Class: Humor and the Narrative Arc with guest teachers Andy Offutt Irwin and Geraldine Buckley

Thursday, May 31, 2012
7-10pm at Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U St, NW Washington, DC 20009.
Closest metro is U St/Cardozo Green/Yellow (about 1 block, across street) MAP.
Register on-line or bring a check to class. $75

SpeakeasyDC  welcomes guest teachers Geraldine Buckley and Andy Offut Irwin for one night to offer this topical class. In this class, students will generate ideas for story material from their life experience; gain an understanding of storytelling arc and apply it to their own stories; learn four types of humor and how each fits into storytelling; practice constructing a good joke; learn ways to strengthen character act-outs;  and go through process of injecting humor into their own stories.

Andy Offutt Irwin is a theatre director, songwriter, arts educator, and performing storyteller. He was Artist in Residence in Theatre at Oxford College of Emory University for sixteen years, where in 2001, he was the recipient of the Sammy Clark Award for Exemplary Teaching. He is a perennial favorite of the Teller-in-Residence Program at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and he has been a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival (going on) five times. He tours festivals and theatres throughout North America (he keeps moving because he’s eventually found out). Andy lives in Covington, Georgia. He thinks he’s funny and is currently working on a book on humor theory.  www.andyirwin.com

Geraldine Buckley has been involved in storytelling, performance poetry and conducting creative workshops for over twenty years in the US, Canada, England, Holland, South Africa and Spain. She performed on the Exchange Place stage at the 2011 National Storytelling Festival. She is an avid fan of SpeakeasyDC and has performed on their stage several times – her last appearance was at the 2012 Sucker for Love show.