Tim

Professional Storyteller & Author for 25 Years

Why He Became Interested in This Job: Tim has wanted to be a performer since he saw the Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus at age 6. He later found his niche as a storyteller in college when he studied Theatre and English. Since 2000, Tim has been a full-time performer, and currently, he is working on a children’s picture book celebrating the anniversary of the American Revolution and an accompanying video series. 

Favorite Part of the Job: The best part of his job is the variety; he gets to tell stories from personal experience, folklore, American history, and literary classics. He also gets to work with people of all ages, performing in schools, libraries, folk festivals, and historic tours. 

Least Favorite Part of the Job: He is not a fan of "all of the administrative aspects of the job (like returning emails, scheduling meetings, writing ad copy, etc.)" 

Skills Needed for Job:

➗Math skills, for personal finances and practical business matters.

📚Reading & writing, for creating and performing stories. 

💼 Business skills, for finding an audience with marketing and advertising. 

💻 Technology skills, "as AI threatens the field it is good to know and understand its use and implications"  

🧪 Science, specifically as Health Science, because maintaining good overall health is important to a traveling performer. A good working knowledge of throat anatomy is important for his voice, along with  nutrition, diet, exercise, and sleep cycles.

🗣️ Foreign language skills, by learning a little of his students’ language, he built friendships when teaching English as a second language. Those relationships opened the door to wonderful cultural treasures, and some of the best stories he tells today came from what his students shared.

*Pictured: Tim mid performance! 

His Advice for Aspiring Authors & Storytellers:  “Read stories, lots of them of many different genres. Tell stories in many different ways: film, theater, writing, narrative art, dance. As you explore, pay attention to what type of storytelling seems to work best for you. Identify your particular set of skills. I explored all of these areas and learned that storytelling was the best fit for me.”

His Advice to All Learners: “Trust that you will find your niche.” Remember that Tim didn’t find his niche as a storyteller until he was in college.