The Story Pirates take stories written by kids and turns them into musical comedies. The actors use costumes, puppets and short films to tell the tales.

The Pirates visit more than 150 elementary schools across the U.S. each year. The actors collect stories written by students at the school and return two weeks later to act them out.

The Story Pirates perform kid stories every Saturday at a theater in New York City. Kid authors are invited to sit in the audience to see their work being brought to life. 

Benjamin Salka and Lee Overtree (not shown) created the Story Pirates program in 2003. Salka told TFK, “Kids are the best comedy writers.” Kids can submit original stories by sending an e-mail to stories@storypirates.org.

The Story Pirates often take their act on the road to perform at birthday parties. Artistic director Lee Overtree told TFK, “Everyone has a story to tell, and every story is worth telling.”