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 Messiah G., 4th Grade, Kohn
That's Weird, Grandma
A very long time ago there lived a very good tiger named Tiger Luther and a very bad Lion named Martin. But Martin ate birds and other animals. Tiger Luther didn’t eat birds or animals, he ate plants and drank water instead of blood from other animals. One day Martin the lion convinced Tiger Luther to eat birds and other animals but he stilled ate plants and drank water. Again Martin convinced Tiger Luther to do bad things like put scratches on trees in the jungle, and on other animals. That’s why a tiger turned bad.
THE END
By Gianna M. , Loyola Park
Hi my name is Christanthamom. I am a huge twilight fan. My favorite characters are Bella and Edwerd. I read all 4 books and saw the movie at the 9:45 show it was the best movie ever. I love vampires. I was a vampire for Halloween for 5 years in a row and won best costume every year. But I happen to be a quarter vampire on my dad’s side. But this year I will be Bella and my brother will be Edwerd but I’m not going to kiss him ew no no no! My favorite sport is vampire baseball and I love Diet blood and pizza!
By Christian R., 4th Grade, Dixon Elementary
Superheroes
Podcasts
Once there was a hero named Elastagirl—she could stretch her arms and fly. And she met a supervillain named Timithy and another named Jason. It is Jasooon not Jason. Jasoon and Johnathen they all had a dinner. All the villains said this is dumb I hate this then the heroes said waiter I need a check for the villains and Samantha the waiter said Yes here it is. (Narrator: The villains leeve.)
The End
Listen to the podcast episode adapted from this story!
By Desiree, Richard, Faith, Nathan, and Daved, 3rd Grade, Trumbull Elementary
Arguments
Podcasts
We believe we should have food fights everyday.
Our first reason is that it would make the vice principal mad.
Our second reason is that it gets squishy and looks funny.
Our final reason is that we don’t have to eat the food and it’s fun.
In conclusion, we believe we should have food fights every day.
Listen to the podcast episode adapted from this story!
By Dalia A. & Jose H., 4th Grade, Cleveland
Dialogues
That's Weird, Grandma
Characters – Miranda, 25; Elizabeth, 20; Enrique, 21; Emmanuel, 25; Narrator, 30
Em: I want to go to the garden and weed the plants.
M: NO! That is the maid’s job!
Em: NO! It is oh yeah it is there job! I will go wake her up!
M: Wake up Enrique to drive us to breakfast
En: I don’t feel like it.
M: It is not Elizabeth it is Miranda now let’s go.
En: Fine but I am just dropping you up so I can sleep again.
M: Fine! NO! You will wait or you will go back into the street where you came from.
En: Fine I will wait but I will sleep in the car and that is final.
M: Emmanuel will be hearing from this.
En: Then tomorrow you will have a surprise
M: Oh goody I can’t wait for the surprise
En: It won’t be good I can usur you
M: Oh really.
N: The next morning ever one was gone the maids the chofor and even Emmanuel was also gone.
M: NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I should have known this would happen.
N: Miranda went outside put the manchon on fire, and left the manchon burning to flames.
N: When Emmanuel got back he made a funeral for Miranda but she was on the street looking for money so since she didn’t have food so she died.
The end.
By Bella D. , Loyola Park
Songs
That's Weird, Grandma
There once was a cat. The cat can stand, but she’s screaming. She had an incredible long tail. Her eyes were humongous. Her owner was a farmer.
He screamed when he saw the cat. The cat started dancing. The farmer started dancing too. And then the farmer’s wife came in, and she started dancing too. Then the daughter came in and started screaming. She said, “The cat can stand!”
The End
By Gustarfe A. , 4th Grade, Dewey
Songs
That's Weird, Grandma
Once upon a time there was a doctor named Shef and she gave a shot to a snake and it fell out of her hand. And the snake he took off. He went out the door. And bit another doctor. The doctor fell and said, “I got bit!” the snake slithers into town and the news people saw the snake and told everybody in town “there’s a snake in town so everyone stay in the house. The snake slithers into someones house and goes into a hole and lays some eggs. There the next day somebody went outside and there wasn’t a snake. Three weeks later the snake and her babies went outside and bit everyone in town. Who ever got bit turned into a snake. Then they all went to Texas and found a bigger hole. And they laid big, big, eggs and then they slithered into New York. Then they bit a famous man named Joe. They slithered back to Texas and gave him to a big anaconda. The anaconda got even bigger and ate everybody in Texas.
By Kila H. , 4th Grade, Dewey
Holidays
Halloween
That's Weird, Grandma
One day there was a girl name Kila she found a website and it mated people up and one day Kila found her match and it was a vampire and he bit and she turned in a vampire.
The End
By Jordan W. & Kaya O., Loyola Park
Dialogues
That's Weird, Grandma
Sally: Y’all ready?
Max: Yeah but I really don’t want to be here.
Sally: We me either Max, but ain’t my problem is it?
Max: I’d rather be ridin’ them cows.
Sally: Me too. I ain’t playin’ y’all.
Max: Yee dogey!
Sally: We bout go home and ride them cows y’all
Max: But we gotta stop at the Texas bull outin’ bar.
Sally: Yee dogeys I am so excited
Max: It’s gonna be so fun y’all
Sally: I ain’t even playin, we gonna have the best time at the bar y’all
Max: You are so right y’all, I can’t wait.
Sally: Well y’all don’t have to I’m gonna go right now y’all
Max: Yee dogey lets get cracka lackin
Sally: (listening to music, singing) We drivin’ down the highway
Max (listening to music): Will y’all shut up?
Sally: Why you got a problem with that?
Max: Yeah
Sally: Well fix it
Max: Oh my God
Sally: We are there
Max: Yeah!
By Tia A., Loyola Park
That's Weird, Grandma
One day Princess Jump Rope was looking so cute and she was going to the mall and she was in a rush and she had ran into a boy named Patrick and she said O I’m so sorry and Patrick said would you like to get some coffee and Princess said ya OK and so they went out and they came back home and Patrick said I like you and Jump Rope was excited that she couldn’t say anything that she passed out. To be continued.
