Andy Offutt Irwin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andy Offutt Irwin
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | December 14, 1957 Covington, Georgia |
| Occupation(s) | Storyteller, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, percussion |
| Years active | 1984–present |
Andy Offutt Irwin (born December 14, 1957) is a super fun American storyteller, singer-songwriter, and humorist. He grew up in Covington, Georgia, a small town near Atlanta. Andy started his career in 1984 at Walt Disney World. He was part of an improv comedy group there.
After five years, he became a singer-songwriter. He traveled around the Southeast performing. In the mid-1990s, Andy also started doing shows for children. He continued to sing and write songs, but he also added storytelling to his shows. He would usually tell one long story during each performance.
In 2004, Andy decided to focus on storytelling full-time. He quickly became very popular across the United States. Today, he performs regularly at storytelling festivals. As of 2024, he has released 14 albums. These albums feature his amazing stories, songs, and even whistling! He has won many awards for his work. In 2013, he received the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Network.
Contents
Andy's Early Life and Career
Andy Offutt Irwin was born and raised in Covington, Georgia. This small town is in the United States' Deep South, about 35 miles east of Atlanta. When Andy was young, he found out he was really good at imitating sounds. He could also copy the way other people talked.
In 1983, Andy finished college at Georgia College. He earned a degree in Sociology. In 1984, he began working at Disney World. For five years, he wrote, directed, and performed with a comedy group called SAK Theatre.
Starting in 1991, Andy traveled the Southeast as a singer-songwriter. From 1995 to 2001, he performed at the Georgia Renaissance Festival. He sang funny songs, played guitar, and did comedy. He was known as "Offutt the Minstrel." He also performed at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival in the 1980s.
Becoming a Storyteller
How Andy Started Storytelling
Around 1996, while performing at the Georgia Renaissance Festival, Andy met Carmen Deedy. She is a very famous storyteller. After they talked for a while, Carmen told Andy, "You're a storyteller."
Carmen saw Andy perform later and told him about the storytelling world. She encouraged him to develop his storytelling skills. They even did a show together in Atlanta. Andy left his guitar at home for that show to challenge himself. It was his very first storytelling performance. In 2005, Andy was a featured new storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival.
Why Storytelling is Special
Andy used to be a comedian. But he realized that storytelling was a better fit for him. He joked that comedy clubs are "evil, smelly places." Some of his stories can be an hour long. He explained that comedians usually only get a few minutes on stage.
Storytelling lets Andy create detailed characters. He can also explore more serious topics. He says, "Although I like to think of my storytelling as funny, I can have these serious moments." He wants his stories to have meaning, not just laughs.
Andy takes humor very seriously. He remembers wondering as a kid why people laugh. He was always the class clown. He loves to understand what makes laughter happen. Andy sees himself as a fiction writer and a humorist. He says, "I call myself a humorist and storyteller... because I play in libraries and there's no three-drink minimum."
Andy's stories often show what life is like in a small Southern town. They often talk about growing up and getting older. They also explore family connections. He sometimes talks about the history of different groups of people in the South. He also loves to share stories about the important art of the practical joke.
Andy's Fun Characters
Many of Andy's stories are about his made-up aunt, Dr. Marguerite Van Camp. He says she is about 85 years old. Marguerite and her friends started the Southern White Old Lady Hospital in rural Georgia. Andy explains that they were tired of their clubs. So, they all went back to medical school!
Andy based Marguerite loosely on his own mother and grandmother. His mother was "unabashed and delightfully inappropriate." His grandmother was a "genteel, bun-haired lady." Andy says, "I was raised by Southern women so I imitate a lot of them." He uses Marguerite's voice to talk about things he wants to complain about. Andy sometimes mentions Marguerite's husband, Uncle Charles. Uncle Charles liked to quote Shakespeare in funny ways.
Two other characters in Andy's stories are Johnny and his brother Kenny. These are real people Andy knew as a child. In the 1960s, the all-white elementary school Andy attended had to integrate. This meant students of all races could go there. Andy became classmates with Johnny Norrington, an African American boy. They became good friends.
In his story "The Rudiments," Andy talks about an accident he caused on his bike. He was visiting Johnny's neighborhood. Johnny's mother quickly helped him. On the album Bootsie in Season, Andy remembers watching the movie Dr. Terror's House of Horrors with Johnny. Even though they were friends, Johnny had to sit in a separate section in the balcony.
Discography
- Banana Seat (1995)
- Christmas at Southern White Old Lady Hospital (2004)
- Book Every Saturday for a Funeral (2006)
- Bootsie in Season (2007)
- Crowd Control (2008)
- Lip Service (2010)
- Risk Assessment (2011)
- Sister True (2013)
- Andy's Wild Amphibian Show! (2015)
- Squeaky on the Roof (2017)
- Love and Armadillo Migration (2017)
- Flaked, Puffed, Shredded, & Clustered (2018)
- Perpetual Calendar (2019)
- Free the Imprisoned Lightning (2024)
