Six Stories Up
Six Stories Up is part mentoring program, part magic. Each year we pair six Chicago storytellers with six middle school children to write six, ten-minute long theater pieces. Each team is encouraged to base their vignette on personal stories. These vignettes are then combined to create a full-length show. The set designer, mask maker, and stage manager also work with middle school-
aged apprentices. Adults and children with and without disabilities, of all races, and income levels work together on equal terms. Both adults and children learn lifelong lessons, self-esteem blossoms, and community is built where none existed before. Gallery 37 / After School Matters Connection Program
Gallery 37 Connections ProgramTellin' Tales Theatre is honored to teach in the Gallery 37 Connections Program. Gallery 37 is the City of Chicago's award-winning summer program that offers high school students the opportunity to become "apprentice artists" in the visual, literary, media, and performing arts. The Connections Program creates the same opportunities for children ages 10-13, with and without physical and/or cognitive disabilities to work together in an arts experience during the school year. This program is now under the auspices of After School Matters. From 1999 to 2002, Tellin' Tales teamed with WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station, in an exciting radio drama program that incorporated history, storytelling, writing, and performance. With the help of Doris North-Schulte, Director of Educational Outreach at WBEZ, students explored, researched, and learned about a particular subject in history. Tellin' Tales staff facilitated the script writing process. Staff members encouraged students to put themselves in the shoes of people living in the past so that the students could learn about history from differing perspectives. These stories were gathered to form a final radio drama script, which was recorded at the WBEZ studios. A professional sound engineer taught students how to create sound effects from found objects. The final radio drama was then distributed on CD for each child to share with friends and family. In 2002 our partnership with WBEZ ended and we carried on the program without them, renting sound studios throughout the city. In 2004 our sound engineer decided to go the corporate route with a full time job so we shifted our focus to performance, using much of the same methods to meld history, current events and personal stories. In 2006 we began to incorporate visual art into our program with the addition of teaching artist, Matthew Kopp. We look forward to further inspiring students with exciting topics that touch their everyday lives.
