2021
Sarah Brady is a storyteller and teaching artist. Sarah has recently returned from three years of living in the United Kingdom, where she added numerous stories to her repertoire. She tells stories at a variety of venues in both the United Kingdom and the United States, working with such entities as Arts for Learning--Virginia; Epic Tales; Cambridge Storytellers; the White Rose Project; and the Suffolk Archives. Highlights of her work this year include being numbered among the thirty-six tellers at the Women’s Storytelling Festival and debuting a new program, “Thoughts of Freedom: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.”
Tim Ereneta of Berkeley, California, connects ancient stories to modern day life, as he shares classic and forgotten fairy tales, with audiences of all ages—but especially adults. (These stories are too good to be only shared with children). He's told stories on stages from Washington, DC, to Chennai, India, performing in theaters, art museums, camps, churches, nightclubs, and on digital devices. A former playwright and actor, Tim has been delighting audiences for three decades.
*Round 1 Audience Favorite, Round 1 Judges' Finalist, Folktale Fight Champion 2021
Alan Irvine began telling stories over 40 years ago as a camp counselor, telling ghost stories in the cabin after lights out. He has gone on to perform at festivals and libraries, schools, colleges, and even bonfires in multiple states. His recordings have won the Storytelling World and NAPPA awards. He has twice won the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival Liars contestant and is a popular instructor with Pitt's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Padraic Keohane, storyteller, author, and teacher, has been sharing stories for nigh on 50 years, if you count all the lies he told as a baby. He has spun fairy tales, folk tales, and his own original stories across the southwestern United States, as well as internationally. Padraic served as a board member of the Storytellers of New Mexico and the Los Angeles Storytelling Festival. He is currently working on the sequel to his popular young adult novel, “Half-Animal, Wild Child.” He is the author of the humorous “A Hell of a Christmas” and his collection of wisdom tales, “Stories of Sagacity and Wit."
*Audience Favorite Round 2
Sue Searing shares her eclectic, ever-growing repertoire of traditional tales from around the world and original personal stories on stages in Minnesota and beyond. She’s won story slams in the Twin Cities, done tandem telling at the State Fair, and braved a blizzard to perform in Duluth in January. She contributes stories to “Stay Human,” a community radio show in northern Minnesota, and in 2018 she took first place in the Park Rapids, MN, Great American Story contest.
*Judges' Finalist Round 2
Judi Tarowsky was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 25 years when she discovered storytelling in 2006. She went on to win first place in the inaugural Strand Theater Preservation Society Storytelling Festival Liar’s Contest in Moundsville, WV. Since then, Judi has performed at festivals, libraries, museums, and special events in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maryland, and Wales. She has been a regular storyteller during the summer at Wilson Lodge in Oglebay Resort, Wheeling, WV. Her original story, “The Heroes of the U.S.S. Shenandoah” was the keynote for the 90th commemoration ceremony for the crash of the U.S.S. Shenandoah airship in Belle Valley, OH.
Contestants
Contestants
Judges
Judges
Sheila Arnold is a master storyteller and has performed in a myriad of ways since she was eight years old! A member of the Virginia Storytelling Alliance, Sheila has been a featured storyteller at several Storytelling Festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival (Jonesborough, TN); Hearts Afire Storytelling Weekend (Richmond, VA); Stories: From Sea to Shore Storytelling Weekend (Norfolk, VA); twice at Culpeper Tells (Culpeper, VA); and twice at Colonial Williamsburg Storytelling Festival (Williamsburg, VA); and more!
Adam Booth's original storytelling blends traditional mountain folklore, music, and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia. Career highlights include Teller-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Center (three times), the National Storytelling Festival, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, the Appalachian Studies Association Conference, the National Academy of Medicine, and Spoken Word Resident at the Banff Centre (Alberta). He is a member of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) and his recordings have received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, two Parents’ Choice Silver Honors, and five Storytelling World Awards and Honors. He is a four-time champion of the West Virginia Liars' Contest.