The Stories Continue!!!!
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Dates are set!!!
Hampton Storytelling Festival
July 17-20, 2025
All Events in Hampton, VA
All continued efforts require more...more hands and more minds. Please reach out to Janice Johnson at Janice.JohnsonVA@gmail.com. to explore ways you can help
Please join us in supporting the Festival!
Or use this QR code for donations
Andy Offutt Irwin
With a manic, Silly Putty voice, astonishing mouth noises, and heart-filled stories, Andy Offutt Irwin is equal parts mischievous schoolboy and the Marx Brothers, peppered with a touch of the Southern balladeer. He has been a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival eleven times and is a perennial favorite at the International Storytelling Center’s Teller-in-Residence Series.
A storyteller, theatre director, singer-songwriter, and Shakespearean actor, Andy was Artist-in-Residence at Emory University’s Oxford College from 1991 to 2007. He has performed at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York, The Library of Congress, Walt Disney World, and a whole mess of theatres, colleges, and festivals all over the United States
Andy lives in Covington, Georgia. He thinks he is funny.
Mitch Capel
Mitch Capel / “Gran’daddy Junebug” is a master storyteller, recording artist, published author and poet. He is mesmerizing as he brings stories to life, while plucking the string with just the touch the human heart craves. He has been described as a “word magician”, a “national treasure”, “unexpectedly powerful” and a “transformer of lives.” Mitch first began writing and performing skits at the age of 12 and has over 35 hours of stories stored to memory. He has been featured at numerous schools, libraries, museums and festivals since 1985 including DuSable in Chicago; The Kennedy Center in DC; The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN; the Smithsonian’s 2009 Folklife Festival on the National Mall and the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. He has been the Artist-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Center and has received accolades and awards from local, state and national organizations for his work with youth.
David Novak
Highly prized for his ability to bring ancient tales, classic myths, and original stories to life and enthrall audiences of all ages, American storyteller, David Novak, is in demand for his stage concerts, school programs, keynotes, and workshops. Novak is recipient of the Circle of Excellence for storytelling, and the Aurand Harris Memorial Playwrighting Award for excellence in professional theatre for children. David’s 30+ year’s experience as a performing and teaching artist includes Master Storyteller for The Disney Company, The Lincoln Center Institute, L.A. Music Center, and featured storyteller for the National Storytelling Festival. His international appearances include the Singapore International StoryFest, Czech Children’s Theatre Festival, Sydney International Storytelling Conference, and international schools throughout China. David is an A+ Fellow for the NC Arts Council and a NC Wolf Trap Teaching Artist. David lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
https://www.atellingexperience.com/
Darci Tucker
Who is Darci? An historian, author, playwright, actress and storyteller.
She portrays more than 20 women from American history, and performs in venues nationwide. She literally wrote the book on how to portray people from history and literature, and she trains teachers and museum professionals to teach through storytelling and character interpretation. She is a veteran museum educator, was Founding Director of a character interpretation program at a Tennessee university, and consults for museums and municipalities who want to improve their visitors’ experiences. She was recently granted a Mount Vernon Research Fellowship to turn her original, one-woman play, Revolutionary Women™, into a book for middle grade readers.
Sheila Arnold
Sheila Arnold has a talent for storytelling, a passion for history, and compassion for people. She provides Storytelling, Historic Character Presentations, Christian Monologues, and Professional Development for schools, festivals, churches, and organizations nationally and internationally. She is co-founder and Artistic Director of Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST) a source of inspiration, strength and action in the storytelling and artists world. Sheila has been honored as a 2021 MacDowell Artist Fellow, a 2020 Mt. Vernon Research Fellow and a 2019 Hewnoaks Artist Colony summer residence Noted Artist. Sheila lives in Hampton, VA near her son, grandsons, and parents.
Janice "Jay" Johnson
Janice “Jay” Johnson spent most of her professional life working in youth
development organizations. She is a newly minted storyteller whose only regret is that she didn’t start doing this earlier. Jay lives in Newport News, VA.
