SPOTLIGHT


AFTER SCHOOL


SPW participants prepare for their performance through student-led warm-ups.


Student Production Workshop (SPW) is a student-led, year-long theatre company designed for students who are most at risk of dropping out of high school. During the 2010/11 school year, 33 SPW participants worked towards an original production, under the direction of student playwright, Christina Offley. Ms. Offley was mentored for two months by Adam Gwon, the multi-award winning composer and playwright of Roundabout Underground’s Ordinary Days.


Mentorship is fundamental to the development of new artists, and Roundabout's education program hits this nail on the head. As an emerging artist myself, I know the value of being nurtured by established professionals who've given me the skills and encouragement to take my career to the next level. I leapt at the chance to work with Christina, not only to help a budding playwright hone her craft, but to articulate and explore my own values as a creative artist. Mentorship is more than passing on the rules of dramatic structure or giving feedback on a scene. It's about forging a supportive relationship, asking questions, and teaching someone that their point-of-view has value—and it's absolutely a two-way street. The fact that Roundabout encourages its artists to become mentors shows an understanding not only of developing student artists, but of continuing to shape the minds of their professional artists as well.”


– Adam Gwon


SPW playwright Christina Offley and RTC TA and Roundabout Underground alum Adam Gwon.


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