The Basics
All shows are just under 2 hours, including two 40-45 minute acts and a 10 minute intermission.
Shows include live musical accompaniment and a lively slideshow (stills, embedded video, and some audio)
We Provide
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2 Readers
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1 Host
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1 Musician
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1 Projectionist/Stage Manager
We Require
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Video projection
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Music Stands
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Microphones
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4 Chairs
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Lighting
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Table or Desk
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Area Rugs
Our Services
Promotions &
Marketing
Letters Aloud will publicize your show via our social media pages and website.
Paul Morgan Stetler, creator and host, will be available for press interviews.
Letters Aloud will provide materials including images for ads and posters, quotes, and press releases as needed.
Sample Marketing Kit
Advanced Press Clippings
Performance History
BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS: Letters On the Way Up
Sometimes, being famous is all about hard work. And sometimes, it’s an accident. In either case, fame teaches you things—about yourself, about hard work, about enjoyment, about pride, and about your impact on the world and others. From humble beginnings to adoring fans to looking back on achievements and lessons learned, we chart the course of celebrity through the correspondence of luminaries like Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Hanks. Get a new perspective on fame from the famous in our most popular show!
THANKS BUT NO THANKS: The Greatest Rejection Letters EVER!
The road to success is paved with rejection and boy oh boy, have we got the letters to prove it! Among the dozens of gems in Letters Aloud’s newest show, Stephen King receives his first rejection letter from “Spacemen Magazine”, Andy Warhol is asked to pick up his painting at the front desk before it is hauled away, Gertrude Stein gets a taste of her own repetitive medicine, a young Sidney Poitier tries to borrow $100 from President Franklin Roosevelt (he said no), and a 17-year-old college applicant rejects the rejection letter she receives from Duke University. But our rejectees don’t let the naysayers get them down. Karma and perseverance combine to hilarious and heartwarming results!
LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME: Letters of Loving, Longing, and Leaving
Take a trip from the romantically sublime to the pathetically ridiculous! From awkward courtship to horrible breakups to loves of a lifetime and lifetimes of love, we’ve got it all in these letters that range from steamy to sweet. Hear from the likes of Frida Kahlo, Anais Nin, Charles Bukowski, George Carlin, Virginia Woolf, Napoleon Bonaparte, and a nice kid who grew up to be Slash.
DEAR SOLDIER: Letters of Service and Sacrifice
In this episode, we honor our country’s servicemen and women by presenting their powerful perspectives and heartfelt thoughts via the letters to and from the people they care about. Accounts from the first days of boot camp to the grim realities of the front line will bring the battlefields of our past—and in some cases our present—to life. From a minuteman of the Revolutionary War to a medic in Afghanistan giving a first hand account of a random act of kindness; from Sergeant Elvis Aaron Presley’s message to his obsessed fans to a heartbreaking “Dear John” to a soldier in Vietnam, you’ll get perspectives both private and public about the act of serving and the price of sacrifice. Great for educational settings and outreach!
DEAR DAD: Letters to and from Famous Fathers
Over 25 personal letters written to or from well-known dads, including Jackson Pollock, Dave Brubeck, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry James, W.E.B. Du Bois, Oscar Wilde— and a very young John F. Kennedy, Jr. It’s not all just about asking for a raise in your allowance! These intimate letters will surprise with their tenderness and humor, and give a special look into the extraordinarily important relationship between fathers and their kids. A great Father’s Day event!
Outreach
Several options, including:
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Full version of show
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Shortened version of show
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BE THE CHANGE - a 35-minute school assembly program designed for 5th-12th grades
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Participatory school program for drama, literature, or debate classes (students perform parts of the show for each other)
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Post-show talk back
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Letter-writing exercises or full workshop tailored to your outreach demographic
One example of an outreach offering in detail is here:
Letters Aloud Outreach Program: Write a Letter to Your 16-year-old Self
