Story Gathering Lead

Position Summary
Albany Park Theater Project (APTP) seeks a Story Gathering Lead to anchor the community story collection and curation process for Spaces Albany Park, an ambitious public art project culminating in a large-scale, promenade-style, neighborhood-based performance in September/October 2027.

Spaces Albany Park will transform the streets, storefronts, sacred spaces, and gathering places of Albany Park into a living stage. Over 18 months, hundreds of residents will participate in story circles, with 100 community members ultimately sharing their own stories publicly in Fall 2027.

The Story Gathering Lead will have primary responsibility for coordinating and leading story circles across the neighborhood; building and maintaining relationships with at least two dozen community partners; conducting in-depth interviews with community members; and tracking and synthesizing story material. They will also serve as one of a small team that coaches selected storytellers in preparation for performance.

This role requires exceptional listening skills, a high level of organization and self direction, and a deep belief in the power of community-based storytelling. Ability to facilitate workshops in both  English and Spanish is preferred.

About Albany Park Theater Project
Albany Park Theater Project (APTP) creates transformative experiences that forge a community of youth artists, adult artists, and audiences to envision and build a more just and joyful world. For nearly three decades, APTP’s teen ensemble and adult artists have devised world-class performances that illuminate the experiences of our immigrant and first-generation community.

APTP’s creative partner on Spaces Albany Park is Kaimera Productions. The Story Gathering Lead will receive training from both Kaimera and APTP.

Position Responsibilities
Community Partnership & Organizing

• Secure participation of at least two dozen Albany Park non-profits, schools, places of worship, parks, businesses, and other community organizations to host story circles.
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics with partner organizations and community members.

Story Circle Facilitation

• Facilitate story circles with a wide variety of current and former Albany Park community members (youth, adults, elders, multigenerational groups).
• Lead story circles in a way that ensures participants feel heard, respected, and valued.
• Supervise and support APTP teen ensemble members as co-facilitators of story circles.

Story Identification & Tracking

• Record detailed notes from story circles and interviews, identifying 100+ potential storytellers and tracking themes, narrative arcs, and participant details.
• Create and maintain a spreadsheet with records of community partners, participant communication, interview notes, and story development status.

One-on-One Interviews

• Conduct long-form, 1:1 interviews with selected community members.
• Support and supervise teen ensemble members conducting 1:1 interviews.
• Take detailed notes from interviews, synthesize key story elements, and summarize back to storytellers a proposed arc for their performance story.

Story Coaching

• Coach a group of 20-30 selected storytellers to prepare for 10-minute performance slots.
• Support storytellers in shaping a mutually agreed-upon arc (without scripting or memorization), preserving authenticity and spontaneity.

Project Management

• Develop and manage a system for scheduling, tracking, and documenting dozens of story circles and 100+ one-on-one interviews over 18 months.
• Meet agreed-upon milestones for partnerships, story circles, interviews, and storyteller selection.
• Communicate regularly with Spaces Albany Park team about progress and potential challenges.

Qualifications
Essential Skills & Attributes

• Deep interest in human stories and exceptional listening skills: you listen with your full body and can make the person in front of you feel fully heard.
• You understand what makes a compelling story and can identify which stories resonate in this moment.
• Non-judgmental openness across political, cultural, religious, generational, and social differences.
• At ease facilitating groups ranging from middle school students to elders.
• Comfortable hearing stories that may include trauma, migration, loss, or hardship.
• Strong community organizing skills and the ability to cultivate partnerships.
• Highly organized and self-directed; able to track relationships, scheduling, interviews, and narrative data.
• Experience managing a long-term project with multiple stakeholders and intermittent deliverables.
• Flexible schedule to accommodate evenings and weekends based on partner availability.

Beneficial but Not Required

• Ability to fluently facilitate workshops in both English and Spanish.
• Connection to and/or familiarity with Albany Park or other Chicago immigrant communities.
• Prior experience in oral history, ethnography, journalism, documentary theater, or qualitative research.
• Experience working with teens as collaborators or co-facilitators.
• Valid driver’s license.

Schedule & Project Timeline
This is an 18-month contract position. Schedule will vary based on story circle hosting partners and community availability, including evenings and weekends. The anticipated timing of this contract is:

• April 2026 – March 2027: Approx. 16 hours/month
• April – June 2027: Approx. 35 hours/month
• July – October2027: Approx 20 hours/week for rehearsals, tech, performances
• Must be available for increased activity:
  • April 9–14, 2026
  • November 10–17, 2026
  • Spring 2027 weeklong workshop TBD
  • July – September 2027 rehearsal dates TBD