In 2022 and again in 2023, the Mill City Museum partnered with SAM to produce a inspiring night of storytelling about women’s lives in Minnesota, past and present. But one evening couldn’t hold all the wonderful stories that were submitted and have since come to light. Come hear more true tales that celebrate Minnesotan women’s varied backgrounds and experiences. Three of the featured storytellers—Jan Borofka, Colleen Casey, and Roya Taylor—performed in the 2023 event at the museum. The other tellers will be Marie Cooney and Jessica Zuehlke.

Jan Borofka has worn many hats in her eighty plus years, but a constant has been her love of poetry and writing. A smattering of published work, graduating from Metro State University, classes and workshops with many poets and authors, including Phoebe Hansen, Margaret Hasse and Diane Jarvenpa is her educational background. Storytelling is her newest hat and she enjoys the opportunity to present her tales to you.

Colleen Casey is a writer, editor, community organizer, artist, and teacher of English Language Arts. Colleen was born a stone's throw away from the Mississippi River and writes with the Witness Writers Workshop based out of UROC, the University of Minnesota's outreach site on Minneapolis' North Side. Of mixed Mdewakanton Dakota and European American heritages, she believes we are all related.

Marie Cooney has told stories locally at the MN Fringe Festival three times in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In addition, she has performed at the TC MOTH,  Strike Theatre, Story Club MN, SAM , OUTspoken, and more. The silver lining of the Covid Pandemic has been the opportunities to tell stories nationally with RISK, NSN, Story Club, Gritt, and more. Marie is especially proud to have also told stories internationally with various people in a multitude of countries and cultures. Marie is telling a story about sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury and learning to love life again. 

Roya Taylor is a Transgender Woman/“TransFemme,” female identifying, expressing and presenting, non-binary, Native American “Two-Spirit.” Taylor uses pronouns she/her; they/them. Taylor is an actor, voiceover artist, performative storyteller and radio talk show host (“DJane”) of “GOOD MEDICINE” at KFAI Fresh Air Radio. Taylor appeared in Jungle Theater’s BOLD New Works Script Reading Series, also a collaboration between Guthrie Theater and Indigenous Direction. Credits include Gremlin Theatre, Mounds Theatre, Juggling Act Productions, Night Fox Films, Independent Film Project, Public Educational Radio Network, Northlands Storytelling Network and Beyond The Spectacle.  She/They is also a member of Crisis Actors MN, Turtle Theater Collective and New Native Theater Ensemble and a patient simulator/role player at Health Sciences Education Center, University of Minnesota. 

Jessica Zuehlke’s career in theater/education began with a puppet stage and classroom in her childhood backyard (Worthington, MN). She pursued her acting career most notably with The Palace Theater, Cricket, KTCA, Paul Bunyan Playhouse and a host of new plays, while working for the Minnesota State Arts Board and COMPAS as an artist in the schools. She led theater residencies on several reservations in MN as well as Central America and Brazil. Completing her M.A. at St. Mary’s University (Winona) while heading the speech/theater program at Red Wing High School. As the author of several children’s plays, Church Basement Ladies is her first venture to co-write with her husband, theater artist Jim Stowell. They also have a new musical script, “A Wagon Load of Shoes”, based on a true story about two pen pal girls from Minnesota and from Germany after WWII. As a performing storyteller Jessica writes her own material sharing her life experiences as a teacher, traveler, and caretaker of her parents.