2021 / 2022
Naper Settlement
Live storytelling outdoors at one of Naperville's most historic places, with the same format as our stage shows and the same belief that a true story, told well, belongs to everyone on the lawn.
In the Community
Stories beyond the stage
The stage at Empire Burgers + Brew is home, but the stories have never stayed inside one room. We have brought live storytelling into schools, libraries, festivals, historic landmarks, and community programs across Naperville and the greater Chicagoland area.
2025
Young Equal Workshop
A workshop day built around helping young people find the story inside their own experience, then say it out loud to a room that was listening.
2024 / 2025 / 2026
District 204 Workshops
Storytelling workshops with students across District 204, where a true story told live shows young people that their own experiences are worth telling.
2024 / 2025 / 2026
Fox Valley Folk Festival
Bringing true stories to a festival crowd, side by side with musicians and makers from across the Fox Valley.
2019
NPR Interview
The People Tree talked about what live storytelling does for a town, and why Naperville turned out to be ready for it.
2024 / 2025
Growing Place
Storytelling sessions with the Growing Place community, sharing the craft with people who wanted to try it for the first time.
2021 through 2026
Open Mics
A low pressure night where anyone curious can try a story without committing to a stage. Many of our storytellers started here.
2023
Storytelling Workshop
An open workshop for the wider community, covering how to find the moment inside an experience and shape it into something people can follow.
Youth program
Sprout
Sprout is our youth storytelling program for middle and high school students. Same craft, same mentoring, same room full of people who want them to do well.
2021
Sprout Show
The first Sprout show, where middle and high school storytellers took the stage in front of their families and their town.
2022 / 2023 / 2024 / 2025
Sprout Open Mics
Open mic nights built for young storytellers, with the same mentoring and the same room full of people who want them to do well.
Our partners and friends
The People Tree is proud to be part of a wider community of organizations that believe in Naperville and in the power of bringing people together.
Bring The People Tree to your community
Schools, libraries, festivals, and community groups: we can build a workshop or a live show around the people you already have in the room.