Last month, on January 12-14, 25 Guilford students got the chance to go on the Illinois High School (IHS) Theater Fest field trip at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. This was the first year that the fest had happened since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there were many changes this year as opposed to previous years. 

  “It was more expensive. They had a new dining hall. I drove the bus!” said Mrs. Melissa Wolf, Theater Director. 

  At the fest, over three thousand students had the opportunity to go to a variety of workshops that all centered around theater. The students really enjoyed this aspect of the trip. 

  “My favorite workshop was Constructive Improv because I got to meet and act with so many new people,” said Alaina Neumann, a junior. “We formed multiple different groups and played improv games. I learned how to support the decisions other actors make and how to create a character that is useful to the plot.”

  Students were also able to see a variety of shows that were put on by various high schools and theater groups participating in the fest. 

  “My favorite show was either The Play That Went Wrong or As You Like It,” said Chase Hunter, a senior. “The Play That Went Wrong was just so cool to see all of the technicals that went along with it because it’s a high school show, but it was really well put together, and that show is about all the things going wrong, but it was set up in such a way where everything fell into place perfectly. And then As You Like It, we worked in our theatre class so it was nice to see a stage representation of that because reading Shakespeare is kind of hard to see it on the page, so seeing it up on stage instead of staring at Shakespeare’s weirdly worded words for so long was really cool to see.”

  One of the only things that the group did together was going and seeing the All State Production of Shrek the Musical, which many students said was their favorite performance of the trip. 

  “I loved the actors’ facial expressions and the costumes were beautiful,” said Samantha Mosny, a junior who has been with the Guilford theater program for three years. 

  When the students weren’t doing workshops or seeing shows, they had the opportunity to explore the beautiful campus at University of Illinois. 

  “I loved exploring Champagne,” said Hunter. “We spent one of our whole days just walking around and getting Korean corn dogs, which were very good. It was extremely cold, but it was so fun walking around and seeing all of the different shops!”

  The seniors also had the opportunity to audition in front of 39 different colleges and programs and many of them got call-backs to audition for them again. 

  “For seniors it’s a huge opportunity for them to get into college theatre programs,” said Mrs. Wolf. 

  The audition process can be very nerve racking, but the seniors all had each other and Mrs. Wolf for support. 

  “It was honestly kind of terrifying, but Mrs. Wolf prepared us so well before we went in,” said Hunter. “I went in and felt very confident.”

  Overall, most students said that they would definitely go back again next year. 

  “It was an amazing opportunity to meet new people and next year I will be able to audition for colleges,” said Neumann.

  The IHS Theater Fest is a great opportunity for high school students involved in theater, and it is one that will hopefully continue for many years to come. 

  “The theatre festival is like a buffet where you can go and see multiple productions from Illinois high schools from around the state and take workshops that might not be offered normally,” said Mrs. Wolf.