Young Storytellers, formerly widely known as the Young Storytellers Foundation, is an arts education non-profit operating primarily in Los Angeles. Young Storytellers currently serves elementary, middle, and high school students in Southern California, including the cities of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, and Burbank,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, and

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. Young Storytellers supports students in Title 1 schools; these are schools and school districts with the highest concentrations of poverty in which academic performance tends to be low and the obstacles to raising performance are the greatest. The program improves writing and self-confidence while also focusing on

social and emotional learning Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and including components of Learning for Justice'
Social Justice Standards

History

Young Storytellers began as an in-school mentoring program in 1997 - by three screenwriters Mikkel Bondesen,

Brad Falchuk Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer, best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the comedy-drama television series ''Glee'', the drama series '' Pose'', the horror comedy '' Scr ...

, and Andrew Barrett upon learning about cutbacks in funding for creative arts programs in the Los Angeles public schools. The first school adopted into the program was Playa Del Rey Elementary School, an elementary school in Culver City. The program was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2003.

Programs

The organization benefits elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. In 2016,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

invited Young Storytellers students to participate in the Fox Writers Intensive.

Script to Stage

The Script to Stage program is its main program whereby students in fifth grade write short stories in the course of nine weeks later to be performed by actors on stage. Students in the programs are selected on multiple criteria by teachers and can include students who are not proficient in the English language, have difficulty with reading and writing, have difficulties interacting with their peers socially, have learning differences, or are on the Autism spectrum. The Script to Stage program produces 1200 scripts per year.

Collaborative Stories

This 9-week program is based on the foundation of Script to Stage, but facilitates more collaboration as writers work together to tell a story through large group sessions guided by 1-2 mentors. When their story is complete, students watch it come to life with the help of professional actors at a virtual Big Show. As part of this program, students reflect on challenges and unfairness they’ve seen or experienced in their own lives, and work with the group to find nonviolent solutions to these events through metaphor and story. This program began in Spring 2020 as an adaptation for the switch to online learning.

Day of Story

A condensed version of the Script to Stage program, Day of Story is a one-day, in-school workshop that pairs mentors one-on-one with 4th grade students to help them create their own story outline along with a descriptive poster. This program helps students to draw connections between characters and their own lives, and share about their personal identity within groups. Young Storytellers has run Day of Story workshops with variable sizes of groups (anywhere from 20–100 adult mentors), with corporations such as Disney, U.S. Bank, and Verve.

WM Story Lab

WM Story Lab, developed in partnership with Warner Media and LAUSD's Arts Education Branch and Division of Instruction, delivers original curriculum to sixth-grade middle school students that focuses on core storytelling skills while reinforcing confidence, empathy, and personal voice through self-reflection and creativity. Warner Media and DC Entertainment lent the use of its DC Super Heroes as a tool to get students to think about heroes in their lives and their own "superpowers".

Middle School Stories

A mixture of adult mentorship and collective exploration, students in our middle school program work collaboratively with a group mentor to create first person narratives about challenges they face and then work with actors who later perform those pieces.

High School Stories

In this teacher-led program, high school students create stories that represent their communities. With the help of mentor support and coaching, students identify communities that bring them a sense of belonging and unpack how they see their communities represented by various types of media. Then, students work in groups to create stories they believe represent their self identified communities. The program culminates in a live show where actors perform student pieces. Volunteer actors then perform their work.

Story Clubhouse

A pre-recorded video series where students’ stories are acted out for a larger audience to watch on YouTube.

Story Time

A free 12-video online video series created in partnership with AT&T that serves as a guide that allows students to create their own stories directly from their own homes. This program was created to serve more students during Covid-19 when students were not able to participate in in-person programs.

Program Shifts During Covid-19

In 2020, Young Storytellers adapted its in-person programs to be virtual due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. During the switch to virtual programming, Young Storytellers also created new programs such as Collaborative Stories, Story Clubhouse, and Story Time. Previously existing programs were adapted so that students could meet with their mentors virtually and create stories via

Zoom (software) Zoom, stylized as zoom or Zoom Meetings is a proprietary videotelephony software program developed by Zoom Video Communications. The free plan allows up to 100 concurrent participants, with a 40-minute time restriction. Users have the option ...

.Young Storytellers is planning to return to in-person programming beginning Fall 2021.

Young Storytellers' Values

You Belong

“Originality and individuality are things to be celebrated. We serve young people and adults by cultivating an open community where everyone gives of themselves and speaks fully from their unique perspectives.”

People Connect

“Genuine connection between people requires empathy and sensitivity. The respect and honesty needed to connect is a fundamental element of everything that we do.”

We Explore

“Being vulnerable and inventive requires a supportive environment. Young Storytellers fosters exploration of the self and the world in which we live, while empowering our community to tell their stories.”

Everyone Plays

“Play with a purpose allows participants to engage with wonder and investigate their world. This is how we remove roadblocks to creativity and build a more whole collective.”

Volunteers

Programs are run by volunteer Head Mentors and volunteer Mentors. Mentors in the Script to Stage Program work one-on-one with a student for the duration of the nine-week program to create a screenplay and the resulting screenplay is then performed by a volunteer performer. There are currently over 2,500 volunteers in

serving 1,200 students in 60 schools.

Funding

The organization received grants from the

Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the entertainment industry activity and interests in the United States for media (newspaper, magazine and book publication ...

multiple times. In 2013 the organization was represented by

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in th ...

and received a portion of the $1.6 million in grants given by the HFPA that year. 2016 in the amount of $10,000. In 2015, the organization received a grant from the $4.5 million given to the Los Angeles arts scene from Michael Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

's, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential, has also provided funding.

Partnerships

March 2017, Young Storytellers partnered with Disney to give a group of students early access to see the live action version of

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

These students then created their own stories based on the film. Then, in collaboration with Tongal, an independent creative network, the students’ stories were turned into live action and animated short films. In February 2018, a group of Young Storytellers students were invited to a special premier of Disney’s

A Wrinkle in Time ''A Wrinkle in Time'' is a young adult science fantasy novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for th ...

and given the opportunity to create and then share stories based on the film. Disney then turned these stories into either short films or live performances to highlight the students’ storytelling. In October 2020, Young Storytellers partnered with Netflix to have members of the Over the Moon cast host a dramatic reading of a student's story.

Notable performers

Young Storytellers' annual fundraiser, "The Biggest Show," invites actors and comedians from film and television to perform their student's screenplays. In 2014, student screenplays were performed by

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Primetime Emm ...

John Cho John Cho (born Cho Yo-Han; June 16, 1972) is an American actor known for his roles as Harold Lee in the '' Harold & Kumar'' films, and Hikaru Sulu in the ''Star Trek'' rebooted film series. Early in his career, Cho also starred in the Asian A ...

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition fo ...

Jillian Bell Jillian Leigh Bell (born April 25, 1984) is an American actress, comedian and screenwriter. She stars in the 2019 film ''Brittany Runs a Marathon'' and 2022's ''I'm Totally Fine''. She starred as Jillian Belk on ''Workaholics'', voiced the role o ...

and

Stephanie Beatriz Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvizuri (born February 10, 1981) is an American actress, model and singer. She is known for playing Detective Rosa Diaz in the Fox/ NBC comedy series ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (2013–2021), and voicing protagonist Mir ...

. Corddry stated, " he programis kind of mythical in this world that I run in. You can't have a bad time. There's no pressure. You can't fail. It's pretty much everything you want as an actor. It's pretty much everything I've been looking for my whole life". In 2016, when asked about "The Biggest Show,"

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part ...

said: "One of the main things that made me want to do it was to encourage these kids to continue to do this stuff. I was not the type of person that would persevere through discouragement at that age." 2015 Biggest Show *

Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series '' Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Net ...

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

* Tom Lennon *

Jason Mantzoukas Jason Mantzoukas (, el, Ιάσων Μαντζούκας; born December 18, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series '' The League'', and as one of the t ...

2016 Biggest Show *

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series '' Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy '' Veep'' from 2012 until ...

* Martin Starr *

Nasim Pedrad Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...

Charlie Day Charles Peckham Day (born February 9, 1976) is an American actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on the FX comedy ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), which he co-created with Rob ...

Danny Pudi Daniel Mark Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

Busy Philipps Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER' ...

Yvonne Orji Yvonne Anuli Orji (born 2 December 1983) is a Nigerian-American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role in the television series '' Insecure'' (2016–2021), for which she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and three NAAC ...

2017 Biggest Show *

* J.B. Smoove *

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

Natasha Rothwell Natasha Rothwell (born October 18, 1980) is an American writer, actress, teacher and comedian. Career Rothwell taught for KIPP NYC and went on to work at ''Saturday Night Live'' ''(SNL)''. She first garnered attention as a writer on ''SNL'' in ...

Jimmi Simpson Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, which includes recurring roles as Liam McPoyle on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–2013), Lyle the Intern on ''The Late Show ...

Georgia King Georgia May King (born 18 November 1986) is a Scottish actress. Early life Born in Edinburgh, King is the daughter of actor Jonathan Hyde and opera singer Isobel Buchanan. Career Although King grew up dreaming of being a director, she got her ...

Jermaine Fowler Jermaine Fowler is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his role as King Akeem Joffer's long-lost son Lavelle Junson in the 2021 romantic comedy film '' Coming 2 America'' and Franco Wicks on the CBS si ...

* Sklar Brothers 2018 Biggest Show * Aparna Nancherla *

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's '' DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in '' We Bare ...

David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' C ...

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Whitney Cummings Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, investor and podcaster. A native of Washington, DC, Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the Univer ...

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* Sklar Brothers 2019 Biggest Show * Randall Park *

Chelsea Peretti Chelsea Vanessa Peretti (born February 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actress, television writer, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for portraying Gina Linetti in the comedy series ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' and writing for ''Parks and ...

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* Marcel Spears *

Bassem Youssef Bassem Raafat Mohamed Youssef ( ar, باسم رأفت محمد يوسف, ; born 21 March 1974) is an Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, surgeon, doctor, media critic, and television host, who hosted '' El-Bernameg'' (''The Show''), a satiric ...

Rob McElhenney Robert McElhenney III (; born April 14, 1977) is an American actor, producer, writer, podcaster and co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C. He is best known for his role as Mac (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Ronald "Mac" McDonald on the FX Networks, FX ...

D'Arcy Carden D'Arcy Beth Carden (born Darcy Beth Erokan, January 4, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her starring roles as Janet in the NBC sitcom ''The Good Place'' (2016–2020) and Greta Gill in the Prime series ''A Leagu ...

2020 Biggest Show *

Baron Vaughn Baron Vaughn (born December 18, 1980) is an American comedian and actor, known for his portrayal of Nwabudike "Bud" Bergstein on the Netflix television series ''Grace and Frankie'' and Tom Servo on the 2017 revival of ''Mystery Science Theater 30 ...

* Marcel Spears *

* Aparna Nancherla *

* Pete Pasco * Chrissie Fit * Mia Mollicone * Santino Jimenez *

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2021 Biggest Show *

* Harry Shum Jr. * Julissa Calderon * Kelly Marie Tran *

Lindy Booth Lindy Booth (born April 2, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She played Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series ''The Famous Jett Jackson'' (and Agent Hawk in the show-within-a-show ''Silverstone'') and Claudia on '' Relic Hunter'' and A.J. Butterf ...

* Marcus Henderson *

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References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Young Storytellers
- official website

- article about Young Storytellers fundraiser
NPR audio article
- Gloria Hillard reports on the Young Storytellers Foundation
NPR radio play
- ''Day to Day'' presents a radio play written by a Young Storytellers student and starring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

Non-profit organizations based in California Arts organizations based in California Charities based in California