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Andy Offutt Irwin (born 1957) is an American storyteller, arts educator, singer-songwriter and humorist. Born and raised in Covington, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, Irwin began his career in 1984 with an improvisational comedy troupe at Walt Disney World. After five years he shifted to performing as a singer-songwriter, touring the Southeast. In the mid-1990s, Irwin branched into performances for children and since then has appeared in hundreds of schools (from preschools to colleges) and countless public libraries. Irwin continued to perform as a singer-songwriter and added storytelling to these performances, usually telling one story (about ten to twenty-five minutes in length) during a show. In the fall of 2004 he decided to pursue storytelling as a career and quickly achieved national prominence. Irwin now appears regularly in storytelling festivals across the United States. He has released several albums which feature stories, songs or whistling and has collected numerous awards for these albums. In 2013, Irwin received the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Network. In addition to performing, Irwin worked as an artist-in-residence at Oxford College of Emory University and Georgia College for a total of fifteen years. During that time he directed several plays, conducted acting workshops and served as an acting coach. Irwin was also featured as storyteller and host of the program ''Evening Star'' on public radio. Currently, Irwin divides his time between storytelling festivals and children’s performances. Irwin also performs as a whistler with the Kandinsky Trio, a chamber music group. ==Background and early career== Andy Offutt Irwin is a native of Covington, Georgia,〔name="cltellers">(The Storytellers ) by Curt Holman for ''Creative Loafing (Atlanta)'', January 30, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.〕 a small town in the United States' Deep South about 35 miles east of Atlanta. As a child, he always wanted to be a musician,〔name="covnews">Grounded Energy: Newton County Native’s Music Career Flourishes by Brittany Edwards for ''The Covington News'', January 8, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2006.〕 learning to play drums in elementary school band and adding guitar as a teenager. It was also in his youth that Irwin discovered his talent for imitating different sounds〔name="augchr">Showcase Performer Enjoys Sounding Off by Kent Kimes for the ''Augusta Chronicle'', web posted February 20, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2006.〕 and the speech of others.〔 While he was growing up, Irwin was an avid fan of Bill Cosby's comedy albums, which featured Cosby's humorous stories about his youth.〔 Irwin memorized these stories and, at his teacher's suggestion, would recite them to his class while his teacher prepared a daily report.〔name="tonic">(by Greg Davis ) for ''Tonic'', WUKY, April 28, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2008.〕 Irwin later attended Georgia College where he received a B. S. in Sociology in 1983.〔Name="gamag">(Have stories, Will Travel: Andy Offutt Irwin Shares Tales, Coast to Coast ) by Jackie Kennedy for Georgia Magazine, March 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2007.〕 While there, he was named Mess Georgia College.〔 Starting in 1984, Irwin spent five years writing, directing, and performing shows with the improvisational comedy troupe SAK Theatre at Disney World.〔 Upon returning to Georgia, Irwin began to focus on singing and songwriting, though he always kept comedic elements in his music.〔name="tech">(Diverse Artist Andy Offutt Irwin Always a Crowd Pleaser ) by Alan Back for ''The Technique'', May 28, 1999. Retrieved on May 15, 2006.〕 Beginning in 1991, Irwin toured the Southeast as a singer-songwriter,〔name="mich">(Storyteller: Andy Offutt Irwin Brings Characters from the 'New South' to Life ) by Jeremy D. Bonfiglio for ''The Herald-Palladium'', May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2013.〕 performing both solo and with his band, an act that he bills as "Andy Offutt Irwin vs. the fingermonsters" (sic). From 1995 to 2001, Irwin sang humorous songs, played guitar, and performed comedy as "Offutt the Minstrel" at the Georgia Renaissance Festival.〔〔name="emrep">(Irwin Adds Quirky Humor, Music to Renaissance Festival ) by Dan Treadaway for ''Emory Report'', October 1995. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.〕 He also performed at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival during the 1980s.〔〔 From 1997 through 2005 Irwin directed the annual ''Cracker Crumble'', an evening of politically satirical skits put on by the Georgia Press Association for Georgia politicians and lobbyists.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Andy Offutt Irwin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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