Super Project Lab | Life Skills | Community | Outreach |

Portland State University features Super Project Lab in a new video

admin — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:00:42 +0000

Watch the video here: SPL and PSU

Announcing another great partnership with Portland State University!

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:06:43 +0000

We just finished a great meeting with Judy Patton from PSU. We are going to be their latest community partner for a grant-writing capstone. Nicholas and I are so excited after the success we had with the School of Business Administration capstone we completed this winter with some extraordinary business students. Grant-writing is an area that we can really use some guidance being the improv geeks that we are. We’ll be teaming up with the class in June of 2012 and look forward to some great grant-writing strategy to emerge! Thanks Portland State University and thanks Judy.

Watch our videos!

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:27:16 +0000

Haven’t seen SPL in action yet? We have videos! Get an up close and personal look at our work with some of Portland’s homeless youth population at Outside In! Featuring PREPOSTEROUSLY talented teen improvisers!

Cameron Movie

Super Project Lab with Outside In at SMYRQ

Hey 2011, meet 2012!

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:36:13 +0000

Fueled with support, Super Project Lab lunged forward in 2011 and we’re poised to go even further in 2012!

Last year we repeated our success with Outside In; over 200 hours of instruction led homeless youth of every conceivable race, gender and education level to put aside their overwhelming stress and laugh their way toward healthy self-confidence and thoughtful peer-mentorship. The eagerness with which the students unburden themselves is often a tear-jerking reminder of how much relief SPL provides.

In 2011, SPL partnered with Caldera (a non-profit org associated with Weiden and Kennedy), and over two weekends created safe opportunities for nearly 200 middle-school students to bring some real issues to life and honestly allow them to explore key concepts such as conflict-resolution, trusting authority, and how in the absence of self-consciousness, fun abounds.

While we could go on and on about our other successes in 2011, it is the shining potential of 2012 that truly has us excited.

As part of a capstone achievement for their business degrees, 10 Portland State University seniors dissected SPL as a 501(c)3. This is the first time in the university’s history that a non-profit company has been honored with this partnership. Each aspect of budgeting, marketing, sustainability and strategic planning was examined, tweaked, and fine-tuned resulting in a new and improved comprehensive business plan which will guide SPL to creating even more opportunities to fulfill our mission.

And the progress has begun already! Not only are our 2011 partners thrilled and eager to have us back, but a brand new partnership with Portland Public Schools has taken the shape of 15 special education students and two exuberant teachers at Madison High School. In the most distant classroom in the building, students with varying degrees of developmental and cognitive disabilities now count on us to be there every Friday.

To understand the effect of an SPL class you must imagine a child, nearly mute with embarrassment due to a debilitating speech impediment , standing boldly without judgment, and sing out loud in front of his peers for the first time in years. It is in that moment of self-acceptance and courage that a student grows, and moments like those are what Super Project Lab endeavors to provide for every one of its students. Your tax-deductible donation will help us get there.

Thanks for your support and Happy New Year!

Please Like Us on FaceBook!

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:48:16 +0000

Help support us and stay up-to-date with all the wonderful programs that Super Project Lab is involved in by liking us on FaceBook.

Happy Holidays – It’s been a great year!

admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:15:12 +0000

Dear Friends, Family and Supporters of Super Project Lab Improv:

On a warm Sunday evening last June at the intersection of Broadway and West Burnside in downtown Portland, two women from a nearby shelter peeked from the sidewalk into a dimly lit theatre to see an audience on its feet, cheering in support. Inside, fifteen students hug, high-five and bow clearly filled with the rush of adrenaline that is unique to a live stage-performance. For the past 25 minutes, these young performers suspended their fear of judgment, put the success of the group above their own survivalist mentality, and forgot that they are homeless. These confident, creative youth are students of Super Project Lab Outreach.

To us, this story represents the remarkable impact we’ve had in the last year and the potential for even greater impact in the upcoming one. On so many levels 2010 has been a hugely successful year for us. Here’s how it all unfolded:

Over the course of the year we piloted five new programs serving over one hundred and fifty at risk youth. Additionally, we produced six performances to provide those youth with an opportunity to be up on stage putting their skills to the test in front of a live audience. Our 2010 partners included; Boys and Girls Aid-Pettygrove Residential Program, Boys and Girls Aid-the Annex, Outside In-Guerilla Theater, OYA’s Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility, The Pathfinder Academy and Portland’s Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center.

In May we gained a part-time Education Director, Nicholas Kessler, who has taken our curricula to a new level. His experience as a teacher is invaluable, and his strategies for impacting the lives of our participants are not only innovative they’re proving highly successful! We are lucky to have found Nicholas, a partner that shares our organization’s passion and extends its reach.

In September we were awarded our first grant from the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition to complete our pilot program with Outside In. This grant is evidence of our community’s need for this work and we’re proud that MCCC has shown their willingness to foster an underserved community of young new artists.

Perhaps now more than ever, Super Project Lab is dedicated to its mission: to use performance, outreach and strategic partnerships to connect within and educate throughout our community using the methods of improvisational theater. Our goals for 2011 include doubling the number of youth we serve and continuing to offer classes at zero cost to our partnering social service agencies.

The holiday giving season is upon us and while we know that there are many deserving causes in our community that you will consider supporting, we would like to ask that you consider Super Project Lab Outreach among them.

If you are able to make a tax-deductible donation to our organization, please send a check made payable to:

Super Project Lab

1001 SE Water Ave, #255

Portland, OR 97214

Or if you’d like more information about the work we are doing or how you can get involved, please visit our website at www.superprojectlab.org

Happy Holidays!

Shelley Darcy

Executive Director, Super Project Lab

www.superprojectlab.org

shelley@superprojectlab.org

(503) 750-5247

Praise From Oregon Youth Authority!

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:24:58 +0000

Director of the Oregon Youth Authority, Colette S. Peters, raves about Super Project Lab’s most recent shows with our non-profit partners!

We are very proud of our work with Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility and the Pettygrove Program, and we thank their teams for the great times we’ve had so far!

SPL Presents the Cheata’s!

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:18:43 +0000

The Cheata's

Fantastic Participant Survey Results

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:08:57 +0000

Here are some fantastic numbers from our recent participant surveys. These responses are an aggregate of Outside In and Hillcrest participants. These impressive metrics show that we’re on the right path.

- Possible responses to feedback questions: Strongly Disagree – Disagree – No Change – Agree – Strongly Agree

- Response percentages are based on actual participants surveyed.

- Percentages were rounded to the nearest hundredth.

- Surveys were anonymous and voluntary.

1. This workshop helped me feel more confident to speak in front of other people.

73.7% Agree or Strongly Agree

21% No Change

5.26% Disagree or Strongly Disagree

2. I learned that being “fit and well” can improve most situations.

68.4% Agree or Strongly Agree

21% No Change

5.26% Disagree or Strongly Disagree

(1 participant left the answer blank)

3. I felt safe to perform the games and was able to suspend judgement of myself and others.

84.2% Agree or Strongly Agree

5.26% No Change

11.52% Disagree or Strongly Disagree

4. If given the chance, I would participate in more workshops like this.

68.% Agree or Strongly Agree

21.0% No Change

11.52% Disagree or Strongly Disagree

Nicholas Kessler
Education Director, Super Project Lab

SPL and Outside In’s Guerilla Theater!

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:07:27 +0000

Sunday, July 11th, 7:00 PM (Doors at 6:30 PM)
Super Project Lab and Outside In’s Guerilla Theater Project

Please join Super Project Lab and Outside In’s – Guerilla Theater Project for a fabulous night of camaraderie and courage! This show features participants from a class that SPL has been teaching at Outside In. The students will perform an opening set for SPL’s professional improv performers. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase the work we are doing in our community and celebrate the hard work and courage of the kids from Guerilla Theater.

Super Project Lab performers will include Shelley Darcy and Matt Tabora-Roberts with special guests Nicholas Kessler, Daryl Olson, Heberto Espinosa and Ritah Parrish!

7:00 PM
The Brody Theater
16 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 503.224.2227
Directions to the Theater

Tickets $10.00 ($7.00 for students) – Purchase tickets at the door or online
Buy Tickets Here!