What one Fairfield entrepreneur first envisioned as a local venture has become a global enterprise almost overnight and entirely within the course of the pandemic.
Written Out Loud, a storytelling studio geared toward children ages 8 to15, was the brainchild of Hollywood screenwriter Josh Shelov, who says he spent years trying to break into the movie business before realizing the power of telling a story to an audience rather than handing it to someone on paper.
“The genesis of it was my own transition from being an amateur writer into being a professional,” he says. “I wrote terrible screenplays throughout my twenties desperate to become the next Quentin Tarantino, and I wrote them as one thinks is the way to write a screenplay ”” in a sort of solo hermetically sealed environment.”
Without much success, Shelov says he switched methods in his 30s, sharing his stories verbally with friends and peers to get instant feedback from not only their words, but their expressions and body language. Through this “writing out loud” habit, his work started to move. He sold a screenplay and launched a successful career in Hollywood.
His screenplays include, “The Best and the Brightest” (2010) ”” movie,
“Mayne Street” (2008-09) – TV series and “We Are” (2016) – documentary short.
“I noticed that executives and producers who would audition you to write a screenplay weren”™t so much obsessed with reading your work as they are with having you come in and sit down in their office and tell them the story,” he says. “If you can capture attention with that out-loud campfire version, then you can adapt that story in any direction that you want.”
In 2018, Shelov took a break from his screenwriting career and began teaching kids the art of storytelling. He also took an adult class at School of Rock, where he gained inspiration from their teaching model.
“School of Rock was teaching kids to love music not by teaching them Bach and Beethoven, but by playing Taylor Swift and Green Day and The Beatles. I watched all these kids rocking out and having the best time,” he says. “I said, let”™s create the storytelling equivalent of that, where they”™re creating stories out loud that are inspired by the stories that they love. ”˜Hamilton,”™ ”˜Harry Potter,”™ ”˜Hunger Games,”™ ”˜The Office,”™ all of it. Bring it in here. That”™s your curriculum.”
By early 2020, Shelov had begun working with kids in his Written Out Loud programs. Gathering in groups, students would meet with Shelov to brainstorm ideas for stories, write, collaborate and shape a final product, which would be made into a published book. By mid-March, about two dozen kids were taking part in workshops that cost around $179 per month. Then the pandemic hit.
Suddenly, Shelov had to figure out if his workshops could function in a remote learning environment. He posted a question on his Facebook page to gauge interest.
“Needless to say, so many other activities had been canceled, so the kids in my network, and the parents of kids in my network, were really looking for ways to occupy kids”™ time. So moms started talking to moms, gathering up dozens of kids,” he says of his post going viral. “By the middle of June. I had over a hundred and fifty kids across the country.”
What started out as a local storytelling school has now exploded into an international one, thanks to the online, Zoom-fueled version of Shelov”™s original idea. Spring 2020 classes had full rosters and summer online camps were even more popular. In addition to attracting kids to share the joy of self-directed creativity, Shelov says his students are also connecting in ways that have helped ease the isolation of the past eleven months.
“One of the happiest experiences we”™ve had this fall is meeting a kid from Mobile, Alabama; in such a football-focused area, he”™s just not like that. He”™s a high fantasy kid,” Shelov says. “Now this young man is in a creative crew with a girl from Fairfield and a girl from Los Angeles. The three of them text, growing and creating stories together. That kind of companionship, bringing together people regardless of geography, is what this the remote version of Written Out Loud has really brought about.”
Due to the tremendous growth of the business, Shelov has added 10 additional directors to his staff, including a U.K.-based crew. He also has two business partners who have helped him to scale operations quickly. With remote workshops keeping everyone busy, Shelov says his original plan for a brick-and-mortar location remains on hold, but not canceled. He expects to have a homebase for Written Out Loud somewhere in the Fairfield area at some point, but for now, he”™ll keep bringing students together virtually every chance he gets.
“This has all come to life in less than a year. This winter we”™ll produce our 500th student book, while giving companionship to kids who can be otherwise quite isolated,” he says. “It turns out this program is extraordinarily functional, useful and inspirational in a remote way.”
The next Written Out Loud session begins on March 1. For more information visit writtenoutloud.org.
