George Capaccio used to live in Arlington, MA with his wife Nancy and their Golden Retriever, Sasha. But in May 2019 they moved to Durham, North Carolina. George has been a storyteller for a pretty long time. He got his start in fifth grade when Mr. Lynch, his teacher, praised the outlandish tall tales George loved to make up and the “mad scientist” plays he and his friend Alex performed for their classmates.
Before becoming a professional storyteller, George performed in many of Boston’s theaters, including the American Repertory Theater. For 5 years, he acted with Boston’s Museum of Science’s Science Theater. He also worked with Boston-based children’s theater companies as an actor, writer, workshop leader, and artist educator. Building on this experience, George went on to co-host The Children’s Room, a nationally broadcast, award-winning children’s TV show. For each episode, he delivered dramatic readings of contemporary and traditional children’s books.
Besides telling and reading stories aloud, George has written fiction and nonfiction, and recorded children’s books-on-tape and CD for leading educational publishers.
As an artist educator, George strives to foster the literacy skills of young people by connecting story with curriculum. For a major part of his career, George worked full-time in Boston Public Schools as an artist-in-residence using storytelling to advance literacy and to complement the language arts and social studies curriculums. In recognition of his teaching skills, he was selected as a Master Artist Teacher by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
In recent years, George has developed a strong interest in Middle Eastern folklore and culture. His personal experiences in the Middle East form the cornerstone of Story Caravan, a special set of performances for adults and young audiences eager to learn more about this part of the world.
His “mad scientist” period may be far behind him but George continues to find new pathways for enriching the educational experience for students of all ages while expressing his own unique talents.
George as the giant caterpillar in a West African folktale of the same name.
