Back in April 2011 I told you about Still Dreaming, the next project from Hank Rogerson (who brought us the award winning Shakespeare Behind Bars). At the time they were looking for funds to start filming, and they easily hit their goal and went off to do just that.
Fast forward two years and filming is complete! But it does take a great deal of effort (and, ahem, resources) to see a movie through to completion, and they’re looking for funds to complete the work on “hiring a composer, doing a sound mix, titles, and final polish.”
What I think is amazing about the potential for this story is that they’re not just walking into their local nursing home and sticking a script in front of a bunch of people who’ve never acted a day in their long lives (although that would be a story in itself, albeit a different one). These are people who have been entertainers for decades, and who aren’t letting age get in the way of their ability to continue being entertainers.
“What is it like to lead a creative life, even at the end of your life?” Spitzmiller asks in voiceover. It works on a whole bunch of levels. We talk an awful lot about the universality of Shakespeare, and I think we’re about to witness another demonstration of it.
The mission statement for Shakespeare Geek has become, “Shakespeare makes life better.” I think that if Hank has his way we’re going to see a demonstration of exactly that. If you’d like to see Still Dreaming become a reality, please consider donating to their fundraising campaign.