One man's experiences in the jungle of the Illinois High School Theatre Festival

By Max Goldberg
Gargoyle senior editor
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Gargoyle, features

WHEN YOU SEE 4,000 people wearing fur coats and colorful clothing jumping up and down and roaring at the top of their lungs, you know that you are either staring down at the Mongol Horde, or you are in the midst of the 2006 Illinois High School Theatre Festival. In this case, I'm talking about the festival held Jan. 5-7 at Illinois State University.

Prepare yourself for a journey into the depths and recesses of the mind of a theater person (me) as I recount to you the strange and wonderful tales of the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, including a few about Uni students Sara Sligar and Paige Martin, who wrote a short play for the opening ceremony and performed in the all-state production, respectively.

Known as Theatrefest, this three-day program brings students from across the state onto either the ISU or U of I campus — depending on the year — to watch shows and participate in workshops. I've decided to skip over the mundane details, such as driving, eating, and playing billiards for almost two hours straight, and get to the good parts. Without further ado, I present…

Cobwebs, convicts, and convents

It was the evening of Jan. 5 that I hopped out of the van and started walking toward the ISU student union, called the Bone Student Center. We had been driving around for an hour with a stop for dinner, and I was fairly hyper by the time we arrived on campus — but not as hyper as kids from other schools.

We entered the enormous auditorium of the Bone Center and took our seats for the opening ceremonies. The sound in the auditorium was deafening from all the spirit claps, shouting matches, and general jubilation of the 4,000 student attendees of the festival.
Somehow, teachers, chaperones, and staff managed to quiet everyone down long enough for the show to begin.

The performance, done by the Eclipse Theatre Company, consisted of five shows, all written by high school students. Most of them were angsty and full of kissing scenes, but there were two good ones.

Senior Sara Sligar's “Cobwebs” left me satisfied, especially because it had a kissing scene that made sense and the main character looked like Albert Einstein and sounded like Mickey Mouse. “It was an interesting experience,” Sligar said. “I disagreed with some of the artistic choices but found others to be enjoyable additions.”

I also liked a comedy involving nuns, an escaped convict, and harpoons, but that's another story.

Music make me lose control

My extensive breakdancing skills gleaned from an instructional DVD two years ago led me to try my hand at a hip-hop dance workshop. I figured I could learn some new moves and get an opportunity to dance outside my normal spot on the Mac lab floor.

Unfortunately, I made a slight miscalculation and ended up in a dance class that Ciara or Beyonce might take if they were at Theatrefest. This was evidenced in the about 80-percent female population of this class. But, no matter. Secure man that I am, I stretched out and prepared to get on the good foot.

The instructor, a professional dancer named Lucy Riner, entered the gym, which was already sweltering at this point, and informed us that the dance was difficult enough that she might have to stop sometimes. (To give her the benefit of the doubt, she was four months pregnant.)

This did not bode well, but she broke down the steps and I eventually got it. I worked my way up from a slow song all the way to Missy Elliot's “Lose Control,” and by the end I could jiggle my buttocks just as good as any video girl. I take pride in this accomplishment, but not without a great deal of shame. And no, I will not show it to you at school, so don't even ask.

Chorus lines and conclusions

This was only a smattering of the events that occurred at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival this year. There was also the packed Theatrefest dance, lots of random theater antics and games, and the sparkling all-state production, “A Chorus Line,” in which junior Paige Martin acted.

She, along with high school students from across the state, kicked, strutted, and told of their troubled lives in an audition for a chorus line. “I learned so much about acting, singing, and dancing,” said Martin.

It was a hectic time, and I was very glad to be home (how would you feel if the people in line at Burger King behind you were singing songs from “Rent”?). And yet, I do feel a little more theater in me these days. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to rehearse my monologue. The stage awaits.