PlayMakers Laboratory Story Archive
Tickets are On Sale for CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS 2026 on June 27!
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.
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 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.
Wintrust Bank
Forward Space
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 Isabella D, Loyola Park After School Program
Holidays
Winter Holidays
That's Weird, Grandma
I wan the wolf races I wan with wisdom wining is wonderful I wonder if I am the Best in the World. THE END. Wa hoo
By Sebby D, Loyola Park After School Program
That's Weird, Grandma
One day there was an old woe-man that had a temper. She hated every one and used her photo album as a fly swatter and hit everyone she saw with it. There was a plane she was supposed to get on the next day for people who wanted to meet Peter Pan. (actually she wanted to hit him). The next day she loaded her luggage (filled with toe jam, her cane, and her clothing. shorts and t-shirts only) and got on the plane. When she arrived she went to get her luggage she saw a bag that looked exactly the same as the one behind it. She grabbed the one behind but because of how old and grumpy she was, she didn’t look at the baggage tag. When she got to her hotel she looked in her suit case and found- a tuxedo, long pants, and long sleeve shirts, and NO TOE-JAM! She was infuriated. She looked at the baggage tag, and it’s name said “The Manager of Disney World”. She HATED Him! (Well, she hated everyone).
By Diamond H, 6th Grade, Loyola Park After School Program
Dialogues
Holidays
Winter Holidays
That's Weird, Grandma
Please do not read percenal. I am a ginger bread girl have many friends. Yesterday I went to see my friend the ginger bread man when is he going to learn he is not as fast as he thinks. To day while I was walking a man and a woman tried to eat me. Why am I so dilishouse (delicious). After school my mom and I went to the store I got a new gumdrop coat. Us ginger bread people love to look our best. After that I went to get some thing to eat. I had a very sweet chocolaty drink that my mom shared with me. When I got to my house me and my brother played swords with my peppermint stick. Before I went to bed I read a book about people. Then I began to go to sleep. I had a night meer that people were chasing me they wanted to dip me in milk so I get soggy right before they ate me I woke up.
By Leondro, Loyola Park After School Program
Hello my name is crazy topic I heard your new world and it seems totally awesome and I am so totally thinking about your world but let me tell you about me.
I work at Slik Johnnys house of blues but the most god thing is that I’m cool but yeah I’m so happy so now I want to go badly like I wouldn’t die if I couldn’t go but I wonder if I could take friends once in a while they are dumb but they are cool so yeah I want to go and well this is bye bye.
By Monique S, Chalmers
That's Weird, Grandma
Characters: Big Leaf, Big Bug
BB: Hey leaf, can I eat you?
BL: No you can’t. I want to live.
BB: But I’m hungry. (trying to eat the leaf)
BL: If you eat me I’m gonna die.
BB: I didn’t know that. I will eat a ant.
BL: OK, don’t eat the other leafs.
BL: Hey I thought I told you to not eat the others.
BB: You told me to eat them.
BL: You crazy bug, you ate all my brothers and sisters.
BB: Well…sorry for eating them (climbing on the big leaf).
BL: Maybe some humans can plant another tree and they can be my family.
(and the humans planted another tree and the big leaf was happy)
By Frank M, 4th Grade, Dewey School
That's Weird, Grandma
The man was at the museum and he look at the picture and he wanted to be a artist and one day he painted a picture and he put it in the museum and he took his son and his wife to the museum they said wow you are good painter said his wife and his son said dad can I be a artist he said maybe son if you be artist you will be fine son. The End
By Jalin L, 3rd Grade, New Sullivan
That's Weird, Grandma
Once upon a time a shark was eating other animals and other types of food. He got too big to float. Instead he wiggled at the bottom of the atlantic ocean. He tried to wiggle and move so other sharks could push him up so he could try to float the other sharks told him get on a diet. They told him to eat seaweed. Only seaweed. He didn’t like it.
By Brian A, 4th Grade, Stockton Elementary
That's Weird, Grandma
One day I went to school and it was time for recess and my friend Aldo was acting funny but then he tripped. I don’t know what happened because he started acting like an astronaut. He tripped again and acted like a clown. He tripped again he acted like Jackie Chan. And again and he acted like there was monkeys chasing him and grabbing he acted normal.
By Mickia J. , 4th Grade, Morton
That's Weird, Grandma
There were this mean catdog she was a mean catdog she was long she did not have a man so she was mad but her friend me-me ask her brother he said I have to see her first then when he saw her he was like yes then he said u cute girl.
By Shaniece G. , 4th Grade, Chalmers
True Stories
That's Weird, Grandma
Once upon a time my mom used my cat to comb her hair with my cats nails but my mom didn’t do it my neighbor did. I told my
Mom to get in the car and go home. In her hair look like a mess. In I told my neighbor to go home and me cats nails was stuck
in my moms hair. The End.