STORY PIRATES to Produce Daily Live Content

The Story Pirates, who take kids' story ideas and turn them into sketch comedy and a top-rated podcast, offer hours of live fun every day for kids.

Screen Time Never Looked So Smart: The Story Pirates Present Hours of Daily Content for Kids Stuck at Home

Multiple award-winning company offers highly interactive media for house-bound families
This week's  live program guests include Kristen Bell, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers

Since the pandemic began, the Story Pirates have been busy creating hours and hours of entertaining and educational fun. At a time when families have been cooped up for weeks, the  Story Pirates offer a?oescreen timea?? that parents can trust: live improv performances, educator-approved writing and music classes, and a variety of interactive musical and sketch comedy entertainment for young people, refreshed each and every day.

On Thursday this week, Kristen Bell (Frozen II, The Good Place) makes an appearance on the Story Pirates Podcast as Robin, a hologram of a motivational speaker who visits the Story Pirates ship to offer extreme encouragement. And on Friday, actors Bowen Yang (SNL) and Matt Rogers (Gayme Show) will appear on the Story Pirates' Friday night improv show, The Story Creation Zone.

Best known for teaching creative writing to kids, then working with top comedians, authors and musicians to bring their original story ideas to life, the Story Pirates' normal environments include classrooms and stages. But in a world suddenly without schools or theaters, the Story Pirates have managed to go digital in a big way, presenting loads of material to entertain and educate young creators stuck at home. 

The Story Pirates Podcast has been downloaded or streamed 20 million times since its launch in 2018. As the pandemic hit, the listening audience quickly grew by over 50 percent. The podcast is now on track to get 20 million new downloads in the next 12 months.

Along with free streaming content via StoryPirates.com, the Story Pirates recently launched a Creator Club. This subscription service features continually updated activities that coincide with episodes of their award-winning podcast, writing prompts, live-streamed classes, improv, a daily radio show, and a video library to entertain and encourage creativity for kids at home. Aimed primarily at kids aged 6-12, the Creator Club offers extensive content for younger and older kids too.  A 30-day trial subscription is available now.

a?oeI have two young girls at home, and they are learning and playing with screens more than ever right now, a?oe says Story Pirates CEO Benjamin Salka. a?oeIn many cities, schools will not be reopening this year. Parents want to feel confident that the online content kids are engaging with is safe, educator-approved and enrichinga?"and kids just want to know it's fun. We think that our Creator Club offers the perfect mix.a??

Every Creator Club activity invites kids to participate, from live interactive improv shows where the Story Pirates bring kids' suggestions to life, to writing prompts and opportunities to connect with Story Pirates podcast hosts. Creator Collaborations invites creative writing collaborations and community art projects so that kids can write stories together remotely or perform other members' stories. Every day at 11 am ET, Story Pirates Radio goes live, featuring fan-favorite songs, play-at-home games, hilarious bits, and listener shout-outs, to keep kids busy and engaged in between podcast episodes. These a?oeradio showsa?? are archived on the Story Pirates Radio page.

Another new offering of the Creator Club is Story Pirates University with interactive live-streamed classes taught by expert Story Pirates teachers. Sessions include expository writing lessons, script school, and Music Monday, which features guest composers behind Story Pirates award-winning songs. In addition to the live classes, Story Pirates University features three video series with downloadable worksheets that help creators develop characters, learn descriptive writing, and expand their vocabulary. The acclaimed Common Core-aligned curriculum teaches the building blocks of creative writing, while urging kids to let their imaginations roam free.

"Our motto is that at Story Pirates University, you have permission to get weird,a?? says Lee Overtree, Story Pirates Creative Director. He invites parents and caregivers to get involved, too. a?oeAt times like these, effective engagement of kids means collaborating with them. If kids get to draw, paint, write or create together with an adult, the time passes more quickly and storytelling becomes creating a world together."

The Story Pirates will soon release details about special summer programming: Story Pirates Creator Camp. 

Visit The Story Pirates online for the latest news and podcast episodes.   Story Pirates is a media company founded in 2004 to celebrate the words and ideas of kids. It all started in a Harlem school auditorium when a group of friends put on an absurdist sketch comedy show based on stories written by kids. Since then, they've launched a hit radio show, the #1 podcast for kids and families, a live tour which (normally) performs from coast to coast, and a critically acclaimed middle-grade book series from Random House. The Story Pirates believe that kids are creative geniuses. All of them. Winner of the 2020 iHeartRadio award for Best Kids and Family Podcast, the Story Pirates Podcast is one of the top three kids and family podcasts in the world. Downloaded more than 20 million times and featuring songs and sketches based on stories written by kids, the podcast's special guests include top talent like Billy Eichner, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Claire Danes, Dax Shepard, Bowen Yang, John Oliver, and Lake Bell. The Pirates have released three critically acclaimed middle-grade books with Penguin Random House, and two award winning albums, all based on ideas from kids around the world. Thousands of families subscribe to the new Story Pirates Creator Club, and top companies are purchasing subscriptions for their teleworking employees with kids.
The Story Pirates are proud to be a leading advocate for arts education. Through Story Pirates Changemakers, their partner non-profit, the Pirates have provided life-changing literacy and creative writing programs in New York and Los Angeles to thousands of kids in Title I schools, hospitals and homeless shelters. The California Arts Council recently gave Story Pirates Changemakers two grants to continue their arts and literacy programs virtually. In addition, the Story Pirates are currently creating virtual volunteer events for a variety of corporate sponsors. Kids everywhere are invited to submit their own story ideas. Learn more at storypirates.com, storypirateschangemakers.org, and on social media: 
Twitter @storypirates
Instagram @storypirates
Facebook.com/storypirates   The Story Pirates are available for interviews, and artwork is available upon request.