Shakespeare. Mozart. Picasso. They and other masters have achieved a sense of immortality through their works that generations passed down and appreciated.

Most artists will never attain such glory, but the chance to achieve eternal greatness continues to inspire millions to dream, to create and to perform.
The characters’ ambition in the “Fame” films and musical mirrors that of students at TexARTS Association for Visual and Performing Arts and other young performers who live and breathe such aspirations every time they audition, rehearse and take the stage with the hopes to “live forever.”
The pursuits of the young performers and the motivations of their characters in TexARTS’ upcoming production of “Fame” intertwined at a workshop Friday led by Broadway dancer and “Fame” film actor Paul McGill at the Lakeway performing arts academy.
In the 2009 film version, McGill plays a dancer who has the talent to be accepted into the New York City High School of Performing Arts but eventually learns he doesn’t have what it takes to be a professional dancer.
Ironically, McGill was a role model at the workshop because of his starring turns in the film and in Broadway’s “A Chorus Line” and “La Cage aux Folles.” He also will soon star in Broadway’s “Memphis.”
McGill worked with TexARTS students on a number from the film to give them the opportunity to learn what it is like to be on a film set, find out some of the secrets of making the movie and ask questions about his dance career.
He said he enjoys teaching younger performers because they are open to instruction and finds the experience highly rewarding.
“I think the most fulfilling thing is seeing kids come out of their shells and explore what they can do,” said McGill who has danced since he was 3 and worked professionally since he was 10.
“I know I wanted to be a performer from an early age, and many of these students do too. The passion is there.”
The New York City transplant quickly pinpointed the enthusiasm that is bubbling over at TexARTS.
So inspiring was the 2009 film that a group of students broke out into spontaneous dances immediately after seeing an evening show at Cinemark Hill Country Galleria.
“It was awesome. It was late, too, and we all come out and we’re all hyper and we’re dancing around on the streets. In the moment, we just had this intense inspiration,” said Niki Naftzger, Lake Travis High School 10th-grader.
Naftzger, who will play Iris in TexARTS’ “Fame,” said seeing the dancers in the movie and McGill at the workshop was motivating.
“When see you an amazing dancer, you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to be just like that.’ And then you try and you fail, but then you just keep trying and keep trying and you can do it finally after practicing,” she said.
Berkley Jones, Lake Travis High School 10th-grader, said she valued the opportunity to pick the brain of someone who’s battled his way through the audition process.
“I ended up feeling a slight relief that I know something of what’s going to go on when I actually experience it, so when I get there I’m not like, ‘What just happened? I don’t know what I’m doing,’ ” said Jones who will be the dance captain in TexARTS’ production of “Fame.”
McGill’s resilience impressed her as well.
“He was really inspiring because no matter what he did, no matter how tired he was, he would always do it full out with all the energy in his body,” she said.
The nuances of musical theater dance challenged and intrigued the dancer who said she drew upon her photographic memory to envision the movie’s dances in her head and recreate them in the workshop.
“I thought that was really cool to be able to say, ‘Hey, I can do that,’” said Jones who has her sights set on the bright lights of New York City after majoring in musical theater.
“I definitely want to be on Broadway. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was 7,” she said.
Through the workshop, she realized that she will have to do something to stand out from the crowd and achieve her dreams.
“It made me more aware that there are so many talented people out there that I have to really create my own personal [style],” Jones said.
“Fame” performances will take place in the TexARTS Morris Studio Theater at 7 p.m. June 25; noon, 3 and 7 p.m. June 26; and at 2 and 5 p.m. June 28. Tickets are available online at www.nowplayingaustin.tix.com for $15.