STudents At Risk-STAR
Trollwood Performing Arts School

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in performance.

Photo: David Samson

Trollwood Performing Arts School (TPAS) in Fargo, North Dakota, transforms young peoples’ lives by immersing them in the world of the arts. It provides top quality arts education, exceptional community productions, and a celebration of cultural diversity. Fargo is the fourth largest recipient community of refugees per capita in the nation.

The school brings professionals from across the country to provide summer classes to young people in every aspect of the performing arts including sequential classes in dance, playwriting, video production, acting, voice, and technical theater. This intensive study culminates in a full-scale musical that draws an audience of 20,000 as well as a children’s show staged by budding performers. In addition, throughout their high school years, young performers and technicians work with professionals during the summer to develop and produce theater works in a non-traditional style, alternating between a studentwritten, commissioned piece, an improvisational play, or a classic.

To give an extra boost to children with extraordinary challenges in their lives, in 1998, TPAS created STAR–STudents At Risk. Identified by schools, courts, social services, and immigrant service providers, students coming to Trollwood through STAR get the help they need to reap the rewards of a Trollwood experience—tuition assistance, transportation, and meals. At the heart of the STAR program, however, is the individual adult mentor who eases the transition into TPAS by connecting STAR participants with other students and instructors. This advisor also acts as a resource, mediator, and communications facilitator throughout their involvement. Through STAR, children develop their creative skills and build competencies in communicating, organizing, and setting goals.

TPAS is a springboard for many students to advanced training and/or professional careers in the arts. But the stars at TPAS shine in many different ways. As one mother wrote about her son’s work on the production team for the mainstage musical, “As I sit and watch his tech crew clean up after each night’s performance, I am often moved to tears to see him so proud of the contribution he is making with his fellow team members. He’s found his life again.”