CITY AT PEACE

In the spring of 1994, auditions were held in the heart of Washington D.C., for a cast of young people to create and perform a musical production based on their own lives. The cast came from prestigious private schools and inner-city public schools. Some came from the streets; others were court referred. Each had a powerful story to share. Making the cut wasn't based on a great voice or how well you could sing or act. It was about real voices with real stories to tell. Filmmakers Susan and Christopher Koch spent over a year documenting the lives and rehearsals of this diverse group of young people who made up the cast of City at Peace. At first, tensions seemed insurmountable between the different cast members. Fear and prejudices divided them. Coming together was not easy. They began by sharing their life stories which would provide the raw material for the show. We watch the cast as they begin to face issues of racism, violence, AIDS, breakdown of their families and death. Gradually, they reach out to one another. When one cast member is gunned down and seriously wounded on the streets of Washington, his fellow cast members stay by his hospital bed. "The cast", he says, "was the family I never had". His mother, father and stepfather are all in prison. Their experience together changes them in profound ways. As one young woman explains, "If one of us ever needed something, I know that all sixty of us would be there".