The Story Pirates have selected four stories written by area children to perform at their show at the Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy on Saturday. The stories were hand-chosen by the Story Pirates from nearly 50 entries that the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy collected throughout the summer.
The Story Pirates, who recently appeared on stage with Conan O'Brien, are a critically acclaimed arts and creative writing organization founded in 2003 to celebrate the words and ideas of young people, to promote literacy as a vital part of education, and to preserve the spark of youthful creativity. Former cast members include John Oliver of "The Daily Show" and Kristen Schaal of "30 Rock." The show, which has been praised by Jon Stewart and featured on NBC's "Today," is performed by professional adult comedians, but based entirely on stories written by children.
"Story Pirates has been committed to providing high quality arts and education programs to children since 2003," said Nicole Brodeur, producing director for Story Pirates. "What began as a pilot in a single low-income Harlem school has grown to become a nationally respected arts integration curriculum in place annually at over 150 schools from coast to coast."
Earlier this summer, the Story Pirates performed at the Reg Lenna Civic Center for a crowd of third and fourth graders from Jamestown Public Schools and Southwestern Elementary. Winning stories will be revealed at the Pirates show on Saturday at 11am. Tickets are $4 and $7 for adults, and are available at LucyComedyFest.com or by phone at 484-0800.
"Story Pirates believes that every child has a story to tell," Brodeur said. "Whether it's a world where cats can fly or a rock opera about fuzzy alien tickle monsters, our sketch comedy musical is based entirely on stories by elementary schoolers. We received amazing story submissions for Lucy Fest, and have chosen several to be performed on Aug. 4. We hope to see you there."