The Drama II and AP Art History students embarked on a trip to Old Town on Thursday, April 7th. The purpose of this field trip was to film select locations for the Shakespeare Festival. The Shakespeare Festival will be held on May 9th, 2022. The last Shakespeare Festival that was in person was back in 2019. Filming for select locations wasn’t the only purpose for this trip however. The AP Art History students embarked on this trip to gaze at the scenery and inspiration. Mr. Rocca, the drama teacher, was excited for this opportunity.

“I am so excited that we had the opportunity to take our students here.” Mr. Rocca states. Ms. Noorzay and I thought this would be a perfect real life opportunity for Drama and Art students to approach the different aspects of filmmaking and art.”

The students of the drama class view this old town field trip not only as and experience to gain new insights into how they can improve Shakespeare Festival, but also as a chance to experience the oldest neighborhood in San Diego.

“I love how we had the opportunity to go to the old town, I haven’t been there in such a long time.” Yabsira Tsegaye(‘22) states. “I learned so much about how we can better Shakespeare Festival using the locations we filmed, and I had fun in the process.

The last two Shakespeare Festivals have been online, due to the pandemic. However, this year it will be in person for the first time since 2019. Mr Rocca understands this, and he and the Drama class work hard to make this a good experience.

“Editing has become one of my favorite aspects of the process.” Mr. Rocca explains. “It allows me to take in all of the fantastic work that the students have done in ways that you can’t do when you’re shooting during class. Sometimes you want to go immediately into the action to keep things moving, and other times you want to take your time to let the audience get lost in the story , the environment, or even a really outstanding performance.”

The theme for the Shakespeare Festival isn’t out yet, due to the Drama class wanting to create suspense and excitement for the play. All students have worked tirelessly to film, memorize lines, and embody the characters they will eventually portray to the large audience. The Drama department is determined to give the audience a good experience come May 9th.