Glencoe 8th Grader in Six Stories Up in Defiance Nov. 12-21

Tiernan Tajalli, an 8th grader at Central School in Glencoe, returns to Six Stories Up for the 4th time! This time he is lost in a video game that goes terribly wrong! Tajalli is part of the cast of Tellin’ Tales Theatre presents Six Stories Up in Defiance – a Video Game Musical. The show was filmed live and runs Virtually from November 12 – November 21 on Vimeo. Running time is approximately 60 minutes. Tickets are available at https://www.simpletix.com/e/six-stories-up-in-defiance-tickets-80307

What makes the Six Stories Up productions unique is that six middle school students and six adult mentors write and star in a play following a different theme each year. The students tap into their own lives and experiences for inspiration. The cast includes members with and without disabilities. Since its inception in 1996 marking 2021 as its 25th anniversary, Tellin’ Tales Theatre has worked to shatter the barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the power of personal storytelling.

Tiernan Tajalli and his adult mentor Robert Teverbaugh worked together on their vignette which was later combined with five others and fashioned into a full production by Stephen Donart, Tellin’ Tales program director, and Tekki Lomnicki, artistic director of Tellin’ Tales Theatre. Original music, innovative sets and costumes were added.

Amazingly, this is the 4th time that Tiernan Tajalli has been a cast member of Six Stories Up. Even though the company usually invites middle-school age students to participate, Tajalli was in Six Stories Up in Haunted Chicago in 2017 when he was a 4th grader. He returned in 2018 to be in Six Stories Up in Climate Change and again in 2019 for Six Stories Up in the Deep Blue Sea!

He likes getting his ideas out in the productions, voicing concerns and meeting new people with different life experiences from his.

Tajalli is also part of a band called Lemon Temple. He has done school plays including The Lion King (2016) and High School Musical (2020) and participates in Teen Takes.

The cast for Six Stories Up in Defiance – a Video Game Musical includes middle school apprentices Henry Kephart (Oak Park), Ashley Kruzel (Long Grove), Jordyn Norberg (Highland Park), Paloma Sagel-Vidal (Chicago), Tiernan Tijalli (Glencoe), Naomi Reid (Baltimore, MD) and adult mentors Tekki Lomnicki (Chicago), Stephen Donart (Chicago), Nadia Stodder (Glenview), Mary Hobein (Woodridge), Kim D. Smith (Chicago) and Robert Teverbaugh (Chicago).

About Tellin’ Tales Theatre:

Founded in 1996, Tellin’ Tales Theatre was conceived by Tekki Lomnicki, Michael Blackwell, and Nancy Neven Shelton to promote and support a society where people of all abilities are accepted and equal, regardless of perceived ability. The mission of Tellin’ Tales Theatre is to shatter barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of sharing personal narratives. For more information, please visit www.tellintales.org.