“Margaret is an extraordinary artist, educator and human being. Her ability to give generously to others and her deep reservoir of intelligence and imagination, make her a special individual.”
–Jessica Balboni, Director of Education at the 92nd Street Y
After receiving a Masters from New York University in theater and literature, Margaret developed a unique form of story-theater, designing and performing concerts of myths and stories in collaboration with musicians and visual artists. For twenty years she performed with musician Paula Chan Bing, touring throughout North America, England, Sweden, the Philippines, Australia, Japan and Okinawa. Other story and music collaborations include Psyche and Eros, a storytelling and orchestral work developed with Opera Memphis Director Michael Ching as well as two adult full-concert length works with composer/musician Simon Shaheen: Majnun Layla, an Arabian love story, and The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Performances have taken place at such places as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Sydney Opera House, the National Theater, the Abu Dhabi Theater, the Asia Society, Harvard, Princeton, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the United Nations, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and the City University of New York, to mention a few of hundreds of venues. She has received commissions, grants, and awards from a number of organizations and foundations, including the Boone Family Foundation, Poets and Writers, Inc., The National Endowment for the Humanities; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Aramco, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
In addition to story and music productions, Margaret has collaborated with illustrators on a number of critically acclaimed books, among them Marriage of the Rain Goddess created with visual artist, Clifford Parms. Published in multiple languages, Marriage of the Rain Goddess won a United Kingdom Reading Association Award for substantial contribution to children’s literature. Margaret has also co-authored two books with the philanthropist, Edgar Bronfman.
Along with performing, Margaret leads storytelling and creative writing workshops at schools, universities, and community centers. For three consecutive years, she was a guest teaching and performing artist for the Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation and also at the United Arab Emirates University. Other work in the cultural arena focuses on the design, direction, and management of large-scale special arts events such as the Midori and Friends Children’s Music Festival. Other teaching work includes one-on-one life writing coaching for adults and the Big Story Book Club for mothers and sons in New York City.
Her passion for story and language also finds expression in her work as verbal branding specialist. Since 2004, she has consulted for boutique and global branding agencies, developing original names, taglines, copy points, nomenclature systems, and brand stories for Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and start-ups. In 2014 she launched River + Wolf, a verbal and visual branding firm.