Fifth Graders Write the Script with Young Storytellers

For the past eight weeks, fifth-grade students in CCUSD’s elementary schools have been diligently crafting original scripts. Working one-on-one with an adult mentor from the entertainment industry, as part of the Young Storytellers Foundation’s Script-to-Stage Program, students have honed their ideas into short screenplays with scenes, characters, dialogue, and action.

The culminating moment for these young writers happens now, when professional actors come to perform their works live on stage in an in school assembly full of family, faculty and peers. Actors who have performed in the past include Zach Levi (Chuck), Ben McKenzie (Southland), Rave Simone (That’s So Raven) and cast members from the hit show GLEE.

The project is made possible with funding from Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Front and Center Theater Collaborative, who have embarked on a coordinated effort to bolster arts education programs in Culver City. YSF’s Script to Stage Program is just one stage in an overall Cluster Program Model, where students are offered arts education courses, after school programs, mentorships and tutorials throughout their school careers. (more on the Culver City Cluster program can be found here).

Culver City Superintendent of Schools David LaRose said, “YSF connects kids to caring, loving adults who encourage and nurture them while engaging them in a process that builds confidence and produces work they can be proud of. Magic.”

The Young Storytellers Foundation is a non profit organization that develops literacy through the art of storytelling. Using group exercises and one-on-one mentoring, they provide underserved children in the public school system an opportunity to write stories and see them brought to life through performance. Their mission is to inspire children to discover the power of their own voice.

Performances are as follows:
(Please contact Heather Moses at [email protected] if you’d like to attend)

April 18 at 1:45 p.m. – Linwood Howe Elementary School
April 23 at 1:30 p.m. – Farragut Elementary School
April 23 at 6 p.m. – El Rincon Elementary School
April 30 at 1 p.m. – La Ballona Elementary School

The Actors' Gang

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