Projects

“From reimagining old tales to creating new story for the future, story can be used in many ways.”

Photo: Keith Guppy

Discover Lisa’s recent projects…

  • I’m proud to be working with Ruth Webb and Amy Webb as The Lost Giants, West Country designers and creators of giants, processions, and beasts of disguise. Through the forgotten British art of community-based giant making, The Lost Giants re-imagine folktales and magical characters to reflect the imagination embedded in local places around the UK. With the support of the Ffern Folk Foundation, we will work with an environmental community group to co-create a new processional giant shaped by local landscapes, ecologies and folklore. Watch this space for news!

  • This project explored the practicalities and potential of creating a binaural sound experience that combines natural sound with the telling of traditional Dartmoor folk tales. I worked with Sara Hurley and Kerry Priest to explore the use of this digital technology in the landscape, giving insight into the use of high quality field recordings in storytelling and creating immersive audio experiences. Supported by an Immersive Arts Explore award.

  • A collaboration with fellow storyteller Sara Hurley, working with Dartmoor’s communities to re-imagine local folk tales for the 21st Century. Engagement with communities across Dartmoor including creation of four new Dartmoor folk tales with schools in Chagford, Widecombe, Princetown and Meavy; work with elders and old folks’ clubs, history clubs, museums and community groups; and four story walks across Dartmoor. Funded by Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund, working with Villages in Action, Dartmoor National Park and Skylark Radio. Our new contemporary storytelling show, informed by all findings, toured Dartmoor in 2025, with more shows planned for 2026.

  • Working with Charlotte Lancaster, a postdoctoral researcher at Bath Spa University, Friends of the River Dart and the Dartmoor Preservation Association, to capture and share community stories along the river Dart in south Devon.

  • Working with Avon Needs Trees on an ambitious tree planting site near Bristol: story walks and working with Pensford Primary School to create a new story, The Riddle Tree. 


  • A research MA with Shonaleigh Cumbers on this Baring-Gould folk tale, comparing the original story and its history with recent use of the tale in Right to Roam activism, and reworking of the folk tale with local community. See blog.

  • Working with rural communities in north Devon to make a new contemporary storytelling show of folk tale, myth, science, music and film - all shaped by rural lived experience. A partnership with Beaford, University of Plymouth, Torridge and North Devon Councils, working with Emma Welton (musician), Matt Biggs (film-maker), Paula Crutchlow (director) and Peter Buffery (technician). The resulting show toured North Devon in March 2023. Funded by Arts Council England through National Lottery Project Grants.

  • A major three year programme with 10 primary schools in north Devon, exploring the craft of storytelling and storymaking with KS2 classes and use of artistic media, film and photo to express story. With Beaford Arts & other artists, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. 

A person hugging a large, colorful scultpture with a carved face at the top, surrounded by other people outdoors during daytime.

Photo: Sue Ash

Three women, including Lisa Schneidau on the left, smiling outdoors near a body of water with trees in the background
Rolling green hills with a winding road, scattered rocks, and sparse trees under a cloudy sky.
A close-up photo of a small flowering plant with green leaves and white buds, placed on a desk in front of printed papers. The papers contain text about storytelling and becoming a storyteller.
A group of people, some with umbrellas, gather outdoors near a fire with smoke rising into the sky during dusk or evening.
Group of people hiking on Dartmoor with leafless trees and some yellow flowering bushes, under a partly cloudy blue sky.