Theatre students and theater director Hannah Drake took a trip to Illinois State University (ISU) in Bloomington for Theatre Fest Jan. 12.
According to theintelligencer.com, Theatre Fest is the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theater festival in the nation. The IHSTF 2024 All-State production was She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen.
Theatre students were able to make memories by being able to perform Matilda twice. According to some students who attended Theatre Fest this year, the cast of Matilda was only given three hours to build the set, set up props, and get ready.
Students ranging from freshmen to seniors in theatre got the chance to attend this trip.
“I have been to Theatre Fest before,” junior Bella Teston said. She attended last year’s Theatre Fest as well as this year’s.
According to illinoistheatre.org, about one-fourth of high schools in the state participate in the festival every year.
“I had lots of fun, other than the fact that it’s hard to be able to go see other shows whilst being in one of the shows,” senior Chelsea Morales said.
Junior Ilaria Okerson said that thankfully she was able to get in line early and watch the show Pippin, performed by Edwardsville High School.
“I wish I would have had more time to see more shows but since I was performing on Friday, my schedule was full,” Okerson said. She said that she still had lots of fun. It was a really great experience and she can’t wait to go next year.
Theatre Fest is held every year around the same time, but switches between University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and ISU.
“I really wanted to go see Mean Girls and Alice By Heart, but other than that I did everything I had wanted to do,” Morales said. “I’m actually really sad that this will be the last time I can attend because I enjoy Theatre Fest. The crowd at Theatre Fest was just unmatchable.”
Means Girls was performed by Deerfield High School and Alice by Heart was performed by Coal City High School.
Morales said that it’s very nice to be able to meet new people and be surrounded by others with the same interests.
“My favorite part of Theatre Fest was the audience because it was filled entirely with other people who love the fine arts too,” Teston said. “They were such an involved and supportive audience.”
