It was the first day of kindergarten, and five-year-old Tim Ereneta was ready.
The night before, he selected his very best dinosaur drawings and packed them into a small briefcase.
Bright and early, case in hand, he showed up at school to embark upon his new life as a scientist. But he soon found that the higher-ups had other plans.
That year, he learned a lot about motor skills, sharing, and snacks. But somehow giant reptiles had not made it into the kindergarten curriculum.
Ereneta’s scientific ambitions would be thwarted until he hit first grade, and even then, the sanctioned research was lackluster. Instead of learning about his beloved dinosaurs, with their giant bones and booming roars and scary fights, he was asked to study the effects of a wet paper towel upon a lima bean.
Every day, he and his classmates peered into their bean cups and dutifully recorded the results. Whatever this was, Ereneta knew, it wasn’t living. It certainly wasn’t the kind of scientist he wanted to be. Looking for a field that could fully engage his curiosity and imagination, he set off on a path that would lead him to train in the fine arts.
Many years later, after graduating from Northwestern University’s prestigious theater program, Ereneta moved to the San Francisco area to make his way as an actor and a playwright. He got a gig doing educational improv at the Lawrence Hall of Science, a hands-on learning center. He and his colleagues performed little skits about subjects like math, outer space, and (finally!) dinosaurs.
When little kids would come up to Ereneta afterwards to share their favorite dino facts, something within him stirred, and he remembered. He was a scientist. Not the boring kind who did lima bean stuff. More like the kind who could envision a glorious day in the life of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
When Lawrence Hall of Science expanded its programming into outreach in local schools, Ereneta found himself connecting with the students who couldn’t find a way to care about science just by reading about it in a book. His music, jokes, skits, and songs were a way to engage their imaginations and make the learning come to life.
Eventually, Ereneta’s role at the Lawrence shifted to fundraising. Now, on his way into the office, he still loves to observe the young visitors who are there to learn about dinosaurs and math and space. (“I get to see that joy and wonder every day,” he says.) And he still performs, albeit now as a professional storyteller who specializes in vibrant retellings of traditional stories. Ereneta’s debut as a new voice at the 2025 National Storytelling Festival won over new generations of listeners who came to hear his fairy tales, folk tales, myths, and epics.
While these traditional tales might seem like they exist in a different universe than the spreadsheets Ereneta works with every day, he sees them as similarly practical tools. Stories spark our imaginations and help us connect with the world around us in new ways. “So much of our day-to-day life now these days is on a screen,” he says. “Even though we have the world at our fingertips, our imaginations are boxed in by these little screens. The voices we’re hearing could be from anywhere — and they can be doing wonderful things! — but they’re still in that tiny window. Storytelling is a great way to stretch the imagination in a group, where we can push the boundaries of what we can imagine and what we can dream together.”
That togetherness is a key part of what storytelling has to offer, Ereneta notes. “When an audience gets together for a live arts event, they’re a community,” he says. “They’re sharing the same space and going on the same journey of imagination.”
For anyone who wants to experience that journey for themselves, Ereneta will be in residence at the International Storytelling Center this summer, from August 25 to 29. Matinee performances are daily, Tuesday to Saturday, at 2 p.m.
The full season lineup for the Storytelling Live series is available on ISC’s website. Tickets are on sale now for all performances.
Learn more about Ereneta’s storytelling in our profile from last year.