JoAnn F. Peterson began acting before she went to school.  The youngest of 4, she'd carry on conversations with herself when her siblings were in school, being one person on one side of the doorway and being another person on the other.  About the same time, she began singing with her sisters as a gospel trio, with encouragement from their grandmother. 

JoAnn continued acting and singing, performing in college and community theater and writing murder mystery plays and directing them. Fast forward a number of years to performing in film (Astrid in “A Promise to Astrid”), in commercials, and on stage in equity theater (Mother Abbess in “The Sound of Music”).  She loves to sing in concert (Broadway showtunes, standards, traditional & contemporary Christian , '70s, Christmas), and in the Civil War musical she wrote, "A Mother's Heart Divided," with guitar accompaniment by her husband Tom.

JoAnn has turned her love for acting and history into performing first person portrayals, which she calls "Amazing Women of History", all over the world, from the US Embassy in Prague to Ventura, CA. Immersing herself in each woman's life, she has visited the birthplaces and final resting places, of each woman she portrays. Since 2008, JoAnn has been a West Virginia Humanities Council History Alive! presenter. Portrayals are in the Chautauqua style – monologue followed by Q&A as the historic figure and then as JoAnn herself.

Portrayals and programs are available for churches, tour groups, schools, libraries, historical societies, seniors, festivals, Chautauquas, conventions, conferences, and more!  I'm always ready to do a film or commercial too!