This film chronicles a year in the life of STAR Theater, a vibrant teenage theater company that performs for adolescents throughout New York City. The performances raise awareness about the risks young people face in the age of AIDS.As the film evolves, viewers discover that the performers are struggling with the same problems in their own lives that they are dramatizing on stage.
STAR Theater uses drama and peer education to help teens avoid pregnancy and disease. The performances always conclude with a question and answer session. The documentary captures these uncensored peer to peer discussions. The teens are free to express themselves in ways that are often raw, sometimes amusing, and occasionally tragic.
Peer education, including programs like this, has proven to be an effective educational approach. Using teen culture and language, it develops a trusting environment in which teens are more receptive to information about reducing risks. The documentary offers a moving portrait of how painful, dangerous, and yet hopeful the process of growing up can be.

"A thought provoking progam…" Los Angeles Times

Selected Films & Videos for Young Adults, ALA, 1997
Apple, National Educational Media Network, 1997
CINE Gold Eagle, 1996
SHINE Award, 1997