Six Stories Up on the Campaign Trail Performed by Students and Mentors

Ever wonder what kids think of our national election shenanigans? Written and performed by middle school students with and without disabilities and their mentors, Tellin’ Tales Theatre’s Six Stories Up on The Campaign Trail follows five determined students as they battle each other for Student Council President. They can’t help but mirror what they see on the news. One contender stirs up controversy with the help of a mischievous Greek god tempered by a benevolent goddess. As things unravel, he must decide between good and evil. Who will win in the end?

The result is a hilarious and often moving musical peppered with personal stories told by students and adults with ADHD, autism and dwarfism, as well as their non-disabled peers. Six Stories Up on The Campaign Trail is geared toward adults and children age nine and up. The show runs approximately 90 minutes with one intermission and will be performed at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee on Fridays & Saturdays, Nov. 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7:30pm and on Sunday Nov. 10 & 17 at 2pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and can be ordered at tellintales.org

The Filament Theatre is ADA accessible and sign language interpretation and audio description will be provided at our Sunday, November 10 show.

About the Mentoring Program

Six Stories Up is an annual mentoring program developed by Tellin' Tales Theatre where middle school children and their mentors write and star in a full-length play with the theme changing every year. In August, storytellers were paired with middle school students with and without disabilities. Each team came up with a significant personal story and was given the mission to bring it to life with dialog, song and movement. In mid-September, Artistic Director Tekki Lomnicki and Stephen Donart drafted a final script, linking the vignettes together into a cohesive final script. All participants will perform Six Stories Up on The Campaign Trail under the direction of Lomnicki, assisted by Marlana Carlson and Koda Sherrill.

About the Cast and Crew

The cast and production team of Six Stories Up on The Campaign Trail is an exciting mix of race and ability. Mentors include Manuela Alvarez, Israel Antonio, Stephen Donart, Juliana Liscio, Tekki Lomnicki and Ben Saylor. Apprentices include Hawkeye Beach, Campbell Chernoff, Aarohan Dutta, Emily Nilsen and Elliott Patton. CJ Kozlowski makes a special appearance.

Composer Jeremy Bell creates the original score and Dee Durfee creates choreography.

About Tellin’ Tales Theatre

The mission of Tellin' Tales Theatre is to shatter barriers between the disabled andnon-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.

Six Stories Up on The Campaign Trail is partially funded by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation and The Seabury Foundation.