AllMovie

For a great many actors, their first experience in learning a role and performing it in front of an audience comes from appearing in a high school play, and while for some it's just something to do for fun, for others it's an inspiring introduction to the craft and the discipline of acting. Filmmaker Warren Skeels offers a look into the lives of some high school actors and the teachers who guide them in the documentary Thespians. The film follows four groups of students from Florida high schools as they prepare for the world's largest student theater competition, each preparing a different piece that they'll perform in front of hundred of their peers and a panel of sharp-eyed judges. Thespians celebrates the drive and the desire of these young people, as well as the determination of their drama teachers as they attempt to turn ambitious amateurs into competitive performers. Thespians was an official selection at the 2010 Palm Beach International Film Festival.