Bringing the season to life: Winterfest and its Celebration of Student Creativity

As snow fell on campus last Saturday evening, students, faculty, and family members packed inside the warmth of the KAC and eagerly waited to support the cast, crew, and directors of Lawrenceville’s annual student-run, one-act play festival. As I walked into the Black Box, the crowd was packed,with many sitting on the steps by the rows of seats to catch a glimpse of their loved ones’ hard work. 

Winterfest, a two-night display of student artistry, is different from any other production at Lawrenceville. The opportunity for student theater lovers to exhibit their own playwriting, directing, set designing, and acting skills is an experience like no other. This year’s production was a compilation of 12 student-directed plays,  five of which were student-written. 

Ranging from lighthearted comedies like “Roll Sisyphus” by alumna Lina Olazabal ’22, to reflective takes on historical events such as “The Bathtub and the Dagger” by Ellen Jordan ’26, the audience was taken on a rollercoaster of emotions right from the beginning. The diversity in genre and style in Winterfest’s production demonstrated the multifaceted interests and talents of the student body. Arya Vishwakarma ’25, who wrote the play “Sairandhri” based on Rabindranath Tagore’s adaptations of ancient myths as a joint creative-analytical project for the Merrill Scholars Program. She explained, “I didn't have any experience with playwriting or theater; I was terrified that I was going to end up making myself and my cast seem unprepared or turning people away from the very stories and myths I wanted to get them interested in.” Vishwakarma’s doubts ended up being unwarranted, however, as she reflected on her play after the final show, stating, “I think the cast [Gavin Yoon ’25, Braedon Owen and Simi Rath ’26 and III Formers Brenner Emo, Irene Fu, and Ananya Chopra] really leaned into the historical setting of the piece.”Commenting on some of the highlights of the show, audience member Jenny Chen ’26 expressed her appreciation for the student actors, stating “I really appreciated the energy that was present in the room…and I could really tell that they were having fun and enjoying themselves throughout the entire show.” 

Because Winterfest’s entire production is student-led, directors had to work closely with their actors as well as the technical crew to see their vision come to light. Joshua Wang ’27, one of the lighting technicians, asserted that “there was a high level of difficulty in communicating what first-time directors envisioned their sets to look like, and in coordinating the timing of various lighting cues.” Furthermore, Wang emphasized the high level of adaptability necessary for the technical team to work with actors and directors, remarking, “There was only one final dress rehearsal this year, and so the tech crew really had to improvise in terms of placing cues that may have been in the wrong position previously.” 

Despite the challenges  posed during rehearsal, students involved in Winterfest were immensely dedicated to the production and willing to communicate any issues or grievances with each other. Actor Pacey Qi ’27, who was in both “How to Survive in Corporate America: A Manual in Eight Steps” by Director of Student Life Ian August and “Villains of the Week” by Bryan Boanoh ’25 and Elijah Miller ’25, commended the optimistic and supportive environment that was present throughout rehearsals, stating, “I built so many great relationships through Winterfest, and really got close with the directors. I felt like I could really contact them if I had any issues with the script or my acting.” 

Reflecting on  her involvement with Winterfest, co-Head of Tech and Assistant Head of Winterfest Suzie Nguyen ’26 expressed her gratitude for Perwig’s tightly-knit community, commenting, “I’m really glad that everything came together with the help of volunteers coming in to help with whatever they can.” Winterfest truly demonstrates that the arts can bring students across campus together in ways they otherwise would never have met.

At its essence, Winterfest brings out the best of Lawrenceville, as students both involved in and out of the production come to celebrate and support one another. If you see anyone on campus who was involved in Winterfest, make sure to congratulate them on their efforts. Until next year, Winterfest!