SAN ANTONIO — Todjai Dotson’s passion for theater is evident. She even has a nickname at school.
“Everybody calls me superstar,” Todjai said.
Her start shines bright at the Eastside Youth Content Creators program, a free media arts after-school program that teaches kids the fundamentals of filmmaking.
“Usually kids my age, they don’t like stuff like this. First time I walked in my theater class, everybody was like I hate this class, so I had to act like I hated it too because I’m like my friends don’t like it,” Todjai said.
It’s probably because programs like these are virtually nonexistent on San Antonio’s East Side, which essentially eliminates the film industry as a career option for kids who grow up in a historically Black neighborhoods plagued by poverty and gentrification.
Todjai credits her support system for motivating her to make this dream a reality.
“My mom, she thought when she first saw me, she said, ‘Girl this is your thing. This is for you. And I felt that way, too,’” Todjai said. “There was nothing else that interests me as much.”
It was a no-brainer for her mom, Tamara Sayles, to sign her up for the program.
“It’s amazing to see her flourish and come into her own skin and not be afraid to live her dreams,” Sayles said.
They are learning about scriptwriting, directing, editing, video production, but most importantly, learning from people that look like them who are doing it, such as veteran DeAnna Brown.
“When they see you give yourself permission, you give them permission to do the same and just to watch that spark like ‘ahh, I got it. Oh, that feels good,’” Brown says.
Todjai is only a sophomore at Sam Houston High School, but she recognizes the benefits of being in the program.
“I know how to speak to people. I’m a people person now. I really didn’t really like talking, and this just helped me out a lot,” Todjai said.
So nothing's really going to stop this superstar from making a name for herself in the film industry.
“And I thought about it like this is something that I really want and I’m going to do it,” Todjai says.