Many people know CAST Schools because we connect students to college while exposing them to careers, but are less familiar with our focus on a meaningful student experience that begins with self-discovery and is intended to help students uncover their guiding purpose.
We find that art, and storytelling, are some of the most powerful tools to introduce young people to the idea of claiming their own story and identity. When local partner Lorenzo Gomez III wrote his first book, Cilantro Diaries, we knew students might see themselves in his San Antonio-based stories. Next, we put his second book in the hands of our students. While the book is set at a specific school, and at a time in San Antonio when there was a rise in crime, our students connected to the universal themes of coming of age, confronting bullies, learning how to ask for help.
That began a five year process of culling from his book the specific stories and mental health practices that felt the most powerful to our students, and bringing them to life through a script, a set, lighting, fight choreography and more. We watched students co-create alongside Lorenzo, identifying ways to use lighting, color, dialogue, plus concepts of letters, therapy and family to impart lessons about seeking help and forgiving your younger self.
At CAST Schools, we believe that you learn most when students co-create and projects are authentic. Come see what this collaboration has produced!
On September 8 and 9, CAST Schools' production of Three Years of Fear will return to the Empire Theatre, adapted from the book Tafolla Toro by Lorenzo Gomez III.
To purchase tickets or become a sponsor, visit castschools.com
Producer~Television & Film Production/Project Management
1moThat was a fun 90 sec journey.