PlayMakers Laboratory Story Archive
Silent Auction! Games! Food + Drinks! Open Bar for adult guests! 360 Photo Booth! And of course, LIVE performances of stories written by our students for the 2024/25 School Year!
Attire: Fancy Schmancy where you can come Fancy – dressed to the nines in your best attire. Or you can come Schmancy – with a silly hat or funny outfit that expresses YOU!
You can bid on our amazing Silent Auction Prizes at the event, or remotely from anywhere! Silent Auction items include: A Trip to Mexico with Vidanta Resorts, A Sailing Excursion, An At-Home Dungeons & Dragons Session, Dining Packages, Sports Tickets, Theatre Tickets, and MORE! Stay tuned for a preview and get those bids ready!
This is the most affordable & most FUN Gala in town!
Tickets include food, drinks, a show, and activities for all ages!
Adult Regular Priced Tickets —$75
Youth Regular Price Tickets, ages 4 to 15 —$50
Children 3 years of age and under can attend for FREE
Plus we will present the Annual Storyteller of the Year Award to author,
and PlayMaker alumni, Mary Winn Heider!
Mary Winn Heider is the author of over 30 books for kids, including THE LOSERS AT THE CENTER OF THE GALAXY, THE UNICORNS WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS, and THE STUPENDOUS SWITCHEROO series, which she co-created with Chad Sell. Mary Winn’s very first novel, THE MORTIFICATION OF FOVEA MUNSON, was based on her time working in a real life cadaver lab, and now that it’s a musical. In a School Library Journal column a few years ago, Betsy Bird wrote, “In an era of information overload, Mary Winn Heider is the author who will lead us through the pandemonium into the light.” Mary Winn’s books have been on state lists, appeared on Bank Street Best Books, received Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection status, been long-listed for the Edgar Award, and landed on Indies Introduce and Indie Next lists.But before all of that, Mary Winn was a company member with Playmakers Lab, where she spent a decade pretending to be a chicken, an astronaut, and a princess, and sometimes, all three at once.
Can’t attend our party? We’ll miss you! Consider donating to support arts education in Chicago. Thank you!
This event is a fundraiser to support PML’s outstanding creative writing programming in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. 100% of the tickets proceeds will support PML classes! For 28 years PlayMakers Laboratory has served Chicago Public School students by providing a creative writing residency program aimed primarily at elementary schools. Our company of over 60 teaching artists utilize creative drama and storytelling to promote literacy and self esteem during our in-school residencies and park district programming. Each year, our programs serve more than 4,000 young people across Chicago. In our 6 week writing residencies, a whopping 88% of students improve writing scores by at least one level over the course of our residencies. Plus, 100% of classroom teachers report that our program supports their student’s writing and improves confidence and self-esteem.
The Chicago Community Trust,
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events,
The Crown Family Philanthropies,
The Field Foundation,
The Mardi Gras Fund,
The Paul M. Angell Foundation,
The Polk Bros Foundation,
The Siragusa Family Foundation,
And generous Individuals like you!
By Taj R, 5th Grade, Dixon Elementary School
You float like feathers
Even in the windy weather
When it swishes you
Wish that the wind
Would stop but now
All you hear are
Tiny Raindrops
Thump thump on the
Roof they go. Flowing
Down the gutters extremely
Slow. When the wintertime
Comes you see ice and snow.
The End.
By Rosaura D, 4th Grade, Columbia Explorer's Academy
Once there was an evil man. He was the evilest man on the entire planet. He treated everyone like garbage and was never nice. Not even to his own mother! He really enjoyed giant beans. He ate them day and night and sometimes turned them into evil minions. One day when he was turning beans into evil minions he accidentally used the wrong spell on one of the beans and turned it nice! Oh how he hated that giant nice bean. Then, once when he couldn’t stand that bean anymore and he fired him. The bean cried and cried at Millenium park. Then a man named Goerge came and saw that sad, sad bean. He also loved beans so he felt sad. He said to the bean “I’ll re-paint you so that evil man will never find you!” And so he did. He re-painted him like a mirror. The bean was really happy and became friends with Goerge. They had good times. One of their best times was when they rode the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. But there comed the time for the bean to return to Millenium Park. The poor bean asked Goerge to freeze him. George refused but the bean begged him. Goerge agreed but said. “I’ll visit you everyday with my other friends.” The bean smiled and said “I’d like that.” So Goerge froze the bean and visited him everyday with friends. And now 1,000 years later Goerge still visits his oh so dear friend, The Bean.
The End
By Jacuqeline, Thomas, Harper, and Justin, 4th Grade, Cherokee Elementary
In the dark ages lived a mean wizard, who lived in a volcano surrounded by sharks. Him Billy Bob Joe. He’s immune to lava, so he lives in the volcano, in a nice house, which is a fortress. There was an Ice wizard, named Frost, who lived in an ice castle surrounded by killer snowmen. They were brothers full of hatred and they hated each other. They get into a battle over football, the ice wizard liked the Bears and the fire wizard likes the Packers. They had a 500 year battle over football. Eventually after 500 years of fighting the ice wizard melts from the lava wizard and the lava wizard freezes and shatters. And they are gone forever. And the Bears win the Super Bowl. THE END.
By Dynasty H, 5th Grade, Sherman School of Excellence
Setting: Chicago Airport
Characters: Kanye West, Jay-Z
Jay-Z: Man Kanye whats yo problem? (Concerned)
Kanye: Look Bro I’m just doing me (cocky, arrogant)
Jay-Z: you need to chill out you doing (snaping) too much that’s why my wife don’t want me hanging with you anymore
Kanye: Dude I’m the GOAT (LOUD) Greatest of All Time… you NEED to hang out with me!!
Jay-Z: Naw I can’t do that I’m about to catch this jet. You Riding that Delta plane? (sarcastic)
Kanye: Aww so you got jokes bro. That’s how you feel? (hurt)
Jay-Z: peace bro
Kanye: check 100
The End.
By Ceyanne S, Super 7 Girls Program at Willa Cather Elementary School
Once upon a time there was three boys named Jamal, Haceane, and Andre. They were all brothers who went to Monster High. They all had a group of friends and they each liked someone. Haceane like Roxy Whaaaaa. Jamal like Diana What the what. Andre like Riannah as much as a puppy dog and kitties. But they could not get married because they were too young. So, a few years later on one hot sunny day, like Arizona hot, they all got married and it was as big as a hotdog (a real dog) and lived happily ever after. Then one day they got mad and where are all the cactuses? To be continued…..THE END.
By Craig, 6th Grade, Carter School Of Excellence
Once there was a hotel in Downtown. It had the lowest rate. My cousin went there for her birthday in her party was downtown in Chicago her mom didn’t know that the hotel had lowest rate but daughter use the web browser and find out that nobody use the hotel but them they was the first ones to use it and 4 years. The End.
By Elana R., Loyola Park After School Program
As my waves crash along your shore
I watch the pretty white birds soar
I know that I should leave you be
But when will you let me free
I never wanted to hurt humans
So I removed sharks that were putrid
And if I had a sweet sweet whale
Nobody would be able to sail
So in the winter I hibernate
To keep every single human very safe
The End.
By Alexander, Walsh Elementary School
True Stories
El Jugo Y La Hormiga
Cuando era un niño de tres años, mi mama me dio un jugo, me lo tomé un poquito y luego nos fuimos a la tienda. Cuando regresamos, el jugo tenia hormigas. No sabia que tenia hormigas so me lo tome. Cuando me lo tome estaba desconcertado. Y ese fue el día que me tome hormigas. Fin.
Spanish Translation
The Juice and the Ants.
When I was 3, my mom gave me a juice and I drank a little of it and then we went to the store. When we got back, the juice had ants in it. I didn’t know it had ants in it so I drank it. When I drank it, I wasn’t concentrated. And that was the day I drank ants. The End.
By Sam, Ravenswood Youth Guidance After School Program
MLG sheep pink youtube animal pencil story cool I am writing this oh I am pen third grade first grade look google feels recycle trash frog stop stick bone rope mole flag snop who time poke mon go loud snow lib.
I am writing this with a pencil. The pencil says DIXON ® NO. 21 HB. Do you know what that means? I wrote a big circle. I like circles. The End.
By Napoleon, 3rd Grade, Paderewski Elementary
Name: Pickle Juice Man
Mission: stop the smelling of it
Superpower: cur freshener
Enemy: Guacamole
Weakness: salt
Costume: a big pickle with a pickle shaped helmet
Sidekicks: 5 monkeys
On day Pickle Juice man was talking to his sidekicks and guacamole came the put some cheese on me and it burd me. Then I put some cur freshener on him. Then he lost his smell ant taste.