Thursday, March 28, 2024

 

Chris Fascione

 
Chris Fascione’s greatest passion has always been performing for children and their families, and for the past twenty years he has been living his passion!! As a professional storyteller/actor, Chris incorporates his acting, mime, juggling and comedic skills to both entertain and lead children into the world of books, promoting literacy and a love of reading. His one-man shows, “Bringing Literature to Life!” and “Juggling Funny Stories,” bring smiles to an annual audience of over 100,000 children at over 400 shows each year throughout the United States. During his shows at schools, libraries, and other family venues, he acts out stories that children can find in their school or local library.  Librarians at school and public libraries report increased numbers of books checked out by the children after Chris's performances.
 
Chris has conducted workshops on read-aloud techniques, storytelling, mime, juggling, and creative dramatics for students, librarians, teachers, and other educational professionals, and has been the keynote speaker at numerous literary events. He has been featured at the 57th Street Children’s Book Fair, Printer’s Row Book Fair, Midwest Literary Festival, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore and Philadelphia Public Libraries. In 2008, Chris performed at the country’s largest free arts festival, Artscape, in downtown Baltimore.
 
Chris is a “Storytelling World” award-winner for the StoryWatchers Club DVD Our Planet, has been featured through “Reading is Fundamental (RIF),” and highlighted at the Connecticut and Illinois Storytelling Festivals. Chris has performed at a number of venues, including: the Taste of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum, and the Chicago Children’s Museum. He has also appeared on several children’s television programs including CBS-TV’s The Magic Door and WGN’s The Bozo Show. Chris Fascione has been honored to have been selected by the Illinois Arts Council to be on their Artstour Roster of Artists for the past 18 years.
 
A member of the Screen Actors Guild for over 20 years, Chris has performed at the Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre; received a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Best Ensemble Performance for the world premiere of the musical version of Animal Farm, and has juggled and mimed in number of commercials and industrial training films.  Recently, he was the featured performer for the Illinois’ annual Young Authors Conference which celebrates the writing of children from grades K through 8 throughout the state.
 
Chris Fascione received his theater training from Connecticut College where he received his B.A. and completed the National Theater Institute’s Collegiate Program at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT.  He has toured with several national children’s theater companies including the Missoula Children’s Theater, Child’s Play Touring Theatre, and Penny Ante Theatre.  Originally from Philadelphia, Chris makes his home in Oak Park, Illinois, where he lives with his wife, Diane, and their two sons, Nicholas and Andrew, along with a dog and two cats. He served on the BRAVO Advisory Board (performing arts group) at his sons’ Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Happily, he was able to make the time to coach his sons in Oak Park youth baseball for 8 years, living out his second greatest passion.

  

 

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