For a fun way to kick off the semester, students in the theatre program here at Grayslake North piled onto a bus for a four hour travel day to Illinois State University to visit Illinois High School Theatre Fest.
According to the students in the theater who attended the event, it was a blast. The students were able to stay in a hotel and walk around the campus looking to advance their skills and adopt new techniques.
“Theatre Fest is a festival type of event where you can learn a lot about what you want to do. It’s very educational in that in can teach you a lot about what field you want to go into ranging from tech to onstage,” said sophomore Lillie Salas.
The basic point of the event is to guide students toward the future they want and to help them continue with their passion of the theater. On campus there were many shows, but the biggest and most important show was called “Aida,” held at the Allstate Arena.
“Aida” was the biggest show of the weekend at Theatre Fest. Students say it was an incredible show they appreciated greatly. It was also a very big deal because it was choreographed by a teacher here at North, Cher Schwartz.
“Getting to work with other adults from various places all over Illinois was incredible. It was a lot of work, though, because every long weekend since August we met and had eighteen hour rehearsal days,” Schwartz said.
The show did take a lot of time and effort, but it truly paid off. The feedback from the audience was exciting; however, when asked if she would do it again, Schwartz needed a break.
“I would love to be asked to do it again, and with the right show and right production team I would absolutely do it again. I just don’t think anyone could do it two years in a row. It’s such a huge time commitment that you need to be able to rest and reset yourself in order to give it your best for the production and the students,” Schwartz said.
According to the students, “Aida” was a show that many people enjoyed, and it added on to a great weekend that made people want to return.
After returning, most people say that it was a very great time and they really enjoyed it.
“I’m really excited to go back next year because I always look forward to Theatre Fest every year, and it’s always been a really good time,” said junior Lauren Hunt. The event is a ton of fun to people, and from what students say, they always want to return.