A group of  Lightridge Theatre students have picked up the passion of writing, producing, and acting in short films. This small crew of around eight students have created their own close knit community by bonding over their passion for film making. All of their short films are posted on Youtube and promoted via Instagram and many of the Theatre stud also submit their short films to the annual Washington West Film Festival. 

“A lot of casting directors and directors are looking for people who are making their own stuff,” said Imogene Sigler, a junior who makes short films and also auditions for professional acting roles. 

In October, senior Sophie Coyle, junior Nivedh Rao, and senior Kate Liesemer won the Best Director award for their film “Case Number 6” at the 2025 Washington Film Festival. 

Through events such as these, the actors are inspired to make many different genres of films and widen their knowledge of filmmaking and the production process. 

“You get to share your passion for making films and acting with other people,” said Rao. “I feel like I have grown as an actor and matured just from doing these [films].”

Camden Sardool is a senior who publishes and promotes his short films online. Like the rest of the group, he posts his films on Youtube and promotes his work through Instagram. The group explained that Instagram is one of the best tools that they use for their short films publicity and pulls in more views than TikTok does. 

“Sometimes I need reels for auditions, and having that actual copy, or something you have done, puts you over anyone else,” said Sigler. 

Recently, the short film community collaborated to produce the movie “Square One.” It featured Sophie Coyle, Imogene SIgler, Nivedh Rao, Camden Sardoo, and Avery Campbell.  Ethan Strasburg helped produce and film. The short film follows a story of the Teen Titans, a group of superheroes from DC comics, losing their powers.

“They have to figure out who they are without [their powers],” Said Rao. “I came to Cam with like ‘what if we do a teen titans short film.’ It was the last day of school, and the group gathered in the tech office and wrote the script of “Square One.” 

The group expressed how eager they were to make this film as soon as Rao suggested the idea of a Team Titans film. 

Everyone in the group explained how close this has brought their theatre community and the lifelong memories that they have made while making these films. 

“I want to tell stories that haven’t been told yet,” said Sardool.