Eps 32: A glimpse into the extraordinary world of Sheila Arnold

09/22/20 • 51 min

Claire Hennessy presents: The Bonkers Brit

This episode, I talk to one of the hardest working and most delightful storytellers around, Sheila Arnold. Based out of Hampton, VA, Ms. Sheila, as she is fondly known, has been performing full-time since 2003. She is an incredible storyteller, but that is just one of the many, many hats she wears. She is also an inspirational and motivational speaker, historical consultant bringing characters of historical importance to life, Consultant of Truth and Reconciliation for the Storytelling Association of California, and co-founder of Artists Standing Strong Together, now a 501c whose mission is: Connecting Artists to Resources. We talked about her work as a woman of color in the Black Lives Matter movement and how she has deepened her friendship with her two best friends, who just happen to be white. Ms Sheila is not only humble, but deeply generous with her time and knowledge, with great dollops of bravery thrown in too. She told a funny story about flashing an intimate body part on Zoom and ended with a lovely and moving story about her son.

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Episode 31 - Funny Stories with Corey Rosen

The very talented Corey Rosen is my guest. Corey teaches and performs storytelling and improv in San Francisco and now online. He performs at BATS Improv and has hosted The Moth StorySlams in the Bay Area for over 6 years. He tells a funny incident about how, when emceeing, he told a story that made the audience hate him! True to his improv background, he also told a couple of funny stories on the fly, one about hurting himself quite badly trying to impress other people and the other about being humiliated trying to be cool. Corey is also a writer, creative director, and visual effects producer and tells a very interesting fact about working on one of the Star Wars films. Find out an industry secret when Corey spills the beans on which body part Han Solo is missing due to Corey’s over-zealous editing. Such a fun and interesting chat.

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Eps 33: Moments of Magic with Brandon Spars

My guest this episode is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet: Brandon Spars. He is not only a talented and hilarious storyteller, but he is jolly clever too! A high school and college teacher, he is the author of four books with another on the way. He is a five-time Moth StorySlam winner and two-time Moth GrandSlam winner, plus a TEDx speaker. Brandon shares a funny fact about himself that makes his dog tilt his head in confusion. He spent a few years living in Indonesia and the Marshall Islands and shares a funny story about a giant who terrorized the islands. We talk about The Moth and Brandon shares an inspiring tidbit from when he met the founder, George Dawes Green. He also talks about the moments of magic when hearing a traditional tale prompts a deep personal connection. We discuss his new book about controversial Balinese Goddess, Rangda, with beautiful illustrations by his daughter, Clara. Finally, Brandon gives a master class in how to tell a hilarious and yet moving story, highlighting deeper issues of the commonalities between panic disorders and trance, called A Method to my Madness. A dream guest.