<p>After the waning of her successful acting career, Mel Ryane found herself creatively adrift and proposed creating an after-school Shakespeare program at a local inner-city public school. Loaded with an armory of theatre craft but devoid of professional teaching skills, she launched The Shakespeare Club on high hopes, goodwill, and the romantic ideal of inspiring young lives. Each week she endured unexpectedly humorous and dramatic struggles with the kids and the kids struggled with each other as together they moved toward a rudimentary production of <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>. Woven throughout this fish-out-of-water tale is Mel's own story as a dreamy child, a burgeoning actress and eventually a theatre professional. At the school Mel wanted to quit and the children want to quit as well, but as she rallied, they rallied and all were empowered as they discover a surprising truth: they're dependent on each other as they face an audience and triumph.</p>