By Tallyn Owens
Entertainment Editor
The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana played host to this year’s Illinois High School Theatre Festival or “Theatrefest” for short, which was attended by numerous members of Prospect’s theater program over January 6-8.
This year,”Theatrefest” boasted over 4,000 students from around the state, as teachers and student performers alike attended over 150 workshops regarding anything from stagecraft to pantomiming, as well as watching more than 25 performances from high schools around the state.
The theme for this year’s “Theatrefest” was “Scenes from Life” and the festivities also included college auditions for high school seniors, a student film festival, as well as the annual All-State Production, “Into the Woods”, which was also chosen as Prospect’s spring musical to be performed later this year.
Sophomore Patrick Pfohl, a cast member of last year’s musical, “Curtains”, as well as Prospect’s 2010 winter play, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, attended “Theatrefest” and found that the All-State Production was enjoyable and helpful in the long run.
Auditions for Prospect’s rendition of “Into the Woods” were held the week after “Theatrefest”, and Pfohl found them convenient when preparing for auditions.
“You could get different ideas on how you should carry the character [by watching the performance],” said Pfohl.
Senior and Speech Team captian Lauren Matthews was cast in the All-State improv team on Thursday and performed with them on Friday night.
According to Speech Team Coach Jeremy Morton, besides offering the numerous productions and workshops, “Theatrefest” was also an opportunity for every student in attendance to be surrounded by people who shared the same love for theater that they do, as well as teaching them more about performing in general.
“It shows them how much art is truly out in the world as opposed to three times a year on the Prospect stage,” Morton said.
