About Quenntis Ashby

I’m a South African man who lives and works in Taiwan.

As I was born in the year of the Wood Rabbit, I’m an aquarian rabbit made out of wood.

I’m also an Ant and a Bee.

I like it best when my writing jumps off the page and onto the stage of your unique imagination.

My wife is amazing. Our three children keep both of us in awe of a life lived in the drama of the present. They all have front row seats to my punishingly punny puns, silly songs, and wordplays.

I have a professional background in the performing arts.

I become the best version of me when I take to the stage of the page.

As a teacher, I help children to be problem solvers through the use of drama, dance, art, and music in my language classroom and in my stories.

For my first degree I majored in Dramatic Arts & English. In my second degree I specialized in Classical Ballet, Dance Musicology, Orchestration, & Composition. And I also hold an MFA in Creative Writing.

I believe the best stories invoke a physical reaction in our bodies and our minds.

We know ourselves better by the end.

We learn something new about the world beyond the borders of our own skin and the limits of our limbs.

Storytelling is the best kind of magic, transforming us and transporting us.

Location

South Africa

I arrived along with color TV in a racially divided South Africa in 1976.

I grew up in Durban, Dannhauser, and Dundee, but moved to Cape Town to be a professional dancer.

My career ended in 2003 when I injured my ankle dancing in Cats in China. I lost all 9 lives as a stage kitten and my dreams of global feline fame and fortune were forever paused mid-air.

The end of one gracefully furred life meant time and space for a new adventure!

After an intensive TEFL course at the Cape Town Language Institute, I was back on my feet in no time.

Taiwan

I started teaching English in Taiwan in September 2003 using my performing arts skills.

I also wrote for Redroom, put a novel up on Authonomy, and had online poetry conversations with writers around the world.

These conversations resulted in two anthology publications.

Over 5,000 students experienced my Drama Tours and Travelling Tales Storytelling Projects when I found my way back to the stage in 2012.

While completing an MFA in Creative Writing (Hong Kong) I took on the challenge of being a staff writer, editor, and voice artist for Rainbow Time Magazine. I helped develop the monthly magazine’s interactive educational design. Co-hosting weekly radio storytelling programs for ICRT for two years was a highlight.