REXBURG— In 2015, Mo Reynolds had a peculiar dream. She was sitting in a small auditorium while a man stood on stage, acting out a play by himself. Behind him was a black curtain, littered with several scarves of different colors.
Reynolds woke up inspired.
“I woke up from this dream and I thought I could do that… and so I strapped on a bandana and became Miss Mo,” she said.
Mo Reynolds is a professional storyteller, an adjunct teacher in the BYU-Idaho English Department, and now, the host of a new podcast, “The Yarn.”
The goal of her podcast is to “create a connection with the audience that allows them to feel connected to themselves and to their own stories and to spark a memory that they might share with someone else.”
She applies the stories she tells to how she and the listeners can come closer to Jesus Christ.
Reynolds said people frequently ask her what she does as a storyteller.
“When people find out I’m a storyteller, I often get asked what that is. Do I sit around and read books to kids? Nope, that’s definitely not it. I don’t even sit down,” she said.
Reynolds often travels across the country, telling folk and fairy tales to listeners of all ages. Sometimes, she tells original stories from her own life, which she weaves into other stories to share a message with the audience.
When Reynolds approached BYU-Idaho Radio with the idea to start a story-telling podcast, she also learned about an event at BYU-Idaho called “The Yarn,” an event that happens every semester, where students share personal narratives. This inspired the name for her podcast.
Reynolds will be speaking in “The Yarn” event, on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. on the BYU-Idaho campus in the Hyrum Manwaring Center Little Theatre.
The event is black tie awards night-themed, so the audience is encouraged to dress for the occasion. Reynolds will perform and there will be several Communication Department students sharing their own personal narratives.
To connect with Reynolds, visit her website.