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"Shakespeare High" Fundraiser

"Shakespeare High" is a documentary about determined teens whose immersion in high-school drama compels them to overcome difficulties and create better lives.

Our Story

We are a group of educators and film professionals who strongly believe every child in every school has the right to a well-rounded education, of which the arts are an essential ingredient.

We are at a critical point of inflection in this country with respect to education and the need for major transformation in our schools. The arts promote the health and well-being of children, including academic and personal growth, critical thinking and analytical skills, and the motivation to stay in school and excel. Decades of research show strong and consistent links between high-quality arts education and a wide range of impressive educational outcomes.

Our team includes Executive Producer Kevin Spacey, whose main philanthropic endeavor is arts education. Our director Alex Rotaru has a history of directing critically acclaimed documentaries about arts education, as have producers Lori Miller and Ronnie Planalp. Brad Koepenick, producer, is an award-winning educator and nationally recognized arts education policymaker.

Ongoing conversations with politicians, education reformers and arts advocates about the significance of storytelling and developing "media pieces" to provide "evidence" at the National level is at the core of our vision. As President Obama said in his campaign platform, now is the time to reinvest in arts education and reinvigorate the creativity and innovation that made this country great.

About the Film

Shakespeare High is a feature-length documentary about a determined group of teens in Southern California whose immersion in high-school drama programs compels them to overcome difficulties and create better lives. The film demonstrates that arts education, specifically drama in public schools, is not a luxury but a necessity.

The film follows several teens from all over Southern California, as they prepare and then compete in the 90th Annual DTASC (Drama Teachers Association of Southern California) Shakespeare Competition. All of these teens face challenges at home including poverty, gangs, drugs, lack of mentorship/parenting, and the trials and tribulations of adolescence. They tell their inspirational personal stories and we see the impact that arts education has on their lives by providing community, focus, passion, communication skills, self-confidence and self-awareness.

A few of the teens featured in the film who stayed in school because of their drama program include Tosh, an African American sophomore, and Taco, a Latino sophomore in East LA, formerly gang bangers. Nicole lives in Hesperia, an isolated, low-income desert community, and comes from an impoverished family. Tommy, an energetic, spry redhead, was raised by his mother in Hesperia after his formerly skin-head parents separated and his father left his family. And Galvin and Melvin, are African American twin brothers who live with their aunt and uncle in Hesperia, because a few years ago their father murdered their mother following an acrimonious divorce.

The teens' stories are interspersed with commentary from well-known actors including Kevin Spacey, Val Kilmer and Richard Dreyfus, all of whom are alumni of the DTASC program, and whose lives were changed by participating in the program.

The Impact

It is our intention to use the film as a launching point to reach as many educators, policy makers, citizens, private sector funders, and foundations to systemically and perpetually fund the arts and arts programs in U.S. schools. Kevin Spacey, our Executive Producer, recently delivered the 24th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy in Washington D.C. where he effectively and succinctly outlined the need for an integrated arts curriculum in our schools (see http://www.artsusa.org/events/2011/aad/default.asp to listen to his speech and see other coverage). The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities published shortly thereafter a white paper entitled "Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools". Our team believes that the spotlight is currently being shined on this very important area and our film has a chance to make a real impact as an advocacy tool nationally.

What We Need & What You Get

We need to raise $10,000 to prepare and execute a national outreach and audience engagement plan. Although we have raised some funding through grants, we need additional funding to properly launch the film and to make a real impact.

We also have some outstanding post-production costs (sound mixing, color correction, music etc.) which we need to pay for and complete.

Other Ways You Can Help

Send the link to the website to friends and family.

Sign up on our facebook page.

If you are an educator, let us know if you'd like to screen the film at your school in the fall.

Read the CETA (California Educational Theatre Association) position paper at http://www.cetoweb.org/

Donate to CETA.

Read the white paper on arts education from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (htttp://www.pcah.gov).

Location

Panorama High School
8015 Van Nuys Boulevard
Panorama City, CA 91402
United States

Contact

Owner: Charter High School of the Arts

On BPT Since: Mar 02, 2011

Sheryl Senet

www.indiegogo.com/Shakespe...

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Studio City, CA United States

Jun 09, 2011 10:18 PM

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Van Nuys , CA United States

Jun 09, 2011 1:57 PM

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Topanga, CA United States

Jun 09, 2011 1:50 PM

Name Withheld

Topanga, CA United States

Jun 09, 2011 1:50 PM

Name Withheld

Topanga, CA United States

Jun 09, 2011 1:50 PM

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