Everyone Has a Story to Tell. Share Your Story.
When selecting projects to partner with, we seek:
big-hearted and universal stories,
told in innovative, engaging and accessible ways,
that we hope spark conversation and inspire change.
In our largest project to date, we’ve partnered with Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble to create Stories Connect Us, the first phase in a new multi-year story-sharing program.
Supported in part by a grant from the League of Chicago Theatres and ComEd Powering the Arts, we will present six performances, a Story Circle and an Intro to Playback Theatre Workshop throughout Spring 2026 to communities served by Amtrak and Metra within ComEd’s service area. (Tour itinerary listed at bottom of this page.)
Created through the shared ideals of The Connected Routes Project and Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble, this ambitous and exciting project will become our flagship production.
Stories connect us
SUPPORTed in part by a grant from the League of Chicago Theatres and comed
Created by chicago playback theatre ensemble and The connecting routes project
directed by allison sokolowski
Everyone has a story to tell. What if you could share your story and watch it come to life before your eyes?
Join us for Stories Connect Us, a cross-community story-sharing event, currently touring with The Connecting Routes Project. Attend a performance of storytelling and improvisational theater featuring your true stories about building community, connection and solidarity, interpreted onstage by the Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble. Through your community’s personal stories, the ensemble of seven will reflect on both the beauty and complexity of coming together—how we rise together both in moments of strength and rebuilding.
The performance is approximately 90 minutes long. Audience members can expect to volunteer to share a story and see it reflected on stage, or simply enjoy witnessing others’ narratives unfold. Following the performance, the storytelling continues through recording stations, written prompts and interactive activities.
About The Connecting Routes Project: The Connecting Routes Project is America's railway touring theater company, uniting communities across the nation through shared storytelling! Founded in 2019 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we tour a variety of big-hearted and innovative productions from Chicago to towns connected to us by regional and national rail lines. Visit www.connectingroutes.org for more information.
About Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble: The Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has collaborated with community partners in the greater Chicago area since 2019 to create performances and educational workshops designed to build community by bringing real audience stories to life on the spot. They use their unique improvisational storytelling approach to spark dialogue, broaden perspectives, and promote healing by celebrating and validating the truths of the stories they receive. Visit www.chicagoplaybacktheatre.com for more information.
Both The Connecting Routes Project and Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble firmly believe that sharing stories together builds community and ignites dialogue. Through this united mission, we’re embarking on the first phase of this collaboration together. We will tour their ensemble and invite audience members to share stories with not only their own community but also other communities connected along the same railway network that unites our nation. In this project’s next phase, these archived stories will be transformed into a new piece of theater we’ll bring back on tour!
Spring 2026: The story Tour
performance itinerary
Stories Connect Us will perform from March to May 2026 at the following venues:
We’ll be kicking off the tour with a Fundraiser Performance at Third Space Chicago (716 West Addison St, Chicago, IL). This is a ticketed event with a suggested donation of $20. Tickets are available are available here or at the door.
As always with The Connecting Routes Project, to keep our work accessible, all other events will be offered for FREE to the public! (However, if you’d like to support us with a donation, you can do so at Donorbox!)
Friday, March 6 at 7:30pm, at Third Space Chicago (Tour Kick-Off Fundraiser Performance)
716 West Addison St, Chicago, ILThis event is a ticketed fundraiser event with a suggested donation of $20.
We have a limited number of “Donate What You Can” access tickets available. Please email financial@chicagoplayback.com for more information.
Purchasing a ticket at our “Pay it Forward” tiers of $30 or $40 help sustain our accessibility efforts.
Purchase advance tickets at this LINK, tickets also available at the door.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 7:00pm. Recording station will be available following the performance.
DATE TBA at 11:00am, at Kankakee Public Library
201 E Merchant St, Kankakee, IL 60901All tickets are free for this event.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 10:30am. Recording station will be available following the performance until 2:00pm.
Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00pm, at the Glessner House
Coach House, 1800 S Prairie Ave, Chicago, IL 60616All tickets are free for this event. Pre-registration suggested at this LINK.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 6:00pm. Free tours of the historic Glessner House will be available from 6:00-7:00pm. Recording station will be available both before and after the performance, until 9:00pm.
Tuesday, April 7 at 1:30pm, at Geneva Public Library District
Community Room, 227 S 7th St, Geneva, IL 60134All tickets are free for this event. Pre-registration suggested at this LINK.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 10:30am. Recording station will be available following the performance until 2:00pm.
Saturday, April 11 at 11:00am, at Calumet City Public Library
Library Main Floor, 201 E Merchant St, Kankakee, IL 60901All tickets are free for this event.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 10:30am. Recording station will be available following the performance until 1:30pm.
DATE TBA at TIME TBA, at Friends of Pullman National Park
LOCATION TBAAll tickets are free for this event.
Doors open for pre-show activities at TIME. Recording station will be available following the performance until TIME.
SPECIAL EVENT: Story Circle
Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm, at Blue Island Public Library
Community Room, 2433 York St, Blue Island, IL 60406All tickets are free for this event. Registration required at this LINK.
Limited capacity of 20 participants for this event. Learn more below.
This program will have bilingual Spanish / English co-facilitators, and is suggested for adults and teenagers.
Doors open for pre-show activities at 10:30am. Recording station will be available following the performance until 1:30pm.
The Connecting Routes Project makes theater accessible by touring productions directly to communities across America's railway network. Whenever possible, we travel by train; for this tour we’ll be traveling along Metra’s Union Pacific West and Amtrak’s Saluki train routes.
SPECIAL EVENT:
Story Circle with the connecting routes project
We invite you to share your story on Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm in a Story Circle with your community!
In a Story Circle, a small group of people share stories from their own experience inspired by a common theme. With an intimate group of 20 participants, we’ll share stories about community, connection and solidarity, and then reflect together on the common threads we found. The event will last approximately 90 minutes and is structured to provide each storyteller an equal amount of time to share.
The Connecting Routes Project began hosting Story Circles in 2020, and through these events, we've been able to connect with communities from coast to coast, from the Southwest to the Great Lakes. These events are fun, equitable, and best of all, you don’t need to prepare anything in advance or have prior storytelling experience - just bring yourself!
This program will have bilingual Spanish / English co-facilitators, and is suggested for adults and teenagers. With participants' permission, stories shared may be added to our archive to be adapted into a future theater piece.
Registration required at this LINK.
SPECIAL EVENT:
creative drama workshop with Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble
On TBA DATE at Calumet City Public Library, there will be a FREE one-hour creative drama workshop.
The workshop will be held from TBA TIME in the Community Room of Calumet City Public Library (660 S Manistee Ave, Calumet City, IL), and taught by the director of Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble’s Artistic Director, Allison Sokolowski!
This workshop has limited capacity. Register at TBA LINK.
This program is supported in part by a grant from comed, the league of chicago theatres, and the illinois arts council.
Stories Connect us is an evolution of our previous program, round trip.
Please Enjoy stories from story circles we held with round trip in 2020!
Wherever you are in the world, we invite you to share your story!
Please fill out this form to add your written tale to our story archive!
*By filling out this form, you give consent for us to add your story to our archive and potentially adapt it into our play-in-progress.