HIGHLIGHTS / EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:
–Thirty years as a performer, writer, director, storyteller, teacher, and coach
–Seven years as the Founding Artistic Director of Florida Studio Theatre; five years as Associate Artistic Director of Asolo State Theatre; seven years as Assistant Professor of Theatre at University of Tennessee and Florida State University
–As a Teaching Artist/Arts Integration Specialist, Jon works both as a private consultant and in partnership with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Maryland State Arts Council, Young Audiences of Maryland, The Maryland Artist Teacher Institute, the Florida Department of Education, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
AWARDS AND HONORS:
Individual Artist Grants from the National Endowment For The Arts, and from the State Arts Councils of the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and the City of Baltimore.
Three EMMY AWARDS for hosting “Three Stories Tall” on NBCTV4, presented by the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Creative Artist Retreats / Residencies at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy; at The Blue Mountain Center in Blue Mountain Lake, NY; and at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Florida
An Achievement In Children’s Television Award
A Children’s Radio Award
A Parents’ Choice Gold Award
Member, Circle of Excellence, National Storytelling Network
The first American selected to present at the International Festival of Solo Performance in Tel Aviv, Israel
Selected to represent American Professional Performers at the Colloquium on the Revival of Storytelling in Paris, France (“Spelman’s story was one of the big grand moments of the meeting.”)
INVITED TO PERFORM IN The Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Austria, France, Mexico, Japan, Sweden