Shakespeare High

Each year, talented high school students compete in the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival, an unusual event in which youngsters perform unique interpretations of the works of William Shakespeare. The organizers pick three of Shakespeare's plays, and teams of student actors must perform a scene between six and seven minutes long either taken from one of the plays or inspired by its content; they're allowed to fashion the scenes as they wish, but they can't use special costumes, props or sets, and they're given no more than four folding chairs to work with. Filmmaker Alex Rotaru offers a look at the 90th annual competition in the documentary Shakespeare High, examining the creative process of the contestants and profiling the diverse band of students taking part, ranging from gang bangers to the son of a neo-Nazi couple to a pair of twins who are dipping their toes into theater after attracting football scholarships. Shakespeare High also includes interviews with some of the better-known alumni of the festival, including Kevin Spacey, Richard Dreyfuss and Mare Winningham. The film received its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.