The Geffen Playhouse began its Story Pirates partnership in 2009 as a way to expand the resources of the theater's current in-school initiatives. Story Pirates, which was originally founded in New York in 2003, is a nationally recognized arts and literacy organization working to engage students in under-resourced public schools by showing them that their ideas, their words and their stories are important. As a partner of the Geffen Playhouse, Story Pirates recently opened a West Coast branch and now visits over 20 Title I Los Angeles public schools each year in addition to performing for the general public as part of the Geffen Playhouse's Saturday Scene program.

Flagship Show Performances

While many children’s theater troupes tell stories to kids, the Geffen Playhouse Story Pirates believe that every child has a story to tell -- especially yours!  The process begins by collecting stories from local kids (while we're on the subject, submit your story here!) -- whether it's a world where cats can fly or a rock opera about fuzzy alien tickle monsters, the Pirates will turn any short story into a hilarious sketch comedy musical!  Described as "Monty Python meets Schoolhouse Rock," this show is different every week.  Pitched perfectly to grown ups and kids alike, The Flagship show can set sail with your whole family on board. Plus, there's free ice cream for the whole audience!

Play/Write Program

The Story Pirate’s initiative with the Geffen’s Education and Outreach programming is the Play/Write Program, a series of creative writing and drama workshops that lead to a musical sketch comedy show acted by professional actors and comedians and comprised entirely of stories written by kids. The program starts with an inspirational “best of” performance of stories written by kids from across the country for the student.  In-class workshops are then held where students are taught story writing basics such as plot, character development and other writing techniques until each student has written a story.  After reading and commenting on all the writing from the workshops, a select few stories are chosen and adapted for the culminating show performed by the adult Story Pirates company in front of the school.

Saturday Scene

Along with outreach, Story Pirates are taking a large role in broadening the experiences of the Geffen Playhouse’s Saturday morning children’s programming.  Positioned as an imaginative alternative to Saturday morning cartoons, Saturday Scene was designed for children to be introduced to as well as get involved in theater.  Starting with the 2010 season, Story Pirates have created a play/write program available to the Saturday Scene audiences and the public to give children insight on the creation of stories in the dramatic arts.  Workshops are held before each show to both foster writing skills and to warm-up creativity. Stories written during these workshops are featured in the Story Pirates shows throughout the season.

The Story Pirates appear three times during the 2010/2011 Saturday Scene season with two types of shows. The first is a show featuring stories written by kids from across the country while the other is an improvisational show created by the kids as they sit in the audience. 

Westwood Classes

To step out of the classroom and into the community, Story Pirates holds special classes during winter, spring and summer breaks in the Geffen Playhouse Kinross Annex. Call 347.878.6798 for details.

Story Pirate Parties

If you have a group of six or more kids, a personalized Story Pirate party can be tailored just for you! Call 347.878.6798 for details.