Hidden Treasures

The Story Pirates are on the lookout for hidden treasure. But they don’t sail the seas searching for gold or jewels. They hunt for stories and ideas from kids. That’s what inspires × inspire E.CHARBONNEAU/WIRELMAGE FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES to give someone an idea about what to do or create (verb) Tony wrote a story about a spider that was inspired by his favorite book, Charlotte's Web. their theater performances, songs, books, podcast × podcast BELCHNOCK/GETTY a program of music or talk that is played on the Internet (noun) Jeremy was interviewed for a podcast about soccer. episodes, and more. “We are a bunch of silly and funny adults,” Austin Sanders told TIME for Kids. He is a Story Pirates director and producer × producer ODMEYER/GETTY someone who is in charge of raising the money and putting together what is needed for a movie or play (noun) The play's producer watched from the front row. . “We think kids’ stories are the best stories in the world.”

The Story Pirates are a group of actors and comedians. They perform musical comedies based on kids’ ideas.

From Page to Stage

Lee Overtree and Benjamin Salka started Story Pirates in 2004. The group began with writing workshops in schools. Then they took kids’ stories and performed them as musical comedies for the students.

Many of the Story Pirates are actors. They have backgrounds in improv. That stands for improvisation. It’s a form of theater in which the plot, characters, and dialogue × dialogue COLIN HAWKINS/GETTY the things that are said by characters in a movie, play, or book (noun) My little sister got to speak two lines of dialogue in her school play. are made up on the spot. “Improv is a huge tool that we have in our toolbox,” Overtree says. “We have performers that can really think quickly on their feet.”

Kids get on stage at some Story Pirates shows. They take part in improvised performances.

Today, the Story Pirates do much more than live shows. They also create books inspired × inspire E.CHARBONNEAU/WIRELMAGE FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES to give someone an idea about what to do or create (verb) Tony wrote a story about a spider that was inspired by his favorite book, Charlotte's Web. by kids (see “Kid Creator”). And there is a Story Pirates podcast × podcast BELCHNOCK/GETTY a program of music or talk that is played on the Internet (noun) Jeremy was interviewed for a podcast about soccer. . It tells stories using original songs and goofy voices. It also presents interviews with kid authors.

With Story Pirates, kids’ ideas take on a life of their own. Sometimes, it’s on the page. Sometimes, it’s on the stage. Overtree has advice for creative kids. “Your weirdest ideas are never too weird,” he says. “If you write what you feel, you can’t go wrong. Write what you want to write.”

Kid Creator

Phoebe, 9, came up with an idea for a mystery. The Story Pirates worked with an author to make it into a kids’ book.

Phoebe Wolinetz, 9, came up with an idea for a story. It was a mystery. The setting: a plant shop in New York City. The bad guy: a man with yellow eyes. Story Pirates gave Phoebe’s idea to an author. Her name is Jacqueline West. She turned the idea into a book. It’s called Digging Up Danger. It is now in bookstores. What does it feel like to see your idea come to life? “It’s very shocking,” Phoebe told TFK. “It’s going to be in my mind forever.”