Festival!  Festival!  Festival!  Festival!  Festival! Pictures are below....

WE ARRIVED HOME FROM FESTIVAL ON 1/10 and had an incredible weekend.  26 STUDENTS AND 5 CHAPERONES SAW 12 DIFFERENT SHOWS AND EXPLORED THE WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES. 

Steffan's feedback is at the bottom. Post your feedback here:

 From Bo -

OK, everybody else already raved about festival-you know we all loved it!  ^_^  Since I never really had the time to explain it, and it wasn't really discussed on the opening page, I thought I'd tell everybody about the tech auditions.  Both were extremely invigorating, btw...anywho, tech auditions.  The TD, Micheal Michelin(sp?) all sat us down, either one or two at a table.  All of the auditionees were supposed to have a portfolio, to show the judges pictures of your work, such as lighting plots, construction work, scene models or plots, etc.  Some people brought in a laptop, some brought in boomboxes to show examples of sounds that they themselves designed and created, and some even had displays, sort of like the kind they gave us for science fair projects.  I brought my resume and me, which they already had, but it turned out to work just fine.  I was in the second string of auditionees-the first group was reserved for all-state performers so that they wouldn't have to miss their shows.  This was done the same way for acting auditions, where they got to go first.  Well, we got in there, and had 5 minutes to set up our stations.  And then, 20 sets of representatives(either one or two people) from each school, each had 4 minutes with us.  We had 4 minutes to sell ourselves to these people.  Wow, was it intimitating!  Oh my gosh, they sat me next to probably the most prepared person there.  Since I got there early, we had a chance to talk in the hallway, and her school does, brace yourselves, seven (yes seven) shows a year!  Wow!  And two of them are either student directed or student cast and produced...this girl had A LOT of experience.  So you can imagine, sitting next to this girl with her laptop full of all of this cool stuff...anyway, the judges were really nice, and pretty attentive people to talk to.  I talked about being a certified technician, and building the sets, and generally just how cool it was to see the tangible results of your work.  And after those 20 sets were done, we got to have a 3 minute break to breath and drink some water, and then the next twenty reps came in and we did it all over again.  It was crazy!  It seemed like I'd just started to tell them something, and then it was over!  Time to move on to the next person. 

Well, it was certainly very different from the acting auditions.  While in the technician auditions we got to sit down and talk with the judges, the acting auditions were something different entirely.  First, we stood in line and waited for three hours.  Literally, I'm not exaggerating.  And then, when you were supposed to go next, we walked into this black set of doors into a little room.  It was maybe 3' x 6'.  One of the college festival staff sat in there with you.  On one side was the doors you walked in through, and on the other side was a set of airlock doors...they were scary!  Thick, metal doors with three different closing mechanisms that prevented you from hearing the other person's audition.  When it was finally your turn (btw, I was THE LAST person to audition for acting.  THE LAST ONE)  you walked in through the scary sci fi doors (or in my case hobbled) and were allowed to start your slate-your slate is your intro.  During this time you were supposed to announce your name, school, character, and show.  If you were doing a singing audition, this is the time to talk to the accompianist about which song and cut you were going to perform.  Once you started either the song or monologue, the clock started.   You were alloted two minutes for the whole thing.  The judges were seated on the choir risors.  All forty-plus of them.  And some of them didn't even look at you-most were jotting down notes in their binders of resumes.  Once you were done, you just left.

For both acting and tech callbacks consisted of a letter with your name on it and the names of all the schools you auditioned for.  The ones that were highlighted were those that were interested in you and what you had to offer their school.

OK, now that I've taken up a rather sizable chunk of the page, I think I'm done.  I'll finish up by saying that I'm so jealous most of you get to come back next year!!!

~Bo

Festival was so much fun.  It was a very educational experience.  I didn’t feel like the only person obsessed with musical theatre.  I felt at home.  The same feeling I get when we are in our theatre.  I’m sad that that was the last time I get to go to the festival, but I feel blessed that I got to go at all.  Thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible.  It was amazing!!!!!!!!!~Missy L.

This was such a great experience. I had so much fun and i learned a lot.it was great to be around so many other people and just be able to meet new people. i think it was beneficial to me because it definately taught me new things!! The only thing that made me sad was being so close to the stage for hairspray and seeing all the energy they were exuding made me want to get up on stage and do some show. then i realized....Narnia is soon! haha. and all the singing and talking and sceramin made me lose my voice. *_*

I LOVED FESTIVAL!!!!!!! i saw so many shows and did really cool workshops like : stage combat.Hairspray was sooooo goooood!! this whole festival just set my dreams so much higher for theatre! i saw the play AMADEUS which is now my idol role to play some day.In all festival was amazing  and  i loved every minute of it - Mo

Festival was awesome!!!! It was the most fun I have ever had! I learned so much about acting and I actually had fun doing it. My favorite workshop was: armed stage combat. There were so many things I wish I could have done as well (I had no idea there was so much to learn about acting)......but that's what next year is for!-Josh.

Melissa -

Okay, at first I thought "Why is everyone so excited?! It's just a bunch of classes!" But I completely agree with Kaitie! This trip reminded me of how much theatre means to me and made me want to expand my knowledge on everything having to do with theatre, both acting and technical! The classes push you to learn all you can from this amazing opportunity. Every single class had something to offer. The first class I took was How To Prepare Your Singing Audition. I was afraid that the instructor would be standing in the front of the class yacking the whole time, but once it started I knew this guy meant buisness. He had students list their names to sing and he accompanied them. Unfortunatly the workshop was too short to get to me, but I learned so much from his criticism and compliments about the other's performances anyway! Each class I took was so super helpful!!! The best class that I took at festival had to be Advanced Acting. At first thought, the instructor would seem a little cooky, if not wierd. She bowed to us out of respect and expected the same of us, liked everyone sitting on the floor, and seemed very connected to her spiritual side. We had an excersize in which we partnered up and stared at our partner's back for a good five minutes. At the end of this excersize, she asked if anyone thought that this was boring. She told us that there was so many details to scrutinize that we shouldn't be bored. The moral : The more details you observe about your scene partner, the more chemistry you two can have. The scene will develop better and the relationships are more natural. there were many excersizes like this. I was excited to hear that she taught at NIU!!!!!! It was the best acting class I have EVER taken. These classes were different from any other classes I have taken in that there were ideas and techniques from BOTH students and mentors. Suggestions were made by a student and the mentor would persue that and demonstrate why it would or would not work. All the mentors are willing to stay after and help you with a specific monolouge or song or just to answer some questions you may have. The plays were awesome! I attended The Wedding Singer, Plaza Suite, and Hairspray. To see those students up there performing made me mourn the death of Trudy, yet pumped me up for Godspell! The talent at those shows were incredible! That weekend was a non-stop flow of learning opportunities. There is so much more I could say about Festival, but I'll keep it short (ish). I REALLY want to thank Mrs. Steffan for this incredible opportunity and ask that we continue to attend festival for many years (or at least until I graduate!!!!). =] Can't wait for next year! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! -+-+- Melissa-+-+-

Festival to say the least was extraordinary. In all my four years at Marengo Community High School I don't think I've ever been so excited for a feild trip. Also, Illinois State Theatre Festival was a great learning opprotunity and I can't wait to try a few new things that I learned at workshops for Godspell. Festival also makes me realize how much I appreciate theatre. This is the trip that made me realize last year that I really want to go into technical theatre (production and design). This is a great opprotunity for anyone who is passionate about theatre (especially if you plan to go into it as a profession). -Kaitie (Note from Steffan: Kaitie has been accepted at Western and will be persuing a career as a Technical Director through their theatre program next year!!!  WTG Kaitie!!)

FROM STEFFAN: On the bus ride home, I asked you for your comments.  I particulary asked for any criticism or negative feedback. Below I have tried to write all of it down.  The number in () is how many of you made the same comment.  If I had a comment in response, it is in red:

Positive:

 ***"Festival was amazing." (7)

 ***"You should teach a class/workshop" (2) Thanks, I think.  But, you folks already know what I have to say (MCHS does offer 4 theatre classes) and I want to be more focused on you and helping you with your festival experience.  If I was leading a workshop, I wouldn't be there for you!

 ***"This was an awesome trip. I'm so happy to have experienced such an amazing opportunity!"

 ***"The workshops were extremely helpful."

 ***"The whole experience was fantastic."

 ***"I absolutely loved the trip."

 ***"The trip was great! better than last year." (3) It's always better after you have been to one.  You know what to expect and how to plan better.

*** "It's a great experience, I will never forget it.  Met a lot of new people and made new friends.  Learned much better than last year."

 ***"Theatre Fest was more fun than I expected.  I really enjoyed all the shows and workshops.  I wish I went last year.  The people there were extrememly fun and kind."

 ***"The past two years I have loved this trip.  When I'm student teaching or a T.D. (technical director) I would love to come back and help."

***"Ideas and techniques were shared between the mentors and the students." This is a great statement about the educational value of the workshops.  Teachers and students attend the classes and learn from each other.  I attended several workshops and learned new things, too.

***"I enjoyed The Wedding Singer." (3)

*** "I wish I had gone last year, I had so much fun on this trip."

***"There was only one play I was not crazy about, but I saw 5 plays...so seeing one that was okay and 4 I loved was awesome!"

***"There is nothing I would change to improve the trip." (3)

***"The people I met and the experience is something that I will remember for the rest of my life!"

***"Hairspray was awesome!" (26)

*** "I want to come again next year!" (3)

***"I enjoyed Company." (2)

***" Thank you for everything." (2) You are welcome.  It's what I live for.

***"This was really fun trip, and seeing Hairspray made me want to perform so much."

***"I really appreciated it when you took the time out of your festival to help me in the college auditions, with callbacks and with my resume, and just everything - it made the process a lot easier."

Thanks for the negative or constructive criticism that follows.  I need it to know where you guys are coming from and to improve the program.  Keep it coming, even if I shot you down with my response.  BUT,  you all need to realize that the many theatre directors and other professionals who organize, plan, coordinate and work the festival do it for FREE.  Most of them are just as busy as I am in a day.  They are cramming into their already busy teaching/directing schedule one more thing to do because they love theatre students and want to see the festival continue.  When you criticize something, lets keep this all in mind.  FOr that reason, I left out the 3 or 4 negative comments about specific workshops.  Usually you didn't like it because of your own expectations or frame of reference rather than the quality of the actual content.

Negative or constructive:

***"I was afraid of getting lost on a huge campus."  See, I think this is a positive comment, because it shows me that you had the opportunity to experience what a huge university is like in a totally safe environment.  There were several hundred chaperones on this trip.  All day I intentionally looked around to see the student/adult ratio.  There were always adults around.  Students were NEVER walking alone and everywhere you looked there were crowds of great theatre students.  Campus security was excellent and I also saw a good representation of local law enforcement.  There were many staff members and a flock of UofI students who all wore identifying "STAFF" shirts to help direct you and answer questions.  Safety was never a concern.

***"I wanted more recommendations." You would have to come to me individually.  Since every one of you is different, you all need different things.  Almost everything at festival is top notch since it is attended by all the best in the state, but not everything applies to everyone.  I did highlight a few things I knew would be excellent and educational.

***"I wish the trip was in summer or spring." Impossible.  It has to be done when school is not in session at ISU or UofI first of all.  Second, in spring, high schools are ALL doing the musical or another show.  Once summer hits, you wouldn't get any theatre directors to do it.  We need our summers to get ourselves recharged and to take educational opportunities of our own to better serve our students.

***"I would have liked to have been reminded before, like two weeks before, of what is needed for the audition.  Maybe that's my fault, and I probably should have done that on my own." No, you are right.  I should have spent more time with the auditionees beforehand.  I will work to improve this in the future and thank you for being in the very first bunch to go through it.  I am learning, too!

*** "More time to relax at the hotel" or "We should come back on Sunday." (7) I agree, however, taking you out of school earlier and having you miss more classes in order to swim in the pool would not be a good educational choice.  It wasn't a vacation, it was an educational opportunity.  If we stayed over another night, it would cost about $30 more for the hotel and another meal.

*** "Need a better map." I thought the map was excellent.  I think you folks need to work on your map reading skills.  Ask your parents what they thought of the map.  I don't know what could be done to improve it.  The map is taken directly from the UofI website.

*** "More hints about the next show."  I don't know what you mean.  What next show?

      MO: Im sorry Mrs.steffan i shoul have been more specific,I meant the next shows for are school.you got to talking that we might do twelfth night for are fall play,and i wanted more details.it was more of a joke. 

*** "I would like to see some encouragement for us to at least audition for the all best improv team..." I'm not sure I understand your statement.  Students did participate in the improv event and that is great recognition.  Let me know more of what you mean, please.  Do you mean I should have encouraged you more to even participate?  I guess I encourage all of you to participate in everything.  This year my focus was on the auditions and college opportunities.  I'm hoping to improve my skills in the areas that impact your future the most.

*** "I didn't like waking up early and finding out we have an hour left before we leave."  Sigh.  No matter how much I announce on the bus what our leave time is, there are still those of you who fall victim to your own poor planning.  Hopefully you learned how to better manage your time.

***"Workshops could have been more fun and enjoyable rather than just info pounded into you."  I would like to see the bruises.  But seriously, which workshop you are referring to so I can tell others if it is offered again?  However, The role of education isn't always to entertain, it is to educate.  What did you learn from the workshop?

*** "Vanities was boring."  Seeing a show you don't like can be just as educational as seeing one you do.  The role of education isn't always to entertain, it is to educate.  What did you learn from the set design, costumes, lighting, blocking, acting, script, etc.

 ***"Have a meeting on the day before to figure out classes and how to partner up, making sure everyone has backups in case a class is cancelled or full." Hmmm.  This person must have missed the meeting on Tuesday during which I said to go on-line and view the festival schedule and begin to plan your weekend....

***"Lunch tickets were bad because not everyone had time for it."  You need to make time for a healthy meal.  If I didn't have a lunch ticket included in the cost of the trip, more of you wouldn't have eaten and then the chances of someone getting ill increases.  I will always do what is better for you even when unpopular.

***"Fill out the schedule sheets earlier."  There is no way to do this since the books aren't available until check in on THursday and only a small portion of you are disciplined enough to go on line and do it ahead of time.

***"Meals were kind of...eclectic.  Maybe schedule them?" (2) Because the workshops and plays are continuous, there is not a block of 75 minutes to take you all for dinner.  Someone would miss something that they really wanted to see or do.  When trying to plan a meal for 31 people it takes time - to meet, board the bus, get there, order, eat, etc. - and this wouldn't be agreeable to most of you.  NEXT YEAR I am going to have a list for you of places within a few block where you can go to eat.  This should help.  ISU is better for this as well.

***"Maybe create or find a less cluttered space."  I can't think of another place in the state of Illinois that would have 12 performance spaces, room for the expo, 50 - 100 workshop spaces, have a ballroom for a dance, and be able to feed 4,500 people other than a big university.

Here we are in the hotel lobby!  Your camera shy director is taking the picture..

 Waiting for a show to start....

Here's Ruth with "Uncle Tony"

 Melissa and Missy enjoying the opening show!

Jayme after a make-up workshop....icky....

BIG NEWS!!  We (Thespians) took a trip September 5-7 to the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin.  All Thespians were invited and 17 of you and 6 adults enjoyed an educational, entertaining and all around fabulous trip!  For info on American Players Theatre, click on the link.  Below is a brief synopsis of our itinerary.

 7:30   PM      Arrive at Marengo High School 

Of course, we had meals and fun time in there, too, but these were the big events.  Check out the photo album page for some pictures!

If you went on the trip, please post feedback here: (Feedback is anything that inspired, informed, amused, delighted, surprised or engaged you.  What was your favorite part?  Funniest?  Strangest?  Any new experiences?)

I had such a good time on this trip.  I got to see four amazing shows, talk to a couple of the actors and I learned a lot.  It was really cool to be able to talk with the actors a see what it took for them to follow their dream in the theatre.   I want to thank anyone who had anything to do with making the trip happen.  I'm not going to list names because I do not want to leave anyone out who deserves a thank you.  So Thank you sooooooo much for making the trip so much fun and a great experience for me.  The best part of the trip was being able to experience it with all my friends.  I wish I could do this trip  year after year because I had that much fun!!!!!!!~ Missy L.

This trip was amazingly awesome. we gone to places had so much fun and hung out with a couple of actors and learned so much information on Theatre. Plus people were staring at me cause i had a clown nose and a fake mustache on, who cares that people were looking at me cause I came on the trip to have a blast and I did. Thank you to everyone who helped.~*Christina*~

 the spring green trip was amazing!!!!! Naomi

Oh my gosh!  Spring Green was awesome!  We all had an amazing time with the people we spend the most time with anyway!  ^_^  Seeing four completely different shows, from several completely different perspectives was a very enjoyable experience!  Talking with the actors, and listening to their personal experiences, along with the realities of theatrical life!  It was such a great opportunity to learn so much-especially when it gave us a chance to see just what Mrs. Steffan is always talking about!  House on the Rock is an extremely intersting and entertaining place to go-I recommend going there on your own if you did not attend!  I had a great time, and to copy Missy just a tad, thanks to all of those who made this trip happen.  It was an awesome opportunity-walking through the woods to get to the theatre, going through the backstage, GOING UP TO THE AWESOME TECH BOX!!!!!  It was all so cool, and it made me want to follow my dreams even more!  ~Bo

The way he landed!! The waterfall! Spring green was awesome!!!-eva

You now

 

Dates to Remember:

1/20 Thespian Meeting

1/8 - 10 Festival