2018
Micro-stories for TEDx Naperville
The People Tree worked with the late Scott Potter to create a series of engaging micro-stories for TEDx Naperville.
The People Tree
About
The People Tree brings people together through the transformative power of true stories, told live with heart.
How we began
In 2015, after the sudden loss of a neighbor, Rachna Prasad wanted her community to connect in a deeper way. She invited friends, family, and neighbors into her home to share personal stories over a glass of wine.
No one in the room had storytelling experience. Everyone in the room had a story.
Claire Dee loved what those evenings created. A few months later the two of them went to a live storytelling show in Chicago and left thinking Naperville deserved one of its own. In January 2017, that became real.
Growing the room
The hardest message to convey at the start was that this was adults sharing true stories in a cocktail bar, not kids on the floor of a library listening to fiction. The town understood quickly, and the monthly crowd grew past 200 people.
Along the way we added workshops so storytellers had somewhere to develop an idea, mentors so nobody had to do it alone, and open mics so anyone curious could try a story without committing to a stage.
Where we are now
Today The People Tree fills Empire Burgers + Brew in downtown Naperville, with storytellers and audiences coming from across the Chicagoland area. We have watched first time tellers come back as mentors.
The stage is bigger than a living room. What happens around it has not changed. Someone shares a piece of their life, the rest of us listen, and people who arrived as strangers leave knowing each other a little better.
How the story grew
2019
Workshops expand
The People Tree's creative director Kat moved to California. Improv workshops and high school storytelling workshops were added to the schedule.
2020
Greenhouse workshops and Zoom shows
The pandemic brought new challenges but also created the opportunity for monthly Greenhouse workshops and virtual one story shows on Zoom.
2021
Erica and Simi join Rachna
Claire moved to Virginia and continues to mentor Naperville storytellers. Rachna was joined by Erica Katz and Simi Krishnan, two wonderful and experienced storytellers on the Empire stage.
2022
Sprout launches
The People Tree created and launched Sprout, youth storytelling for middle and high school students. Claire started an RVA branch of TPT.
2025
Rachna steps back
Rachna Prasad steps back from day to day involvement with The People Tree to focus on other endeavors, while Simi Krishnan and Erica Katz continue leading the show as Producers and Co-Owners.
2025
Friends of The People Tree join
Alexis Skigen Rago and Robyn Whitlock join the team as Friends of The People Tree, helping with day to day activities including marketing, admin, ticketing, show day support, and a lot more.
What guides us
Community
We believe stories create opportunities to know one another beyond the surface. When people gather, listen with intention, and share honestly, connection becomes possible.
The People Tree began with people gathering together, and community remains at the heart of what we do.
Empowerment
Sharing a personal story takes reflection and courage. We create space for storytellers to uncover what matters in their experiences, speak in their own voice, and share their truth with people ready to listen.
Sharing something personal takes courage.
Humanity
Every person who walks into the room brings a life we cannot fully see. We lead with compassion, empathy, kindness, and respect, knowing that every story can deepen our understanding of someone else's experience.
Every person carries experiences we cannot see simply by looking at them.
In the Community
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, along with Sprout, our youth storytelling program.
See our community workMeet the Team
The People Tree is run by a small group of producers, a host, and friends of the organization who spend months with a storyteller before anyone hears the story. They are the people who read the first rough outline, sit through the fifth rewrite, and stand at the back of the room on show night.
Meet the teamWhen I share an emotional or heartfelt story, I find a connection with people we never knew we had. Simply by opening myself and sharing my experiences, audience members recognize that they have felt the same way, they have shared the same sadness or hope, they are going through a similar journey.
Be a Part of the People Tree Community
Whether you come to hear a night of true stories, join us at an open mic, take part in a workshop, or eventually find yourself stepping onto the stage, there is a place for you here. However you take part, you become part of a community built around listening, sharing, and getting to know one another through the stories we tell.
Come to a show
The simplest way in. Buy a ticket, sit down, and listen to five or six people tell you something true.
See upcoming showsTry an open mic
Casual, unticketed, and no pressure to tell anything. Many of our storytellers spent their first night just listening.
About open micTake a workshop
Bring an idea, hear it out loud, and get specific feedback from producers and fellow storytellers.
See workshopsTell your story
Send us an outline for an upcoming theme. If it is a fit, you get a mentor and a place on the stage.
Submit your storyVolunteer and partner with us
Shows take more than storytellers. We work with volunteers who help at the door, mentors who guide first time tellers, photographers who capture the night, and local partners who bring storytelling into schools, libraries, and community events.
Stay in the loop
Show dates, open mics, workshops, and the occasional story from the community.