Personal Statement
For over 30 years I’ve watched stories help to heal, educate, inspire, delight and weave disparate individuals into communities in churches, prisons, classrooms, board rooms, retreats and festivals. Storytelling engages our minds, hearts and senses and draws us into a shared experience of connection and wonder. Storytelling ushers us across a threshold into the realm of “once upon a time” where the imagination is free to wander, the spirit able to rest and restore. Stories creep under and over the walls that divide us. Stories ground us in our common experiences as well as celebrate our unique voices. The more stories we have, the more ideas we have for meeting the twisting plots and myriad characters in our own lives. I agree with storyteller Kevin Kling who once said: “I think a storyteller should be as useful to his community as a plumber.”
Bio
From American tall tales and Native American myths to Mexican fables, Russian fairytales and personal experiences, Will Hornyak weaves a wide web of beautifully crafted stories from oral traditions around the world. A strong performer with a love for the music and rhythm of language, Will fully engages his audiences in bringing traditional and original stories to life. He sometimes shares the stage with audience members with lively participation stories.
Will has taught storytelling at Portland State University, Marylhurst University and Lewis and Clark College. He performs at festivals, schools, theatres, pubs and churches throughout the United States. He has been a featured performer at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee and at numerous regional festivals. He was named Artist of the Year by Young Audiences of Oregon and Southwest Washington. The National Storytelling Network awarded Will the Brimstone Grant for his environmental education program: Living Streams: Stories for Healthy Watersheds. That program for K-6 schools has educated and entertained over 60,000 students and teachers. He lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, not far from the Willamette River, where he loves to paddle a canoe.
A former newspaper reporter in Latin America, Will graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history and a minor in education. He worked as a newspaper reporter in the United States and Latin America, reporting for the Inter-American Press Association. While living in Peru and Bolivia he became interested in folklore, mythology, storytelling and performance art. Will lived in San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, studying performance art, acting, mythology and storytelling. He worked as a carpenter while developing a storytelling repertoire of over 60 myths, legends and folktales from a wide variety of oral traditions. He has been a full-time storyteller, teacher and workshop facilitator since 1994. A strong advocate for storytelling as a change agent in personal and organizational life, he was a board member and active participant with the Portland, OR based non-profit Open Hearts Open Minds, which integrates dialogue groups, theatre and storytelling into Oregon prisons. He has also worked with Mosaic Voices of Seattle, WA, using arts-based programs with returning veterans, at-risk youth and incarcerated populations.
One-Man Shows (2008~2026)
Member
- Portland Storyteller’s Guild (past president)
- National Storytelling Association
Workshops / Classes Attended
- Seven residential masters classes with mythologist/storyteller Laura Simms, Michael Meade, Robert Bly.
- Marylhurst Univ. class “Storytelling Inside Out” — Susan Strauss
- Workshops with nationally recognized storytellers Kevin Kling, Bill Harley, Charlie Chin, Gay Ducey, Michael Cotter, David Novak.
- Performance Residency with Daniel Stein, internationally acclaimed performance artist, at Comedia Del Arte School, Blue Lake, Calif.
- Poetry classes and workshops with Naomi Shihab Nye, Clem Starck.
- On-going performance coaching with Portland dancer/writer Susan Banyas, actor Anet Ris Kelman, actor Johnny Stallings, storyteller Susan Strauss.
Career Timeline
Provided performances and workshops to profit and non-profit organizations including Petronas Intl. (Malaysia), Thyssen-Krupp International, Schneider Electric, Carrefour Europe, the American Hospital Assoc., Intel, Doc Marten’s Shoes, Johnson Controls, Liberty Northwest, NW Natural Gas, the American Cancer Society, the City of Portland, Portland State University, the Oregon State Penitentiary (Salem) and the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Dept.
Adjunct faculty member, Marylhurst University, Communication Studies Dept.
Developed and taught the three-credit classes “Storytelling for Business and Communication Professionals” and “Persuasive Storytelling.”
Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University, Clackamas Community College, Clark County Community College and Marylhurst University for classes in education, drama, mythology, human relations, world religions and business.
Performed regularly in K-12 schools, libraries, colleges and theatres throughout the Northwest and beyond, drawing from Mexican fables and American tall tales to Irish myths, Native American legends and original stories.
Residency and Workshop Program Facilitator — Taught K-12 teachers and students through the workshop “Pass the Word: Language Arts through Storytelling.”
“Living Streams: Stories for Healthy Watersheds” — Created and performed a participatory 50-minute assembly program for K-5 students, commissioned by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. The assembly, accompanying CD and curriculum guide has reached over 40,000 students and teachers in the Portland metropolitan area. Created similar environmental education assembly programs in sustainability, recycling, composting and watershed education for Clark County Environmental Services, Clackamas River Water Providers, Hillsboro Clean Water and Water Environment Services of Clackamas County.
Storyteller, Writer, Producer — Wrote, performed and produced fourteen one-man shows for mature audiences, 2008–2016.
Testimonials
“Students completing Will’s class have a deeper understanding of the power of story and the ability to integrate that power into their personal and professional lives.”
Scott Dawson — Former Dean, Portland State Univ. School of Business Admin.
“Will Hornyak is a storyteller par excellence… boundless wit, endless imagination, and an ability to transport children and adults into an amazing imaginary world.”
The Oregonian Newspaper
“Will Hornyak is a world class storyteller and a master of audience inclusion… I can’t recommend him highly enough.”
Joe Lapidus — Principal, Chinook Elem., Vancouver, Washington
“Because of your easy-going and encouraging style I felt safe to share stories in front of an audience for the first time.”
Marylhurst University Student
“Your workshop was the highlight of our staff training and we continue to refer back to the messages conveyed about storytelling.”
Tim Syfert — Johnson Controls, New Holland, Michigan
“A storyteller’s storyteller. Will can teach, intrigue, surprise and touch all ages. A master of the craft and one of our region’s finest storytellers and teachers of storytelling.”
Christine Caton — Former Young Audiences