 Early notes on the script from Disney also suggested making the boy's passion dancing rather than poetry as well as a new title ""Sultans of Swing"" focusing on the character of Mr. Keating rather than the boys themselves, but both were dismissed outright.Filming started in the winter of 1988 and took place at St. Andrew's School and the Everett Theatre in Middletown, Delaware, and at locations in New Castle, Delaware, and in nearby Wilmington, Delaware.During the shooting, Weir requested the young cast not to use modern slang, even off camera.