About Andy Copps

Originally from South Africa, Andy loves to showcase the beautiful stories from Africa, alive with the sounds and voices that will transport his audience to the wide open African plains.

Andy’s stories are not just from Africa and is easily able to draw you into any of the  stories from a diverse repertoire that stretches in origination from all around the world.

He loves languages and particularly enjoys interacting with the audience using the diverse yet beautiful rhythms and sounds of languages. He is passionate about people across all walks of life and relishes opportunities to listen to their stories. 

He is a trustee and long standing member of the Society for Storytelling and is fantastically passionate about all things stories. Some funny, some gripping and some that are just so important that they need the power of storytelling to keep them alive.

 Q&A WITH ANDY
 

Where are you from Andy?
I am originally from South Africa and moved to the UK in 2001. 

What made you decide to become a writer and storyteller?
I love creating stories, characters and visual settings based on my experiences and travels. When I started sharing my stories with children and adults, I started receiving requests "for more" or "tell it again ... and again ... and again"

What's your favourite 'well known' children's story?
Oooh, that is a tough question. For young children it would be choice between The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. . For older children, I love Michael Morpurgo’s work.

Why is storytelling important to you?
I strongly believe that "the story" is everything and the best way to share a story is in the way our ancestors did, which was in person through dance, art and the spoken word. It's a marvellous skill to develop which can be applied to all aspects of life including family and social interaction and for the development of public speaking. 

What is your favourite type of audience?
I thoroughly enjoy telling stories to all ages. What is wonderful to see is the way that children are so expressive when listening to a story. Adults slowly lose that lively expressiveness,  so something I have come to learn is  "don't read an adult's face as a measure of satisfaction". I have recently also started working on Reminiscence storytelling with the elders.

Why is storytelling for all ages important?
I am fascinated  by the stories from our elders and feel that it is so important for the young and the "not-so-young" to share stories together. Society needs to get back to the way our ancestors respected our elders and I believe creating a haven for stories from the past will be invaluable in so many ways.  

What are you working on now?
I am currently writing some stories set in Southern Africa and experimenting with puppetry. I am also performing with more musical instruments, including my invaluable ukulele.

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