Metea students attended the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, also known as IHSTF, at the University of Illinois last week.  It is an event known for its being the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation.

“Students and teachers from all over the state of Illinois attend Theatre Fest every year to enrich their education through witnessing, experiencing, and talking about theater,” sponsor and Language Arts teacher Rebecca Walker said.

Over 4,000 students, teachers, university representatives, exhibitors, and volunteers come together to put on over 25 different high school productions and over 150 workshops, according to Theatre Fest.  Metea Valley Drama Club members took a trip with chaperones to watch these shows and workshops. The Drama Club attended a variety of performances, including the Allstate production of In the Heights.

“Mr. Wolski and myself are the Drama Club sponsors and usually attend Theatre Fest as chaperones. I also love being there as the Mustang Improv coach because we almost always have students participating in improv auditions, workshops, and performances,” Walker said.  

Other highlights included college auditions for high school seniors, professional development for teachers and the All-State Production, featuring student cast, crew, and orchestra members from across the state.  Some of the other workshops attended by Metea students were Murder Mystery, Immersive Theater and When Pigs Fly: Human Costumes for Non-Human Characters.