Tickets are On Sale for CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS 2026 on June 27!
CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS 2026!
SATURDAY, JUNE 27 from 12:30PM – 3:30PM CDT
At The NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART
Sponsored by WINTRUST BANK & FORWARD SPACE
It’s both our annual gala AND a family-friendly, interactive festival!
Buy Tickets Now!
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 2025/26 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!
EARLY BIRD Adult Tickets (available through 5/31)—$50
EARLY BIRD Youth Tickets, ages 4 to 15 (available through 5/31)—$35
Adult Regular Tickets —$75
Youth Regular Tickets, ages 4 to 15 —$50
Children 3 years of age and under can attend for FREE
Because PlayMakers’ students rock, they typically go on to do exciting things. Every year, we use our banquet to honor a special alum. This year’s Annual Storyteller of the Year Award goes to Isabella Wilhemy Sanchez. Isabella is a special effects make up designer, and former PlayMakers Laboratory student!!!
Isabella Wilhelmy Sanchez has been in the performing arts ever since she was a student at Play Makers Laboratory. She graduated as a theater major from Lincoln Park High School and has been working in the Chicago Indie film scene working on shorts like The Crossing 2020, Perfectly Sane 2025, Wild Party 2025 and I Only Sleep When The Room Is Pitch Black 2025. Isabella has worked under Chicago based makeup artist Anthony Kosar learning more of the makeup profession and learning skills like laying beards and applying prosthetics to create characters/monsters. Isabella’s passion for story telling was nurtured by the teaching artists at PML and is thrilled to join us at the Celebration of Authors gala to share more of her journey, and to celebrate creatives of all ages in Chicago.
Buy Tickets Now!
Can’t attend our party? We’ll miss you! Consider donating to support arts education in Chicago. Thank you!
Additional Information:
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 29 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 utilizes 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.
Celebration of Authors is sponsored in part by
Wintrust Bank
Forward Space
PlayMakers Laboratory is sponsored in part by
The Chicago Community Trust,
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events,
The Crown Family Philanthropies,
The Field Foundation,
The Illinois Arts Council
The Mardi Gras Fund,
The Paul M. Angell Foundation,
The Polk Bros Foundation,
The Siragusa Family Foundation,
And generous Individuals like you!
The National Museum of Mexican Art has a ramp and is accessible to wheelchairs, both manual and electric. PML staff are not able to assist patrons transferring to or from a wheelchair, theatre seat or vehicle. Service animals are permitted. At this time there is not a planned usage of audio descriptions, Open Captioning, or for ASL interpreters to be in attendance. For any additional accessibility information or requests, please email admin@playmakerslab.org.
By Taniya B., Laitzy C. and Achaunti G., Dewey Academy
characters: princess niya, princess neney, princess dariona
setting: movie
PD: Do you princesses want to go watch paranormal 3 at the movie theatre
Niya: Sure (happy)
neney: yes (excited)
PD: go get your coats and we are gona leave. (inpatient)
niya: OK! (walks up the stairs to get coat)
Neney: alright (jumps)
PD: I’ll be waiting in the car
neney niya: (Running down the stairs)
neney: This is going to be a good movie!
By Gennesis P., Avondale-Logandale School
There was once a office man he loved work, he loved work so much he lived in his own office at work. The maneger said he had to pay rent he said ok and said ok as long as I live in my office. The manager said that’s fine. Then the next day Bob did his landry he put a string one in the office and one in his manager’s office, one of Bob’s underwear fell in the manager’s head. The manager got so mad he told Bob to do laundry in the laundry mat. Then Bob said to the manager why do you put your laundry in your office in my office. Then the manager said fine I do live here too in my office. Then Bob said you do then they did their laundry in to each other’s room from now on till you ready to move back to you house. Then Bob said I will live here for ever then manager said Noooo! The End
By Richard B., Graham School
One time I was at my house I was eating and I went out side I herd a loud nouse it was this Big Giant I ran too my house and grabed a wepon and I went out side and I was going to hit him butt he said no I just need go back to my house so the big giant left to his house.
By by Zindy M., Little Village Academy
Once upon a time there was a really rich ceremony, where rich people went. The ceremony was great there were a lot of queens. The ceremony was taken place in a royal castle. But suddenly, it started to rain. No one worried or noticed but they didn’t know it was a magical black hole. That black hole took people to the jungle, and the rich people were no longer rich, but poor. Those people were eating fruit from trees, and sleeping on houses made of branches. But suddenly they saw a man. That man told the people that he can take them back to their original home. The people were happy. The man told them that there was only one way to go home. But he was not going to tell them unless one condition. The man asked for their house. The people said yes. But the people didn’t know that it was a trap. Only one person knew but he was weird. And when he tried to tell them, they wouldn’t believe him. He hid somewhere where there will be no danger. The man told the people had to be on top of the mountain. Beneath that mountain there was a a river. The man pushed the people and they fell in the river. The weird guy that hid survived and never got caught again.
By Rolexsea C., New Sullivan School
Characters:
baby sister, Jasmine
Brother, Maman
Setting: in my house
J: Hi Big Boy
M: Hi Jasmine
J: Hi Little Boy
M: Hi Little Girl
J: Hi Little Good Boy
M: Hi Little Bad Girl
J: Hi Little Scary Baby
M: Hi Little Fat Baby
J: Hi Little Fat Dog
M: Hi Little Scary Baby Dog
J: Hi Little Fat Hurtful
THE END
By Tim M. , Dawes School
One day I went to London. A taxi picked us up from the airport. The taxi brought us to my Mom’s friend’s house. My Mom’s friend had a child named Charlette. Charrlette was two and she totally drove me off the wall!!! I had to hide behind the couch in the area she couldn’t go The next day, I was very cranky, we all went on the tube and we saw Big Ben but I stayed away from Charlette. Then they went on the London Eye. THE END
By Kendra, Mya, Breyon, Alexandria, Chalmers Elementary
Once upon a time there was a girl. Her name was Sara. Sara’s hair was very short. A magic boy witch made her hair short. He used a hair wand. Sara didn’t like that her hair was short. So, she went on a search for the boy witch. She never found him. But she saw a castle with creepy stuff in the distance… to be continued
By Ethan B, Paderewski
There was a Monster named Zane and his alien friend Craze. The monsters were weird they eat brains and throw watermelon and knit. One day the monster and alien ran into each other and they were stuck. They were stuck for 10 milleniums but one day an awesome smart wizard named Deeerrrikkkk came and gave them a potion to unstick them. And the wizard charged them 20 million but they couldn’t pay so they were blasted 1, 000, 000 years into the future when they were old smelly and OLLDD and they did not remember anything ever again.
By Michelle S, Farnsworth Elementary
One day I was in a snow storm. I was by myself. It was very scary. I remember it because I got lost in my own back yard. I tried to get home but it was very hard. My mom was worried. Then I had a hot bath and had hot cocoa.
By Alejovera, Columbia Explorer's Academy
My first reason is because he is a man and he lives in the North pole, my second reason is I found pieces of white hair in the floor. My third reason is that I found, at night, presents under the tree. In conclusion, I believe in Santa clause. The End
