Sometimes, the best inspiration for writing a play is a change of scenery. Andrew Starner found his inspiration in South Africa.
For the past 2 1/2 months, Starner, a graduate from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, has been teaching grammar skills to women at the Amazwi's School of Media Arts in Hoedspruit, in the province of Limpopo.
"We're working toward giving people a chance to tell their own stories in their own words," said Starner.
The school was established in the Kwazulu-Natal province in South Africa by founder Maggie Messitt in 2004 and expanded to the Amazwi school this year.
After graduating, Starner said he wanted to travel and do some volunteer work. He first heard about Amazwi last year when he was considering a trip to Namibia to visit friends.
"I was thinking in general terms about how I was going to get there and that I wanted to do some writing, so when my friend sent me the information about the group, I applied," he said.
SINCE ARRIVING in February, Starner has been teaching grammar and writing skills to the 15 women enrolled in the program. The greater goal of the school, he said, is to enable the women to create their own newspaper.
"They don't have much in the way of media here," Starner said. "We're trying to expose them to journalistic techniques so they can start writing the kinds of pieces we like to read ourselves in our newspapers at home."
The women come from the town of Acorn Hoek. They make the 25-kilometer drive daily, arriving at 8 a.m. and leaving at 3 p.m. Many of them leave behind families, jobs and other responsibilities to pursue their writing.
"There's been very few absences, I'm proud to say," Starner said. "This is a good opportunity to expose these women to an art or craft that is particularly well suited to their lives and their stories. We're hoping to create, in the end, an independent media."
Starner, who used to write for the American Scholar magazine in Washington, D.C., said he's taken some time to enjoy his new environment, venturing out on a walking safari and visiting nearby villages.
"There's a lot of learning how to cope with the shock of the new," he said. "I've never been anywhere quite like here. I had to learn how to walk in the jungle and avoid being trampled by elephants."
Without movies, museums or other comforts of home for entertainment, Starner said he's gotten used to doing all his socializing within the village.
"There's a very tight-knit community here," he said. "You learn to live more simply. We don't have a car because we don't need one. You're here for the express purpose of doing work, of writing, and you don't allow other things to get in the way."
The first month of the program is often called "boot camp," said director Nadine Randall. "The students focus on grammar and will begin doing fieldwork and writing stories of their own. Their work will be featured in Amazwi's new regional newspaper, The Voice, which will launch this year and is partially funded by the Lonely Planet Foundation."
The women attend the school on scholarships funded through adopt-a-student programs, Randall said in an e-mail. At the end of the 10-month program, they receive certificates and are eligible to get jobs in print media.
As the language and grammar instructor, Randall said Starner is teaching "the fundamentals and intricacies of English grammar. The students have all received matriculation certificates, but their grasp of the English language remains tenuous."
ONCE THE FIRST month is completed, Starner will mentor the women as they start to write their first articles, Randall said.
He might also start to work seriously on the two plays he's writing.
"There's a lot of intrigue here, which is great material for plays," Starner said.
Prior to leaving the United States, Starner said his family wanted to make sure he was well-equipped for life in South Africa.
"My family bought me a compass and a big knife," he said. "I actually got a lot of knives as presents. Maybe they thought I'd have to kill my own food."
In June, Starner's parents, Mary and Steven, and two of his three siblings will be flying to South Africa to visit him and go on a safari of their own.
"I never would've imagined I'd have a chance to see Victoria Falls," said Mary Starner. "It'll be great to see that he's in good shape."
The family communicates through e-mails and via video phone several times a week, which has helped to calm any concerns they may have had initially.
"It's unimaginable," she said of her son's new home. "The horror of going through these villages where 40 percent of the children acquired AIDS at birth. But I do think it's been quite an adventure for him. It must be so exciting to imagine the impact he might be having on these women."
When the family was living in Germany, one of Andrew's older sisters spent two weeks in Kenya, installing a water line to a village. His parents wonder if that trip didn't stay in their son's mind, inspiring his own volunteer work more than a decade later.
Despite any early doubts or concerns, the Starners are proud of their son and his work.
"We'll support him with what he wants to do," said Steve Starner. "We believe in him."
In the meantime, Andrew Starner said he's enjoying the work he's doing now.
"I'm really focused on the experience of the women in the classroom," he said. "I'm really hoping to see them grow as writers. I'm hoping to learn from them and their lives and this world that is so alien to me and maybe bring some of that back with me."
Starner won't be with his students when they graduate in December, his contract with the school ends in August.
"I'm sad that I won't be here, but I think I'll be able to monitor their progress," he said. "I expect great things from them."