About Storycatchers

Storycatchers Theatre  is a youth development arts organization that prepares young people to make positive life choices through the process of writing, producing, and performing original musical theatre inspired by personal stories. Storycatchers’ productions express participants’ challenges and life experiences, their dreams and aspirations. By using performing arts to help youth find their own voices, connect to their own life stories, and learn from their peers, Storycatchers enables them to set goals, link decisions to consequences, and develop a roadmap to success.

What Storycatchers does:

Staffed by talented teaching artists, Storycatchers Theatre conducts ongoing multi-week programs with groups of youth who live in underserved urban neighborhoods or who are incarcerated in the juvenile justice system – where they have few opportunities to develop their gifts and talents. Storycatchers staff adapt the program model to the setting and to participants’ needs. The model includes coaching young people through a cycle of story-writing assignments; leadership development exercises; reflections, readings, and critiques; planning sessions and rehearsals. These activities culminate in performances of a musical play built on a unified theme and story line. In this group process, participants learn writing and performance skills, achieve personal development goals, improve peer and family relationships, and acquire practical knowledge that can promote success in school, at home and, in their communities. 

Where Storycatchers works and who the organization serves:

• Storycatchers programs take place in schools, parks, and juvenile prisons in the metro Chicago area.
• Storycatchers participants are adolescents aged 12-20.