Steffani Raff - Pirates in Pajamas creator

Steffani Raff

Steffani Raff (a.k.a. the Cap'n) is a talented storyteller and gifted teacher who blends her creative spirit with love of life to craft memorable tales that jump-start the imagination.

A mother of four incredible children who love adventure, she is also committed to mentoring others in the art of story creation and sharing, having experienced the benefits of storytelling firsthand.

"I believe that stories are light. A light to guide, a light to illuminate understanding, a light to chase away fear. Every time you hear a well-crafted story it opens up another possiblilty of living better than before. The power of creating and telling stories for my children has touched my home in such a beautiful way, it has motivated me to help others experience what we have."

Steffani has been a professional storyteller for over a decade - performing, educating, conducting workshops, coaching, and mentoring. She also is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. As a mother for more than fourteen years, she has had a lot of experience weaving storytelling into family life.

In recent years she has been involved with numerous venues and organizations, just a few of which are listed below:

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and Conference
Zions Storytelling Festival
Utah Performing Arts Tour
PBS 'Ready to Learn' Program through KBYU TV
Federation of Genealogical Societies
Utah Arts Festival
Renaissance Academy
Cornerstone Academy
Timpanogos Academy

If you are interested in creating imaginative stories to connect, have fun, and gently teach values, try out Steffani's innovative approach in a Pirates in Pajamas workshop. Her dynamic, interactive, and innovative approach includes methods to share tools, ideas, thoughts, tips and tricks in the art of creating stories for and with children. Using a 6-step image-rich technique, adults and children alike suddenly find themselves pulling vibrant threads from folktales to weave their very own brand of story.

Steffani is skilled in crafting personal stories and delights in helping others find and craft stories to tell from their own life/family experiences. If this is your interest, Steffani has written several articles on this subject at www.meridianmagazine.com. Previous articles are located in the right hand column in the ‘Archive’ section. Look for the subject heading ‘Storytelling for Families.’

She also currently serves as a board member for the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, where she helps select and coach the youth who are selected to tell stories at the festival every year.

"Sometimes a person needs a story more than bread to survive." - Barry Lopez

Here’s what people are saying about Steffani:

"Steffani’s stories were captivating and she told them with such a fresh appeal! She is a very talented teller."
– Joy Baker, Zions Storytelling Festival Organizer

"If superman is great, you’re even better. Thanks for being my hero."
– Rachel Smith, Cornerstone Academy student

"Steffani created a warm, nurturing, and fun environment so that we could really explore together. I was thrilled with the stories I came away with and awed by the stories I heard from others."
– Cherie Davis, professional storyteller, workshop participant