident of Asheville for more than 30 years. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, in 1969 from Loyola University in New Orleans, she traveled throughout Europe. Upon her return to the U.S., she worked with Freeman at the Chattanooga Public Library as part of the childhood literacy program, M.O.R.E. (Making Our Reading Enjoyable). It was then Regan-Blake earned the nickname, "Miss Daisy."
In 1973, she and her cousin attended the first National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, where they formed lifelong friendships with many storytellers, including the founder of the Festival, Jimmy Neil Smith, Doc McConnell, and Ray and Rosa Hicks. The following year, Regan-Blake became a founding board member of the International Storytelling Center, formerly known as the National Association of the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS) and the National Storytelling Association (NSA). She served as the artistic director of the National Storytelling Festival (1978-1983) and as the chairperson of the board of directors (1981-1984).
Regan-Blake has hosted storytelling events, workshops and coaching classes. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Oracle Awards Program’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Circle of Excellence Award and the Distinguished National Service Award. She has received the B.B. Maurer West Virginia Folklife Scholar Award and two awards from the North Carolina Arts Council.