CLEVELAND — From print to podcasting, there are many mediums to tell a powerful story in today’s digital world. One student in northeast Ohio is hoping to create his own narrative.
Chaise Black wants his stories to be shared.
“Currently, I’m setting up the mic to get ready to start my Zoom meeting,” Black said.
Black is a 7th grader making an episode for a podcast called “Juicing It.”
“I fell in love with podcasting because it’s literally an opportunity for me — a young man, to speak my voice and have a voice in the current situations in the world, and talk about modern problems themselves,” Black said.
Black is certain that podcasting is preparing him to become a community leader by tapping into his various interests.
“We can be talking about 2K or reading a certain book about Martin Luther King or Harry Potter. So, yeah, I can kind of speak in a way where I’m speaking for the entire community while speaking for myself, also making a difference in the community currently,” Black added.
He said he learned the art of storytelling at an after school program hosted by Art of Me Productions. It’s a group that works with young people to share their perspectives through writing, film and art.
“The Art of Me program has helped develop my storytelling because he’s giving me more confidence in the confidence I need to do stuff like tell my stories and get out there in the world.”
Black said he plans to enter the program’s Dream to Big Screen Competition, a story to film contest for 6th through 12th grade students. He said he’ll mark his transition from podcasting to film with a story he wrote about a troubled clown.
Storyboarding the plot of his film, Black said, “He got kicked out the circus because some people said he wasn’t like a real clown. He was just faking it. He wasn’t real good at it, too, so he got fired and then eventually his girlfriend broke up with him. So, it’s like he feels sad. He feels lost in the world.”
Chanda Bynum is a representative from the production company who works with Black on his creative projects at the after school program. She said the competition asks young people to dive into topics like community and address social innovation issues.
Bynum added that the winning story will be turned into a movie and be produced by a director and film crew.
“In the summertime, we’ll be shooting our third young adult film here in Cleveland,” Bynum said.
It’s an honor that Black said he would consider an accomplishment if he won.
“That would make me feel proud of myself and make me feel proud that I actually got something to be made,” Black said.
The deadline for online story submission is March 31. If you’re interested in learning more about the contest, please visit their website.
