As “Much Ado About Nothing” closes its curtains, junior Izzy Schafer continues her Shakespearean saga with her new film, “Untamed,” based on “Taming of the Shrew.” A true passion project, the film came about as a product of inspiration, collaboration, and connection within even the most classical stories.

“‘Untamed’ is about a girl who is an assistant stage manager at a theater festival where they are performing ‘Taming of the Shrew,’ and her life reflects that,” Izzy said. The story is about the characters—especially Kate, with her family situation similar to that in the play—discovering their own power through the quintessential tale.

A key point of the film explores how stories can be interpreted and reimagined to connect with different audiences. The main characters find parallels to the story within their own lives, and by connecting with the play, they sort through their own challenges.

“‘Taming of the Shrew’ is a highly problematic show, but the story really explores how the women in the story can have agency and still have character, even within a story that isn’t designed to give them power,” Izzy said. “A big part of the [film] is [the characters] working with the text to make their production a story that empowers the women, rather than tears them down.”

The idea for the film came from Izzy’s collaborator and close friend, Lauren Rainey, a student at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

“I was working at the American Shakespeare Center and Dr. Ralph Alan Cohen, the founder of the ASC, did a deep dive into the textual analysis of ‘Taming of the Shrew,’” Lauren said. “Anyone who knows Shakespeare knows that ‘Taming of the Shrew’ is problematic, to say the least, but Dr. Cohen's lecture kind of revealed a way within the text to make it more feminist. And that totally blew my mind, so I had to write about it.”

It took about two months for Lauren to write the script, with Izzy as her confidant and editor. The project was driven from the heart and Lauren’s own life. “I based many of my characters on real people, so I had those characters, and I filled in around them,” Lauren said. “This might have started as a Shakespearean rant on ‘Taming of the Shrew,’ but in the end it was a love letter to those people.”

And the thickest of Lauren’s love letters goes out to Izzy herself. “I have never met a more motivated artist,” she said. “She is just so unique in the way she creates art; she goes after what she wants, she makes it happen, and she makes it happen for other people, too.”

The two have worked on film projects since 2022, exploring varying themes and genres, from a fight-scene-filled, “Hunger Games” inspired tale to exploring reeling emotions after wrecking a friendship. “She brought [Untamed] to me and was like, ‘Hey, I have this idea, do you want to produce it?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely I do!’” Izzy said.

Lauren was in charge of scriptwriting and casting while Izzy directed and filmed.“It was really fun to collaborate with [Lauren],” Izzy said.

Lauren equally appreciated Izzy’s leadership.

“We are very much not a professional film company, but we're also not just some kids with a camera,” Lauren said. “We know roughly what we're doing, and that's all thanks to Izzy. She may not follow the shot list I wrote, but she's the one who taught me that we need a shot list and not just a camera and a dream.”

As for said film company, Izzy and Lauren help run Teen Made Media Productions, a cinema institution whose films are written, directed, and performed by teenagers.

“Because I have so many actor friends, it’s really easy to get people who are amazing actors to be in my projects,” Izzy said. “It’s just really fun to collaborate with people.”

Senior Will Wichman, and Izzy’s “Much Ado” co-star, was an extra for “Untamed.”

“I was only involved in a small portion of this project, but to be a part of it at all was really special,” Will said. “Izzy always has a clear vision in her mind of what she wants as a director, and even if it doesn't work out at first, she's always able to pivot and find a solution.”

Izzy’s clarity led Teen Made Media Productions to win an award for the trailer of their last project, “Straight Best Friend.” They are setting their sights high for the current project, too. Izzy said, “I’m planning to submit ‘Untamed’ to a few different [film competitions].”

But what makes a film award-worthy?

“It’s a long process,” Izzy said. For “Untamed,” Izzy and Lauren created a massive spreadsheet outlining 500 different shots, detailing everything from the lines to the angle of the camera.

“We mapped out the entirety of the filming before we even started shooting,” Izzy said. “I could just look at that sheet and know this angle needs to be from here. It’s a lot of just constantly moving the camera around.”

“When it came to actually shooting, she just completely took charge,” Lauren said. “Izzy figured out how to do even the trickiest shots—even if it involved climbing a ladder with a camera—and she wove the story together in post-production so seamlessly.”

The project took many long hours and endless creative thinking to complete. “It’s a lot of work to get everything done,” Izzy said. “We filmed over the course of five days, and then after that, editing all of it is very long, but so worth it.”

“It is something I love doing with my friends,” Izzy added. “Especially working with Lauren is really fun. We work so closely on these projects, and getting to produce this film which meant so much to her is really special to me.”

Lauren offered similar praise. “I may have written it, but Izzy brought it to life,” she said.

“‘Untamed’ is definitely our best [film]. The story is really beautiful, and I feel like everyone can connect to it,” Izzy said. “There’s a line in it that I think is very relevant: ‘I think every teenage girl finds a little bit of Kate in themselves.’”