As a student of Coronado High School, Ben Shapiro has certainly left his mark on the campus and the faculty with his witty acting skills or kind heart.
1. What have you enjoyed about your high school career at CHS?
One of the best things about my career is that it has been focused on learning and taking the things that I’ve learned and using them. So I’ve been able to make mistakes and instead of those mistakes causing a negative impact on my career I’ve been told what my mistakes were, how to fix them, and I was given the opportunity to do so. I think that was the most enjoyable thing, being in an environment where mistakes were treated as a way to grow stronger and more skilled.
2. Why did you choose CoSA out of all of the programs in Southern California?
The main reason I chose CoSA was because of how professional the program was. It was the only program that provided close to a college level schedule, and the productions that I had seen were amazing. Also, my favorite show to act in was Big Fish. Part of that is because that’s when I started delving deep into the method and art of acting and it was also because I was really able to connect with my character in the play, Will Bloom. I was able to understand what Will was going through and realize what his goal was and why he did what he did.
3. Who has been the most influential teacher during your last four years?
There have been a lot of influential teachers in my life, both outside and inside of CoSA. However, the most impactful person, the person who taught me the most, would have to be Ms. Strassburger. When I came to CoSA my acting was the worst out of the three theatre skills (acting, singing, dancing). I didn’t know how to analyze a character, connect with a feeling, understand my character’s goals and emotions. Everything I did was showy and jumpy and very untruthful. Ms. Strassburger was able to show me how to calm down, slow my lines, connect with what my character was feeling and who he was.
4. What is your plan after high school?
I plan on attending SDSU for at least the next year or two. While at SDSU I plan on building up my professional work experience at theatres in town and up in the LA Hollywood industry. After a year I plan on reevaluating how I feel about school, working, and my future and then making a decision to either stay at SDSU, audition for some other schools, or leave college and move up to LA or New York and start working.
5. All in all, will you miss CHS as you take off to pursue your career?
I will definitely miss high school. I won’t miss the lectures, presentations, projects, and ten hour school days. But I will miss the teachers, the students, the staff, and the debates and points brought up in class that made me a better student and an all around better person.
Thank you to Ben Shapiro for answering these questions for Senior Student Spotlight on eCoronado.com. If you know a student who you believe would be an excellent choice for their own Senior Student Spotlight (SSS) please contact us.
