Andy Offutt Irwin specializes in bringing laughter through hilarious stories and some unusual mouth-created sound effects. ~ Southern Ohio Storytelling Arts and Music Festival, Chillicothe, Ohio
Storyteller, singer, songwriter and personality extraordinaire, Irwin enthralls audiences of all ages. ~ Cave Run Storytelling Festival
Andy’s silly putty voice, hilarious heartfelt songs, astounding narratives, and astonishing mouth noises, have made him one of the most adored touring storytellers in the United States. ~ Walhalla Civic Auditorium, Walhalla, South Carolina
“ You could think of him as just a singer who blends leaping, jumping, bare-footed dragons and libraries in sixty seconds.
Or you could think,
‘now here’s a man who understands the importance of language and language acquisition as it relates to emergent literacy learning and family literacy.’ ”
– Dr. Molly S. Kinney, introducing Andy as the Keynote Speaker/Performer at the Library of Congress-
Virburnum Foundation Conference on Family Literacy
“Full of energy, wit and pathos,
Andy Irwin is an eclectic combination of storyteller, humorist, singer, songwriter, musician, whistler…
Using a guitar, a myriad of voices, and his own vitality,
Andy’s animated and stimulating performances
delight and entertain in the best sense of the word,
and surpass any zany teller you’ve heard or seen before.”
~ Timpanogos Storytelling Festival , Orem, Utah
“An incredibly talented entertainer!
Andy totally engages the audience through delightful stories and songs.
Each performance is an action packed, fun filled experience for children and adults!”
~ Becky Walstrom, Director, St. Louis StoryTelling Festival
“I’ve seen Andy Offutt Irwin work with students from rural Georgia and inner city New York-
both were eating out of the palm of his hand!
He has that extraordinarily remarkable ability to make people laugh
and lose themselves in the moment of his performance.
He was a huge hit at LaGuardia!
Not a week goes by that some student doesn’t walk up to me and say, “When’s that guy from Georgia coming back?”
Andy Offutt Irwin and young people: A magical combination…”
~Jerry Ulrich , Director of Choral Studies,
LaGuardia High School of Music, Art, and the Performing Arts
(The ”Fame” school) - New York City
“Andy is like the Pied Piper . . .wherever he goes, audiences happily follow!”– Mary Fellows, Riverway Storytelling Festival, Albany, New York
“Andy Offutt Irwin is an amazing storyteller
who can
deftly entertain and teach simultaneously.
He was recently the keynote speaker for our annual fall camp, and for three consecutive mornings he
mesmerized 50 kids ranging in age from 11 to 17 and, at times, had a dozen adults rolling on the floor with laughter.
His stories reach deep –
touching on the stuff that really matters in life
like
relationships, love, and justice.
He moves seamlessly from the serious to the hilarious,
and his listeners cannot help but be
drawn in to every word.“
~ Sarah Moore-Nokes, Associate Executive Presbyter, Winnebago Presbytery, Appleton, Wisconsin
Andy Offutt Irwin was wonderful! The students were thrilled!
~Gene Pinion, Spivey Hall Claton State University
“…a healthy way for our students to relieve stress by providing
an atmosphere of laughter…
…insightful, flexible, personable,
and a pleasure to work with…
…I highly recommend Andy Offutt Irwin…”
~Jennifer Taylor, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
“It was like
a whole year’s worth of music therapy
in one afternoon!”
~Crossroads Psychoeducational Center,
Newton County Public Schools
“First of all, Andy is funny!
They told me he could work with
younger and older kids…
He can!
He related to all ages.
He’s so
warm,
Nobody knew they were learning
(and they were)!”
– Vivienne Kurland, Davis Academy
We loved
hanging around with Andy,
working with Andy
and seeing what he could do with our audiences! He respects children!
It doesn’t get much better than that!
~Susan Hester Edmunds, Iberia Parish Library System,
New Iberia, Louisiana
“…his composing lyrics on the spot is and fun for all ages …he even created songs around our theme
at a camp for children with disabilities… I have dealt with
Andy as a Physical Therapist and PTO President,
and I was always amazed at his performances!”
~Linda Reagan, Physical Therapist, Newton County Schools
“Wow!”
“Fantastic!”
“Andy’s really great!”
“We enjoyed learning from Andy!”
“Does he have to go?”
This is a sampling of remarks that middle school students from Tallulah Falls stated as Andy ended his one-week residency. Andy had a keen interest in the students and spent
extra time and effort to get to know them individually. He made them feel extra special and developed a
bonding relationship within a short period of time. Andy also created a non-threatening environment for the students in the classroom. This allowed students to express themselves freely in their own creative manner without fear of failure or ridicule.
As a teacher, I was extremely pleased with his strategies and techniques in the classroom a he actively involved the students every day. The emphasis of our residency was telling stories, which was easily accomplished by Andy. As a result of this residency, students used skills they had learned from Andy and applied them to developing
stories with a greater depth and creative dimension. I would highly recommend Andy for your residency; the students will love his caring, warm, and witty personality.
~ Killeen Jensen, Tallulah Falls School
