Where's Claire? Here, There & Everywhere

Emcee: Regina Stoops

Claire Hennessy is a founder and co-producer of the highly acclaimed online storytelling show, Six Feet Apart Productions. She has gone on holiday leaving your emcee and co-producer Regina Stoops in charge. Join us as we meet up with her in England, Italy, Spain, and Northern Ireland and hear stories from these local tellers.

Colin Urwin - lives in Northern Ireland but tells stories all over the world, including in Marrakech, Texas, and Australia. He is a singer, songwriter, storyteller, workshop facilitator, and recording artist. Hailing from the Glens of Antrim in the northeast of Ireland, he has been mainly influenced by traditional Irish and Scottish music. He has been playing and singing folk songs for over four decades and for the last twenty years he has been the caller and singer in 'Haste to the Wedding' ceilidh band, who are always in great demand at functions all over Ireland. His book of stories, The Iron Hag, was recently published.

Colin serves on the committee for Storytellers of Ireland and is Storyteller in Residence for The Waterways Community; a charitable social enterprise creating opportunities for people, schools, businesses and organisations in Northern Ireland. https://www.colinurwin.com/

Rebecca Lemaire - is Belgian-British and is currently based in the South of Spain. She is a storyteller and teacher wherever the wind takes her: Spain, India, Little Tibet, France, Belgium, and online. Currently, she tells stories about grief and death to open up the conversation and help with healing. She is a Reiki healer and is an active participant in the group ‘Vivir y Morir’ in Spain, in which the taboo about death is overcome through discussions, practical and spiritual preparation, movies, poetry, and stories. She says, “Storytelling is a form of communication that goes way beyond words; it is a heart-to-heart interaction, and that is why I love it!” Please visit https://www.rebeccalemaire.com/.

Rona Barbour - is a multi-award-winning storyteller and Public Speaking coach who comes from a long line of celebrated storytellers and has been writing and telling stories since childhood. Rona’s work has led her to be described as “The Godmother of Storytelling” in the UK. She has also been described as a mesmerizing and hypnotic storyteller, with a voice like warm chocolate wrapped in soft velvet.

Rona was a Director of the Society for Storytelling (England and Wales) for 6-years. She is a Continuing Professional Development tutor in storytelling skills accredited with the UK Government and has lectured on storytelling in the UK, the USA and Russia. Her work in the community earned her a much coveted, “She Inspires Award” in 2021.

Over 25yrs, she has amassed over 25,000 hours of storytelling in schools and Universities in the UK and has been running her own storytelling club for the past 25-years. With her background and lifelong study of psychology, she was asked to contribute to a major academic work; “Creative Activity” and has been asked by the publishers to contribute further in 2023. She spends every summer at her house in Tuscany, Italy.

Masako Carey - Japanese-born Storyteller Masako Carey has lived in rural Co Antrim U.K. since 2001 after living in England. Having Liz Weir MBE as her mentor, Masako tells stories in schools, libraries, and community venues with people of all ages and abilities.

She was a featured storyteller at Belfast Mela and the Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival and was awarded with Ethnic Minority Mentoring and Residential Grant by National Lottery Fund through Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Masako was mentored by renowned awarded storyteller Daniel Morden and performed her show of Japanese folktales at the Black Box in Belfast.

As a child Masako always loved reading but also watching animated Japanese folktale stories on TV. The influence of the world of animation combined with her experience as a kindergarten teacher gives Masako a unique style of telling. Her increasing repertoire of traditional Japanese tales includes those which are both comical and serious and she also tells tales from around the world. The demand for Masako’s online storytelling spread worldwide to audiences in India, Singapore, the United States, and beyond.