Going to the Film Society of Lincoln Center was a good idea to start off our first film in Film TRaC. I wasn’t sure what we were going to watch but I was very interested in going anyway. When I heard about the film we were watching I was actually very excited in seeing it with my beloved Film TRaC friends. The movie we saw was Shakespeare High, a drama-documentary directed by Alex Rotaru.

Shakespeare High is a feature-length documentary about a determined group of teens whose immersion in the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California’s high school drama program compels them to overcome their difficulties and create better lives for themselves. Theater has become their inspiration – a reason to strive and overcome adversity. The film features their stories of how the arts enriches their lives amidst personal troubles, including poverty, violence, gangs, drugs, absentee parents, as well as the troubles and hardships of adolescence. Through Shakespeare, these students are able to find community; they discover passion, drive, and confidence to pursue their dreams and dictate the course of their lives.

Among the many famous alumni of this almost 100 year-old program are Kevin Spacey, Val Kilmer, Mare Winningham and Richard Dreyfuss, and are all featured in the movie.

The movie starts off strong from beginning to end. What I liked about this film was that they talk about all the teens and what is their side of the story of this competition, besides them talking about their life they talk about what they love the most about drama. The beginning starts slow but gets to the point as it progresses. When the competition started it got very intense when we see every school perform their 8 min scenes and after that when they announce the winners, I was on the edge of my seat wondering who won first and last place. I got a little confused of who won because they showed so many winners of each group but I was ok with each group winning first and last place.

After the movie we got to see Tosh and Taco, two sophomores from East LA and former gang members, perform a few scenes they worked on to show everybody after the movie. It was funny, amazing and very memorable. After that we got a chance to talk to both of them and a few more people that created the movie and the program. Talking to them and asking questions was really great to get to know more about the movie. I really enjoyed Shakespeare High, and this is something I can bring back to my loving friends in Amas, a musical theatre program for teens. They would really enjoy this film and learn more about the meaning of drama and what brings teens together in this community. I give Shakespeare High a 9 out of 10.