MIDLAND, Texas —
At the age of 10, Hannah Lancto etched her words into her own book called, "What Happened to Goldilocks?" Hannah allowed her mind to enter a world of endless possibilities and it has earned her the title of a National Youth Storyteller this year.
This is the second year in a row Hannah will perform in front of a crowd at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Utah. She is one of 10 children from around the country who were given the opportunity.
"I feel like many people get confused between what storytelling and acting are," Hannah said. "I feel like when you're acting, you're telling a story to the audience, but with storytelling, you're kind of like a bridge between the audience."
The 14-year-old uses dancing, singing and playing instruments, such as her ukulele, to guide her audience through the stories she performs.
"I was taking a guitar class and my fifth grade teacher introduced us to a song called 'The Cat Came Back' [...] it was a cover of it and that was the first time I ever heard it," Hannah said. "It had a catchy melody and it tells the story through the song[...] So I said, let's see if I can find a way to transition this song into a story [...] What I did is I basically just took the verses and I just kind of gave life to those verses and created my own little characters while staying on the plot."
Hannah first got her start in storytelling while participating in the Midland Storytelling Festival. It allowed her to rub shoulders with professional storytellers from around the world.
"Even if you don't want to do storytelling as a career, it's still so fun because you gain experience and wisdom that you can carry into other things," said Hannah.
The young girl hopes her love for performing and taking others on a journey with her can land her on the big screen or on Broadway someday.
"I lose my identity as Hannah for those few hours that I'm on stage," Hannah said. "I can kind of become a whole other person and that's what I really think I love the most and just bringing joy to the audience so I think that's always so worth it."
The 14-year-old credits the support from her mother and her storytelling coach, Sue Roseberry, for her growth as a storyteller.
When asked what it's like for her to represent Midland, Hannah said, "It's an honor. I'm really excited. I feel like Midland is a small city but we have a lot of awesome people."
Hannah's performance at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival will be recorded and available on Appleseed Radio.
The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival takes place from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7 in Lehi, UT.