Participant Biographies and Project Descriptions
Adrienne Chavez McMillan
Adrienne discovered story during her childhood as an avid reader, teething on the series “My Book House.” After earning a degree in Law and having a successful career in arbitration and mediation, fifteen years ago Adrienne began directing her skills, talents, and love of reading, poetry, and public speaking to storytelling. Since then her time is dedicated to storytelling and its far-reaching benefits by teaching “The Art of Storytelling and Communication” to children and adults. Often appearing in period costume and using gestures, expressions, and voice to captivate her audiences, Adrienne has performed at The Bowers Museum, Museum of Latin America Art, Armand Hammer Museum, regional libraries, literacy and art festivals, universities, schools and numerous other popular venues.
Adrienne is teaching an interactive storytelling and story theater program to minority and inner city youth ages 7 to 16 at the Rueben Martinez Literacy Enrichment Achievement Plus (LEAP), at the Orange County Juvenile Justice System at Joplin Youth Center, and at CREER, a grass roots community organization serving Latino youth. Believing that the arts are a critical path to education, Adrienne’s goal is to use poetry, story, and storytelling as a way to access the minds of children and open up a path of learning. She states, “I believe passionately that poetry and storytelling helps to provide foundational skills to enable children, particularly poor minority children and children with English language deficiencies, the ability to learn to read so they can read to learn.” Adrienne has seen the positive and rewarding outcomes with inner city youth who participate in her storytelling program at Kidseum, an after-school program at The Bowers Museum, Santa Ana. Students gained self-esteem and confidence as well as new capabilities in presentation and English language skills. Children who participate in her program are be given opportunities to perform their own stories at venues such as the Orange County Children’s Book Festival, and area libraries, schools, and bookstores.
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