Crossroads News
The Argonaut Profiles Crossroads Student's Theater Company
Ninth grader Samantha Leeds founded The Riot Stage to make Shakespeare accessible to young people.
As a middle schooler at Crossroads, Samantha Leeds won accolades competing in the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival. As she grew older, she was eager to immerse herself even more in the works of the Bard.
“I loved performing in the festival with Crossroads, and I wanted to keep going with Shakespeare," she explains, "I think because of the environment and philosophy at Crossroads—where I’ve been since kindergarten—we’re really taught to be creative, independent thinkers who approach things with a problem-solving mindset, and that’s what led me to the idea that I could actually start my own Shakespeare company.”
“I loved performing in the festival with Crossroads, and I wanted to keep going with Shakespeare," she explains, "I think because of the environment and philosophy at Crossroads—where I’ve been since kindergarten—we’re really taught to be creative, independent thinkers who approach things with a problem-solving mindset, and that’s what led me to the idea that I could actually start my own Shakespeare company.”
That company, the Riot Stage at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, is helmed by creative director (and retired Crossroads drama instructor) Zoey Zimmerman. The company's production "Speak the Speech...I Pray You," featuring a cast of Crossroads students, runs May 4 and 6. Learn more about the The Riot Stage and Samantha in this recent Argonaut profile.
