by timpfest | Jan 22, 2019
From East to West, Anne Shimojima has scattered storytelling sunshine in every corner of our country. Shining her light on difficult subjects, “Hidden Memory: An American Story,” Anne illustrates the history of her Japanese American family as they were imprisoned in the incarceration camps of World War II. Anne excels at helping others gather, shape, and share their illness narratives in the framework of the Hero’s Journey. In addition, she seeks out and shares the commonalities of many cultures—helping us see that we are far more alike than different and diligently erasing artificially created boundaries.
by timpfest | Jan 22, 2019
Some people have inner-kids. Andy Offutt Irwin has an outer-kid. With a manic Silly Putty voice, astonishing mouth noises, and hilarious stories, he is equal parts mischievous schoolboy and the Marx Brothers, peppered with a touch of the Southern balladeer. People are drawn to him like magnets to a refrigerator. And inside, it’s all Mountain Dew and Jolt Cola. A native of Covington, GA, Andy is a storyteller, humorist, singer, songwriter, musician, whistler, walking menagerie of sound effects and dialects, and so much more; some of his talents are hard to categorize. In storytelling circles, he is especially known for relating the adventures of his eighty-five-year-old-widowed-newly-minted-physician-aunt, Dr. Marguerite Van Camp, a woman who avoids curmudgeonship by keeping her finger on the pulse of . . . well herself, but also the changing world around her. She steps lively through it, loving as many people as she can.
Irwin was awarded the 2013 National Storytelling Network Circle of Excellence Award, and all five of his storytelling CDs have won Storytelling Word Awards. He has appeared five times at the National Storytelling Festival, and July of 2103 will mark his seventh year as a Teller in Residence at International Storytelling Center; he has been a Guest Artist at La Guardia High School of Art, Music, and Performing Arts in New York (The “FAME!” School); and he has been a Keynote Speaker/Performer at the Library of Congress-Virburnum Foundation Conference on Family Literacy. Andy also does occasional theatrical projects for Oxford College of Emory University where he was Artist in Residence, 1991-2007. (He is now an Artist-in-Just-Passing-Through).
Early in his career, Andy performed with the comedic troupe, SAK Theatre at Walt Disney World, 1984-1989. He performs at many different educational programs and camps for children, too, where he focuses on literacy, storytelling, music, and taking care of the environment … among other things. Andy proudly holds a BA in Sociology from Georgia College &/or State University. They handed it to him in 1983. “Andy’s animated performances delight and entertain in the best sense of the word, surpassing any zany teller you’ve heard before..” ~ The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival
by timpfest | Jan 22, 2019
Amber is a relatively new teller, but the way she tells feels quite old. Her favorite sorts of stories to share reside at the intersection of real life and fairy tale, because she believes that real life can be both.
by timpfest | Jan 22, 2019
Alton performs at storytelling festivals internationally, sharing stories and legends from Hawaii and spreading aloha. He also tells stories from the Hawaiian Monarchy and the Plantation Days as well as Asian folktales from around the Pacific Rim. He is passionate about sharing stories of the Japanese American Experience of WWII. In 2005, Alton was awarded the first J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award by the National Storytelling Network. He has performed at the Congress of Asian Storytellers in Singapore, the International Gimme Story Storytelling Festival in the Cayman Islands, as well as venues in India, China, and Okinawa. He has also performed at the Talk Story Festival, the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, the Four Corners Storytelling Festival, the Oklahoma City Storytelling Festival, and has been a New Voice Teller at the National Storytelling Festival. This will be Alton’s second year at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.
by timpfest | Jan 22, 2019
With talents as varied as the symphony orchestras with which she often performs, Charlotte Blake Alston is unique in the cultural abundance with which she augments her tales. Stitched together with brilliance and texture, Charlotte tells stories guaranteed to color your world-view with vivid impressions of people and vistas you have never imagined. Often accompanied by music, Charlotte opens your eyes and heart to a new way of experiencing the world around you. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers and the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Association. Charlotte, with her breadth of experience and skills, her generosity of spirit, and her dignity of character, is gratefully welcomed back to Timpanogos.
