Mother and son Winona are making an impact on the local art scene

Although there was some wariness from the community about a teenager directing a play, Seamus and the theater he created were successful from the start: The Sugarloaf Theater sold out all three performances of “Deep in the City.”

“Theatre has always been a part of my life,” said Seamus, now 17.

He participated in productions since kindergarten.

While both parents have a background in theater, Seamus never had to be pushed into their footsteps. He always wanted to move in this direction, except for maybe one year in his life when he lost interest.

However, he was drawn back to the art, and now wants to be involved as much as he can.

Seamus has a supportive role model to learn from when it comes to the stage. His mother, Jamie Schwaba, has been a lover of the arts since childhood.

After graduating from high school, Jamie joined the international performing arts group Up With People.

She later studied theater in college and eventually took on a variety of professional roles in the arts, including as director of education at Milwaukee Youth Theater, director of children’s theater at UW-Marinette, and finally managing director at the Minnesota Conservatory of Art.

While in her role at the latter, she was able to moderate and take visual art classes, which sparked her love for the art form.

Although she now works outside of the arts at the Minnesota Dyslexia Institute, she still makes time to participate in the arts, including serving on the Sugarloaf Theater board and creating her own art.

Jamie said she enjoys being able to bond with her son, along with other people, through art.

Seamus described 70% of the duo’s conversations as being about the arts, particularly theatre. Together, they are able to travel the region to various productions and then review them together on their car journeys home.

Jamie is proud of her son’s accomplishments in the arts, including the creation of the Sugarloaf Theatre.

“It was really cool to watch. I think the biggest compliment to Sugarloaf is how many people come back, both adults and youth,” said Jamie.

Theater helps fill a need, Seamus said.

“I think he’s done a really good job setting a precedent for this community and it’s just a good social environment,” Jamie said.

Seamus said many people helped develop a positive environment at the theatre. Seamus loves community theater especially because of the family aspect, he said.

“It’s such a collaborative art form,” he said.

Community theater, he said, requires interdependence among all involved.

“I don’t have a particular passion for theater. I have a passion for what theater can do for people. I love how unified it is,” said Seamus. “I love the team aspect of it, and most of all, with Sugarloaf, I love the family it creates. I think it’s so important for people to stay connected in their communities. I think we live in a time where things are very isolated, but I think things like theater have a way of uniting people and bringing them together and bringing joy to people.”

He said community theater has a way of bringing people of all ages together. Sugarloaf Theater in particular, he said, brings together people who are 12 and older.

Seamus noted that he also enjoys the educational aspect of the performing arts.

“I love working with other teenagers and teaching them life skills through theater because I know I learned life skills through theater,” Seamus said.

Jamie said he watched Seamus learn skills he will take with him later in life, such as writing a press release, running a board, creating budgets for shows, having tough conversations with people and being a leader.

Seamus doesn’t always see himself as playing such an important role in the Sugarloaf Theatre, though.

Seamus is entering his senior year and looking at college, probably away from Winona. She plans to major in theater.

“I’ve been trying to plan for Sugarloaf to live on beyond me. And it will be,” Seamus said. “I want this to be Winona’s community theater. It’s not my community theater.”

He began mentoring regular contributors at the Sugarloaf Theatre. He even started teaching the role of director to others.

Seamus isn’t ready to say goodbye completely, however, when he graduates from high school. He hopes to participate in Sugarloaf productions during the summers and possibly continue to serve on the board.

Jamie’s art exhibit “Driftless Past & Present” is now on display at the Minnesota Conservatory of Arts through September 27th. As part of the exhibition, free art workshops will be held on September 7.

For more information about Jamie and her art, visit linktr.ee/jamieschwaba.

The Sugarloaf Theatre, in partnership with the Winona Public Library, is set to hold auditions for its next production of “Murder by the Book” from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, September 14th at the library. The play will be played between October 25 and October 27.

For more information about the play and Sugarloaf Theatre, visit the theatre’s Facebook page or linktr.ee/sugarloaftheatre.