Trinidad Theatre Workshop's School for the Arts started in 1991 with the New Actor's Workshop, through which adults with little to no theatre experience could gain knowledge of acting and start their acting careers.
The TTW then expanded to Teen Theatre, training teens to act and express themselves. Many of the young students are scholarship students, with talent and a passion for acting, but without the financial means to pay tuition.
A press release from the TTW said, "committed as we are to development and education, and well aware of the positive effects of theatre on youth and the necessity of the arts to our community, we raise money and find grants to support students' studies."
This semester, for the first time, classes have included young children, with a five-year-old as the youngest student. During the weekend, all three classes will show off their acting skills. Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus will be staged by the teens on December 15 at 5.30 pm.
The students in the New Actor's Workshop will put on a showcase-styled performance of scenes and monologues at 7.30 pm. On December 16, at 1 pm, the children will perform Two Villages and a River by Sonja Dumas.
According to the TTW, the children and teens are determined to perform well and have been working many additional hours to memorize lines, develop skills and prepare for their performances.