This post was updated on March 20, 2019

She’s The Man is one of the best teen films to come out of the 2000s. I will always stand by this fact.

It was well cast with Amanda Bynes in the dual role of twins Viola and Sebastian Hastings and at the time, an unknown Channing Tatum who began to make his mark in Hollywood as Duke Orcino. She’s The Man is funny, engaging and all round just awesome to watch – which explains why I never tire of it and why people of all ages still enjoy watching it 13 years later.

I met Amanda Bynes at the Melbourne premiere of She’s The Man and I am really glad I did. She was the loveliest person and took photos with everyone who asked. Even though she has had a rough few years in terms of her mental health; and has been in and out of the headlines as a result, her performance in this film was top notch and I don’t know about you, but I seriously forget that Sebastian (when played by Bynes) is not actually a boy. The makeover is so good that you do forget it really is her! We even named our family dog, a Maltese Shitzu, Duke, after Channing Tatum’s character, and he’s still around 12 years later. True story!

In April 2015, when I visited Vancouver, Canada for the second time, I made it my mission to track down the ‘school’ that was featured in She’s The Man which stood in for the Illyria preparatory school campus in the film. The She’s The Man school is actually not at a school at all. It is the Shadbolt Centre for the Performing Arts, located within the Deer Lake Park region of Central Burnaby. This location is a local arts centre which offers classes and performances within the local area. In 2016-2017, when I lived in Vancouver on a working holiday visa, I regularly walked/ran to the Shadbolt Centre because I lived less than 4km away from it in Joyce-Collingwood at the time.

Many scenes in She’s The Man were filmed in so many places within the Shadbolt Centre, and while exploring the building, I truly did feel like I stepped right into the Illyria high school campus – even though it looked a little different, had less people walking around and had its colour palette changed to what we see in the film. They had red poles in the film not green ones like you can see in the photos.

Even if this location wasn’t a filming location for a film I love, the grounds and building are just lovely to explore when visiting Vancouver. It is just amazing. Other productions have used this location as well over the years, including Supernatural.

Which of your favourite scenes from She’s The Man can you re-live right here at the Shadbolt Centre in Vancouver?

Illyria High School, She’s The Man Filming Locations

Front Entrance Of Illyria High School

The front entrance of the Illyria high school, is this very building that looks out onto the lawn and the lake. The green metal poles seen here were all painted red in the film, to represent the film’s colours; making it look a little different to how it looked in the film.

Scenes from She’s The Man which were shot here include:

*Sebastian (Viola) running to the soccer game against Cornwall after sleeping in.

*Sebastian (Viola) talking to Eunice when she is kicked out of the room by Duke after their fight.

*When Malcolm and Principal Gold overhear Sebastian (Viola)’s conversation with her mother about not wanting to wear heels to the debutante ball.

©Dreamworks Pictures

©Dreamworks Pictures

©Dreamworks Pictures

Second Floor Exterior Balcony Of Illyria High School

The second floor balcony is easy to access as there is a staircase that leads up to this area from the Side Walkway (which was also featured in the film, so see below). It makes for great views of the lake and lawn too.

Scenes from She’s The Man which were shot here include:

*When Sebastian (Viola) is on the phone talking to Paul about wanting to give up her charade. Paul decides to boost her social standing with the boys at the pizza parlour by making “him” look like a heart breaker.

©Dreamworks Pictures

Side Walkway Of Illyria High School

The scenes to the right side of the building are also quite memorable in She’s The Man, with Viola’s first appearance as Sebastian happening right here, when Paul drops her off in his car. This drop off happens further down after where the pillars are, which you can see in the below image.

Scenes from She’s The Man which were shot here include:

*Paul dropping Sebastian (Viola) off in the car on his first day, and having to walk past a throng of people and even a marching band to get inside.

*The stairway that Sebastian (Viola) walks up when he has earned credibility among the boys, and is now the ‘big man on campus’ as a result of all the attention he received at Cesarios Pizza Parlour – and the dumping of Monique.

©Dreamworks Pictures

©Dreamworks Pictures

Interior Scenes Of Illyria High School

Excitingly, some scenes from inside the Shadbolt Centre made it into She’s The Man too. These truly make it feel like you are at the school and best of all they look exactly like they did in the film, right down to the furniture which belonged to the Shadbolt. You are literally walking around a film set here – if you know what to look for.

Scenes from She’s The Man which were shot here include:

*The cafeteria where Principal Gold serves lunch to students.

*The cafeteria, where Sebastian (Viola) sees that Olivia is still upset over her recent heartbreak; and the talk about Justin crying at a past soccer game takes place over lunch.

*The scene where Duke grabs Sebastian (Viola) after class to discuss being set up with his crush Olivia, who Sebastian has become friends with.

©Dreamworks Pictures

©Dreamworks Pictures

It is so rare to find one location that a film has used so much of which is actually a real life living set that you can visit.

But, this is definitely one of them, and well worth it! I love She’s The Man even more now that I have seen where it was filmed in the flesh. Plus, it is a place I associate a lot with my time living in Canada, which was a really great experience. This has been one of my all-time favourite filming locations that I have ever seen – and I have seen a lot. So if you love She’s The Man as much as I do, be sure to make it here to see it.

The address of the She’s The Man Illyria High School is: 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

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