Two Tubman Elementary Students Shine in Local Musical Nov. 4-13

Tellin' Tales Theatre presents Six Stories Up in Discovery plunges headfirst into topics faced by students today. If one of six middle school students doesn't win the science fair their beloved school will close. This musical exploration takes the audience through the exciting, mysterious world of mad scientists, extra-terrestrials and wayward sound waves.

Six Stories Up is an annual mentoring program developed by Tellin' Tales Theatre where middle school children and their theatre mentors with and without disabilities write and star in a full-length play, including music, with the theme changing every year. This is the 25th anniversary year for Six Stories Up.

AJ Sherrill and Campbell Chernoff, students at Harriet Tubman Elementary, are two of the players in this 25th anniversary production.

AJ Sherrill is a new resident of Chicago but not new to performing. Sherrill attended Texas School of the Arts from 2nd to 4th grade and Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts in 5th and 6th grade, performing in dance, musical and comedy productions. He is in 7th grade at Tubman Elementary where he is a member of the Japanese Club. Sherrill is looking forward to making new friends through Tellin’ Tales Theatre. His mentor in Six Stories Up in Discovery is Tellin’ Tales Ensemble member Michael Herzovi.

Campbell Chernoff is a 6th grader at Tubman Elementary. He came to see a friend in the 2019 Tellin’ Tales presents Six Stories Up in the Roaring Twenties and also saw the 2020 show. This year, Chernoff told his mom he wanted to be part of Six Stories Up so he could be in a real play and share his own writing with more people. His mentor for the production is Steve Donart, a member of the Tellin’ Tales Ensemble and Program Director for Tellin’ Tales Theatre. For fun, Chernoff takes Swordplay classes at Forteza Fitness in Chicago.

Six Stories Up in Discovery is geared toward adults and children age nine and up and runs approximately 90 minutes with one intermission.

Ticket Details:
The show runs for two weekends at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee: Fridays, Nov. 4 & 11 at 7:30pm; Saturdays, Nov. 5 & 12 at 7:30pm; and Sundays, Nov. 6 & 13 at 2pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. The $100 benefit ticket includes show on Nov. 6 and reception following. For tickets, visit www.tellintales.org

The Filament Theatre is ADA accessible. Sign language interpretation and audio description will be provided at the Saturday, November 5 show.

About the Mentoring Program
In August, storytellers were paired with middle school students with and without disabilities. Each team took on a different aspect of science and was given the mission to bring it to life while weaving in personal stories and insights. In mid-September, Artistic Director Tekki Lomnicki and Stephen Donart drafted a final script, linking the six vignettes together into a cohesive final script; music and lyrics were added as well. All participants will perform Six Stories up in Discovery under the direction of Lomnicki, assisted by Sue Nunamaker and Dominika Tamley.

About the Cast and Crew
The cast and production team of Six Stories Up in Discovery is an exciting mix of ethnicity and ability. Mentors include Israel Antonio, Stephen Donart, Michael Herzovi, Tekki Lomnicki, Tamara Rozofsky and Nancy Sosnowski. Bill Drudge makes a special appearance as the villain. Apprentices include Micah Brown, Campbell Chernoff, Norah Hurley, Jahzara McGee, AJ Sherill and Campbell Stewart. Stephen Scherer spearheads set design; Jabberwocky Puppets and Matthew Wycislak create masks and props and composer Mike Przygoda creates the original score.

The Mission
The mission of Tellin' Tales Theatre is to shatter barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of personal story. We bring together children and adults from both communities to share their stories in theatrically innovative productions and programs to promote awareness, understanding and acceptance

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