STORIES STARRING KIDS

About the Podcast

Although there are so many kids around us every day, we rarely get to hear their thoughts, embarrassments, fears, and dreams in media.

To remedy this, host Janet Milstein shares interviews of specific questions she poses to kids, then crafts a story inspired by their answers, and presents the story performed by the very same kids!

If you want to hear what’s on the minds of kids, as well as new kid-inspired stories performed by young actors, join us each episode for a great time!

Check out and listen to our episodes below or here: https://anchor.fm/storiesstarringkids

Episode 1: Falling

This episode features Kid Stars Harper, Mackenzie, and Nora. The story performed in this episode is Falling by Janet Milstein.

The Cast:
Krysta - Harper Holloway
Meg - Mackenzie Tomlinson
Jenna - Nora Price
Becky - Nora Price
Shelly (Mom) - Janet Milstein

Thanks to David Renata and Steven Oxen at fesliyanstudios.com and Jason Shaw at audionautix.com for the use of their wonderful music in this episode.

Harper Holloway

Harper Holloway, age 11, was born and raised in Montana. Her love of singing, dancing, and acting started at a very young age. Her hobbies include gymnastics, dance, soccer, hiking, and skiing. She has performed in both school plays and local theater productions.

Mackenzie Tomlinson

Mackenzie loves singing, modelling, and acting. By the age of 7, Mackenzie was signed by a children’s agency in Toronto where she was cast to sing in a music video, chosen for print work for a major sporting goods company, and walked in a runway show where she was 1 of 3 girls chosen to participate in a web and print campaign for the designer.
Mackenzie is bilingual and is able to speak both of the official languages of Canada - English and French. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, soccer, basketball, running track, and playing Minecraft.
During the last couple of months, Mackenzie has developed an interest in acting and has been working alongside acting coaches to improve her skills. She is thrilled for the opportunity to collaborate virtually with the members of the podcast during COVID-19. See more of Mackenzie on Instagram at: @mactomlinson

Nora Price

Nora Price is 10 years-old and fell in love with theatre, at the age of 7, when she had her first big "break," in ‘Annie: The Musical.’ She performed in 14 sold-out shows and in front of thousands of people. Since then, she’s been in one other major show, "Elf: The Musical," and in many other smaller shows. She enjoys everything about acting and performing, even just the camaraderie of being backstage with theatre friends. Her other hobbies include alpine skiing, singing, and playing piano. This podcast is her first voiceover opportunity. You can learn more about her on her website nora-price.com

Episode 2: Get Your Cheer in Gear!

This episode features Kid Stars Annalise Huang, Aiden Han, and Mischa Noorzad, as well as actors Anisha Joshi, Christian Allan King, April Lowery, and Graciela Cuevas. The story performed in this episode is Get Your Cheer in Gear! by Janet Milstein.

The Cast:
Lacey - Annalise Huang
Chase - Aiden Han
Angel - Anisha Joshi
Jayden - Christian Allan King
Ms. Flair - April Lowery
Principal Jackson - Graciela Cuevas

Thanks to David Renata and Steven Oxen at fesliyanstudios.com and Jason Shaw at audionautix.com for the use of their wonderful music in this episode and in Lacey and Angel's "videos."

Special thanks to Anabolic Beatz for the rap music in Chase's "video." You can hear more music and subscribe to Anabolic Beatz here: www.youtube.com/c/AnabolicBeatz.

Aiden Han's YouTube Channel can be found here: Yeets Fun Island.

Guess what? Annalise's parents bought her a Maltipoo puppy! Her name is Millie and you can see her here milliethemaltipoo.

Annalise Huang

Annalise Huang is 11 years old and loves to act. She has been doing so since the age of 5 and has trained and acted in a number of professional productions and projects, from dance recitals to theatre productions to podcasts! Annalise has been mentored under professional dancers, vocalists, actors, and theatre directors, each in whom have contributed to her passion for performance. When not acting, she also enjoys singing, writing, reading, skiing, photography, and spending time with her friends and family. You can learn more about her on her website annalisehuang.com.

Aiden Han

Aiden Han is 9 years old and lives in Hawaii. He is known for his smiling face and his funny personality. Using his talents, Aiden is preparing for his very first audition this summer in pursuit of becoming an actor. Aiden is very excited for the opportunity to perform on Stories Starring Kids because it will be his first voice-over gig. During his spare time, he enjoys drawing, movie and anime characters, and also playing games. In fact, he enjoys playing games so much, that he even has his own YouTube game channel. Checkout his YouTube channel “Yeets Fun Island” and his website aidenhan.com

Mischa Noorzad

Mischa Noorzad is a competitive dancer, a gymnast and an actress. She is 14 years old born and raised In Southern California. She has 2 siblings and 1 fur babe. Mischa enjoys family time, hanging with her besties, traveling and the beach.

Anisha Joshi

Anisha Joshi is a young actress who has been coached by professional voice and acting coaches, and is grateful for everything they've done to help her improve at her passion. Anisha has partaken in a number local productions, and in her spare time, she enjoys writing, baking, art, photography, reading, listening to music and theater songs, and spending time with her friends and family- her two pugs included! To see more of her, visit Anisha's website at www.anisha-joshi.weebly.com.

Christian Allan King

Christian Allan King is an actor based in Los Angles, CA. He loves musical theater and acting. Christian has had leading roles in Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Little Mermaid, and will soon be starring as Cat in the Hat for Seussical the Musical. Christian enjoys math, technology, and music, and is currently learning how to play guitar and keyboards. Christian has done productions for ABC Mouse, Dreamworks TV, Money Munchkids, Cuties, and Moonbug Entertainment. Christian also likes working print jobs where his enthusiasm always shines through. When Christian is not working on his craft, he enjoys swimming, soccer, video games, and playing with his 3 dogs. Visit his website at christianallanking.com or his Instagram at christianallanofficial.

April Lowery

April is a Family Nurse Practitioner who loves to heal the mind and body. She brings joy, laughter and entertainment through her acting which heals the soul. In September 2020 she completed the filming for, "Visiting Friends" currently in post production. April has recently been cast in a new family series on Amazon Prime called, "Ultimate Invasion" set to air Fall 2021. She enjoys cooking and taking acting classes across the country.

Graciela Cuevas

Graciela Cuevas is a 25-year-old, first generation Mexican-American actress. She was raised in a small village in Southern Illinois and moved north to Chicago to study and pursue her acting. In the past few years, she has spent her time training in acting studios and improv. She has done short and student films, commercial work, and performed on an improv ensemble at the Second City. Graciela enjoys roller-skating, bike riding, stand-up comedy and has a passion for skin care.

Episode 3: Neighbor Wars

This episode features Kid Stars Allison Temple, Clarissa Lalin, Tessa Inez, and Victoria Cai. The story performed in this episode is Neighbor Wars by Janet B. Milstein.

The Cast:
Veronica - Victoria Cai
Ginerva - Allison Temple
Chloe - Clarissa Lalin
Savvy - Tessa Inez

Thanks to David Renata and Steven Oxen at fesliyanstudios.com and Jason Shaw at audionautix.com for the use of their wonderful music in this episode.

Allison Temple

Allison is 11 years old. She has been acting since she was 7 years old. She started with a couple of school plays and progressed into bigger productions like “Annie”, “Hocus Pocus”, and “Beauty and the Beast”. Allison is a huge Harry Potter fan. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, developing her techniques and racing with her swim team, playing video games, and creating TikToks.

Clarissa Lalin

Clarissa Lalin loves to play the flute,
sing, and act. She fell in love with acting after watching a drama. She is part of
the Los Ángeles Children’s Chorus. She has been in several musical acts with
LA Opera which are Moses, The Prospector, and St. Matthew Passion.
She really enjoyed participating in this podcast and hopes to do more in the future. Clarissa enjoys watching
K-dramas and is learning Korean. She
is very passionate about arts and will pursue them in the future.

Tessa Inez

Victoria Cai

Tessa Inez is an American actor who has starred in numerous commercial, film, and voice over productions. Truly dedicated to her craft, Tessa trains in multiple classes each week. Although she loves it all, improv is her favorite. She is a natural storyteller and when she’s not in front of the camera, you can find her creating her own characters, writing stories, and making stop motion movies. Tessa also loves stilt walking, swimming, reading, and playing with her sister and friends.

Actor Bio. Victoria Cai is currently 13 years old. She has always enjoyed theater and performing for others. She has done many school musicals/plays in the past since a young age. She is really thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the Stories Starring Kids podcast, and plans to continue pursuing her love of acting in the future. Outside of acting, she enjoys reading, listening to music, singing, and more.

Episode 4: Operation Parent Trap

This episode features Kid Stars Ava, Emmie, Janeya, and Natalie. The story performed in this episode is Operation Parent Trap by Janet B. Milstein.

The Cast:
Alex - Ava
Spencer - Emmie
Tori - Janeya
Phoebe - Natalie

Thanks to David Renata and Steven Oxen at fesliyanstudios.com and Jason Shaw at audionautix.com for the use of their wonderful music in this episode.

Special thanks to Anabolic Beatz for the rap music in Tori's song. You can hear more music and subscribe to Anabolic Beatz here: www.youtube.com/c/AnabolicBeatz.

Ava

Ava first took the stage when she was just five years old playing Zuzu Bailey in the Okemos, MI high school production of It's a Wonderful Life. Since then, Ava has played various roles on stage including Ti Moune in Once On This Island with the Cincinnati Children's Theater summer program and her most recent role as a supporting actress in her high school production of Johnny 99. In addition to acting, Ava keeps busy with tennis lessons and by taking care of her rescue dog, Poppy. She enjoys reading, writing, crafting, playing basketball with her brother, traveling and biking.

Emmie

Emmie has been performing and putting on shows for her family ever since she could walk and talk. When she was in 3rd grade Emmie became hooked on performing publicly in her musical debut “The Grunch”. Since then, Emmie has been in 5 more theater productions: A Christmas Carol, Addams Family the musical, Sister Act and The Sound of Music, twice! She has also sung and danced in a local a music video production. Emmie enjoys attending her children’s theater group, improv classes, vocal lessons, and private acting coaching. When Emmie is not acting, she loves to read, compete with her swim team, and play the ukulele. She is so excited to be working with Janet on her first voiceover gig!!

Janeya

My name is Janeya Bonilla and I am an energetic upbeat seventeen- year old actor. I have been working with a private coach for about a year now and I am continuing to study acting technique and improve my auditioning skills. Recently I performed in the role of Lily in the musical Annie at Drama Kids International and have just been given the role of Mayzie La Bird in the Seussical. I also completed an internship with the same company. I am overjoyed for this opportunity to be in this podcast! Acting is how I express myself and is why I am a renowned Drama Queen.

Natalie

Episode 5: Dognapped!

This episode features Kid Stars Ava Kim, Izzy Miller, and Seraphina Curtin, as well as actor Sophia Schumacher. The story performed in this episode is Dognapped! by Janet Milstein.

The Cast:
Brooklyn - Izzy Miller
Poppy - Ava Kim
Skylar - Seraphina Curtin
Phoenix - Sophia Schumacher

Thanks to David Renata and Steven Oxen at fesliyanstudios.com and Jason Shaw at audionautix.com for the use of their wonderful music in this episode.

Ava Kim

Ava Kim loves to sing, dance, and act. At the age of 5, she was in her very first play, “Cinderella,” at a local summer theater club. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she loved to put on little mini plays with her little sister, Ani. In her school plays, she performed in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and she was cast as Princess Petunia in “Twinderella.” Ava hopes to be an actress when she grows up! When not acting, she likes to play with her sister, hang out with her friends, read & write stories, and play softball.

Izzy Miller

A natural performer, Izzy took her first dance class at 3 years old. However, it was when she attended an introduction to theatre class during the COVID-19 pandemic that she first fell in love with all things performing arts. Izzy has performed in both stage and film and says she loves them both equally. She takes regular acting, dance, and voice instruction. Voice acting is new to her but she is tackling it with the same dedication she brings to all projects.

Seraphina Curtin

Seraphina Curtin fell in love with acting at age 9 when she was asked to join a production of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." In the last two years, Seraphina has performed in an assortment of plays and musicals, most notably as Annie in “Annie Jr” and as Middle Anna in “Frozen Jr”. She recently played Clara in the short film The Seeker and is in pre-production for a feature film in the lead role of Abby. When not acting, Seraphina loves playing JV basketball, building with legos, and editing videos for her YouTube channel.

Sophia Schumacher

Sophia is an accomplished actor based in Chicago, holding a Bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago. With experience in theater, film, commercial, industrial, and print projects, she continuously hones her craft and values learning. When she's not acting, she enjoys skateboarding, riding her bike by the lake, and playing with her two cats.

Episode 6: TBD

This episode features Kid Stars Kid1, Kid2, Kid3, and Kid4. The story performed in this episode is _____ by ____.
The Cast:
Tbd -
Tbd -
Tbd -
Tbd -

Actor Bio.