What We Do
Our work is about the power of creativity.
Our work empowers youth with tools to make themselves stronger through a carefully structured process of creating art. As they develop skills through challenging and difficult work, they build a solid foundation of competence and self-confidence. They discover new ways of seeing and comprehending that will be with them for a lifetime.
The heart of our work is a playwriting workshop. A three-week residency brings young people together with coaches from the Portland performing arts community who are trained by PlayWrite. Students work one-on-one with coaches, learning and honing the tools for creating a play. In a supportive and challenging environment, the group becomes a community.
Each play in its entirety springs solely from the mind, feelings and heart of the young writer. At the end of the workshop, professional actors perform a staged reading of the plays before a live audience. This performance – the culmination of three weeks’ work – is a collaborative event involving author, actors and audience. The young writers glow with well-deserved pride as they witness their work being brought to life.
“Thanks so much for taking the time to work with me. Also, for pushing my imagination. I saw a side of me I’ve never seen.” Student, White Shield Center
Click on the link below to see an OPB Art Beat program on PlayWrite.
