year-by-year
summary of festival events
Since the first organizational year the Festival has run
smoothly, regenerating itself each year. Now that the process is well established, the
committees have time to pilot new events and continue to look at new approaches in the
Festival schedule.
There has always been a concern about appropriate audience behavior. It is felt that much
improvement in student audience behavior has been seen throughout the years of the
Festival.
The following are observations of each Festival.
The Festival began on Thursday evening and ended at noon on Sunday - the only time when the Festival went into a Sunday schedule.
On Friday afternoon at 1:30p in the Festival Theatre, there was a general assembly with speeches by the mayors, sponsor representatives, and Festival Director. It was heard on a loud speaker system in the Studio Theatre as well.
There were five full-length "studio" performances. There were descriptions of the performances in the program.
The entertainment included "Theatre/jocks in the P.E. Land of Oz." We were able that year to use the gymnasium and had a variety of activities going on for students there. Entertainment also included movies as well as movies scheduled for overflow activities during the day.
There was a strong involvement of the Theatre Department faculty at the University of Illinois.
There was an emphasis on the use of three Festival critics for all shows at the Festival - B.F. Johnson, Ralph Lane, and Norm Potts.
The program carried a description of the main co-sponsors.
There were teacher workshops specifically designated as such.
The faculty reception was started the first year of the Festival and was held on Saturday night.
The Festival opened with a professional theatre production, Pale Fire, a one-man show by Frank Galati of Northwestern University, on Thursday evening and closed with Jesus Christ, Superstar, the first All-State production.The Festival began with the teacher/sponsor meeting in which it was hoped that teachers and sponsors would formally meet so that the philosophies of the Festival could be explained.
There were six full-length performances and eighteen studio performances at the Festival.
There were four large attendance workshops on Friday evening.The entertainment included swimming and a sock hop as well as gym activities.
There were designated "teacher only" workshops as part of the workshop schedule. The faculty reception was changed to Friday night.
At this time we were able to announce the new Festival director and advance planning for the next Festival.This is the first year the Governor had a proclamation concerning the Festival.
The opening performance was the Steppenwolf Theatre in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The Lieutenant Governor also gave an opening welcome.The Festival ended with a special guest performer, Ron Husmann, who performed in a one-man piece, Musical Comedy: History, Development, Entertainment.
The Festival included five full-length performances and ten studio performances.
Steppenwolf Theatre did a large attendance workshop and a reading hour Friday evening.
The student entertainment included comedy films and a dance. There was a planned student social on Saturday evening for those who wanted to stay in town overnight.
There were designated "teacher only" workshops as part of the workshop schedule. The faculty reception was held on Friday evening. There was a Saturday lunch for faculty.
There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre week.
The Festival included an opening improvisational performance by the Minnesota-based Dudley Riggs Brave New Workshop.
The All-State production was an original story piece called Tale Spinners, and was presented at 6:30 p.m. and at 8:00 p.m.The Festival had five full-length productions and ten studio performances.
There were five large attendance workshops on Friday evening.
The Friday night student entertainment included a dance only. There was a planned Saturday evening event for those staying in town overnight.
There was a Thespian business meeting in the workshop schedule.
There were only a few "teacher only" workshops. There was not a faculty lunch.
There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre Week.
The Festival opened with the United Mime Workers performance and included the All-State mime performance, directed by the United Mime Workers.The Festival included five full-length performances and ten studio performances.
On Friday evening there were eight large attendance workshops.The Friday night student activities included dance, film and open recreation in the gyms.
College auditions for high school seniors were added to the schedule this year.
The critiques were moved to separate rooms and scheduled separately from the performance.
There was a formal scheduled meeting with Festival critics for the first time.
This is the first year that Illinois Theatre Association members were designated in the program with an asterisk.
"Teacher only" workshops were not offered. This was the first year the ITA subsidized part of the cost of the faculty luncheon on Saturday.
There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre Week.
The Second City Touring Company opened the Festival and the All-State variety show production ended the Festival with two performances.
The Festival had five full-length performances and ten showcase performances. (Note: The studio performances are now called showcase performances.)
On Friday evening there were two performances, two showcase performances and one special make-up workshop. There were special long workshops scheduled in the evening.
The students' entertainment included a dance on Friday evening.A student cover design contest was initiated.
The meeting of all Festival critics was initiated at the beginning of the Festival.
The faculty luncheon on Saturday was again subsidized by ITA and a formal program was offered.
Teacher workshops were not scheduled.
There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre Week.
The Festival opened with the St. Louis Repertory Imaginary Theatre. The All-State production which closed the Festival was Two Gentlemen of Verona and included an All-State orchestra, cast and crew.
The Festival schedule included several innovations: pre-registered workshops; technical college auditions; student high school exhibits; extended workshops; college extension courses for teachers; and students submitted artistic projects including original plays which were critiqued by University faculty and experts in the area.
The Festival included four full-length performances and eight showcase performances. One of those was commissioned.
The Friday evening entertainment was a dance.
The program contained background notes describing the high school programs and facilities of the performing high schools.The luncheon, again subsidized by the Illinois Theatre Association, had a costume parade as the main focus.
Tickets were not needed for workshops this year.
Ceramic pieces were commissioned and given as "awards" to performing schools.
An elaborate student monitor system was needed to run the Festival.
There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre Week.
A classical play, The Miser, performed by the New American Theatre of Rockford, opened the Festival.
The All-State cast and crew did two performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
There were five full-length performances and six showcases. The commissioned show was Hay Fever performed by Homewood-Flossmoor. One full-length was performed in the Studio Theatre.
There was a student dance on Friday evening.
There were pre-registered student and faculty workshops.
The ITA faculty luncheon was eliminated and ITA sponsored a Friday evening faculty reception. Recognition awards were given to Mina Halliday and Judy Hamontre at the reception.
An "Arts Education Week" section was added to the program.There was a Governor's proclamation.
The opening musical was The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd by the Illinois State University Theatre Department.
The All-State production was Our Town.
There were five full-length performances and twelve showcases. Two of the showcases were performed by international guests from Canada and two of the showcases were commissioned.
There was a student dance and faculty reception Friday evening.
The Exhibit Area was theme-oriented allowing for more school displays and banners.
There were pre-registered student workshops. There was a teacher resource area set up in the Exhibit Area.
High school students were offered "college in escrow" courses and high school teachers were offered graduate credit courses from Illinois State University.
The program contained background notes on the high school programs of the "showcase" high schools. A 3-column program format was used.
Out-of-state guests observed the Festival and colleges held auditions.There was a Governor's proclamation.
The opening performance was an improv group called Wavelength. A mandatory sponsors' meeting was held after.
There were two performances of the All-State Production, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.
There were special Tenth Anniversary celebration events: exhibits of old programs and pictures; cake after the opening; special recognition awards to planners helping through the years - Mina Halliday, Jerry Proffit, Carole Brandt, Ralph Lane, Rich Schuler, Bernie Works; special ribbons for school participant name tags if their school had attended all ten years; a theatre trivial pursuit contest; and balloons everywhere.
There were four full-length productions, the special production from ISU, and ten showcase productions. No productions except the special ISU performance were commissioned.ISU was asked to present their American College Theatre Festival entry, an original play about a boy growing up, The Adventures of Stanley Tomorrow.
On Friday night there was a student dance with costumes optional. The University of Illinois Theatre Department sponsored a faculty reception on the Great Hall Stage the same night.
There was a special student Festival Feedback Session coordinated by the Student Representative and used as the evaluation for the Festival.
There were pre-registered student workshops. The Teacher Resource Center in the Krannert Room proved successful.
College credit programs for high school students and teachers were continued.The audition process began with a "college fair" for students who were auditioning. Auditions were scheduled into a shorter time period.
The program booklet format was altered for clarity.
Out-of-state guests from Wisconsin and Michigan observed the Festival to use it as a model for their states.
Guidelines on dorm behavior were developed and enforced by the committee and hired guards.
The USITT exhibit was funded by the Illinois Arts Commission.There was a Governor's proclamation.
The opening performance by Trinity Theatre was Sounds and Sweet Aires, a collection of Shakespearean poetry and scenes. A swing choir production by the Swingsations from Mt. Zion High School concluded the opening performance. A sponsors' meeting followed.
The All-State production was the musical Celebration.
1986 Festival events included: a faculty drop-in center; over 70 workshops - some running through the noon hour; artistic projects were evaluated prior to the Festival; readings from original one-acts written by students were presented Friday; graduate course options were offered to teachers; college auditions were continued; pre-registered workshops were offered; six showcases and four full length productions were scheduled.
Free bowling and a dance were provided for students on Friday evening.Registration was held in the Grand Ballroom because ISU's registration was moved.
A faculty reception sponsored by the ISU Theatre Department was held Friday evening.
Lower attendance, which was attributed to timing close to semester tests and conflicts with contests, will be analyzed.The Governor's office developed a proclamation for the Festival.
A professional performance of A Room Somewhere by Metro Theatre Circus of St. Louis opened the Festival. A sponsors' meeting followed.
The All-State production was an original musical, Rep, by playwright Charles Wilde.
1987 Festival Events included: a teacher-talk center; pre-registered student workshops; artistic projects evaluated prior to the Festival and critiqued at the Festival; graduate credit course options were offered to teachers; over 70 workshops; a college fair for auditioning seniors; college auditions; five full-length productions and seven showcase productions; critique sessions for each full-length play; a Festival feedback session for appointed student representatives.
Hinsdale Central High School was commissioned to do a full-length production of Noises Off.
Alton Little Theatre was commissioned to bring a cutting of their play, To Kill A Mockingbird, as a showcase production.
A special feature of the Festival was called "Spotlight on the Pros" where fifteen theatre professionals talked about their jobs and experience.
Events scheduled for Friday night for students included bowling, the movie Fame, a sing-along of music from South Pacific and a dance with music provided by a DJ. Admission for the dance was $1.00.
A faculty reception provided by the University of Illinois Theatre Department was held on the stage of the Great Hall on Friday evening.
There was a Governor's proclamation. There were proclamations from the mayors of Champaign and Urbana.
Keeping with the theme of "Magic on the Stage of History," the opening performance was David Seebach's Wonders of Magic.
The All-State performance was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The Festival included five full-length performances and thirteen showcase performances.
Friday night activities for students included a dance ($1 admission), videotapes, sing-a-long, and bowling/ billiards.
The "Plan Your Festival" page was first used in the program booklet to allow each student to plan their schedule. Enough blank copies of the plan were given to each school so that every student could leave a copy of their schedule with the sponsor. This feature was designed to let the sponsors know where they could find their students at all times.
The swap desk was open all day Friday and Saturday.Saturday morning activities started one hour later than Friday morning.
The workshop leader desk was moved from the Founder's Suite to the Ballroom for greater communication with headquarters. To make the Ballroom more enticing as an exhibit area, seating and a stage were set up in the center of the room. Several performances and one workshop were actually held in this center arena.
A South Campus headquarters was set up in the lobby of Westhoff Theatre to coordinate workshops and activities at the south end of the campus.
The faculty reception on Friday night was moved to the Circus Room as it was a larger space.
The College Fair as part of the audition process was eliminated.There was a Governor's proclamation for Illinois High School Theatre week.
The opening performance was by The Second City National Touring Company.
There were two performances of the All-State Production, Alice in Wonderland. Due to the large number of people at the Festival, some were unable to watch the performance.
The Festival included five full-length performances and ten showcase performances. For the first time, the Foellinger Auditorium was used for some of the full-length performances.
For the first time, workshops were held in the Levis Center. This facility proved to be more desirable for workshops than the Music Building.The event scheduled for Friday evening was a dance with music provided by a DJ. $1 admission was charged for the dance. Bowling and billiards in the Student Union were also available.
Housing was not available in the Illinois Street Residence Hall this year. Groups that lacked transportation were housed in the University Inn or the Student Union.
Registration was held in Krannert Center for the Performing Arts instead of in the Illinois Street Residence Hall.
A new ticket policy was printed on each ticket indicating that the ticket guaranteed admission until curtain time only. At curtain time, people without tickets were admitted to all performances except the All-State Production.
The swap desk policy of swapping any valid ticket for a future performance ticket was maintained. The swap desk was open during registration hours on Friday and Saturday.
The College Fair was not held and the audition workshop was not offered for auditionees.The sponsors' meeting was moved to 8:00 pm, a half hour before the opening performance. A meeting of all college auditionees followed the opening performance.
A faculty reception provided by the University of Illinois Theatre Department was held on the stage of the Great Hall on Friday evening.Graduate credit courses were available for teachers through Illinois State University for the first time.
The position of All-State Producer was formalized.
The opening evening performance was Festoons by the Illustrated Theatre Touring Company. The production was created especially for the Festival. The sponsors' meeting and college auditionees meeting was held before the opening performance.
A single performance of the All-State production, The Wiz, was held in Braden Auditorium.
The Festival included six full-length performances and thirteen showcase performances. Kemp Recital Hall was used on Saturday as a full-length performance space.
Friday night activities included a dance at University High School gym, volleyball in the Metcalf Gymnasium, and bowling and billiards at the Bowling and Billiards Center.
In addition to the South Campus Headquarters in Westhoff Theatre, a second satellite headquarters was set up in University High School.The swap desk policy of swapping any valid ticket for a future performance ticket was maintained. The swap desk was open during registration hours on Friday and Saturday.
At curtain time, people without performance tickets were admitted to all performances. The ticket policy needs to be printed on the back side of each ticket.All sponsors were invited to attend a meeting of the secondary school division of the Illinois Theatre Association. At this time, Sandra Zielinski was recognized as the recipient of the Secondary School Division Award for 1989. In addition, coupons redeemable for free beverages at the faculty/sponsor reception were distributed. The faculty/sponsor reception was held in the Circus Room and was sponsored by the Illinois State University Theatre Department.
The practice of starting Saturday morning activities one hour later than Friday morning was continued.There was a Governor's proclamation.
The opening performance was Beowulf by the Metro Theatre Company of St. Louis.
There were three all-state performances of Mother Hicks, due to growth in attendance.
The Festival included five full-length performances and nine showcase performances. Foellinger Auditorium and Colwell Playhouse were used for full-length performances and the Music Auditorium and the Studio Theatre were used for showcases.
There were 11 pre-registered workshops and 77 workshops. Workshops were held in rooms in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Music Building and the Levis Center.The faculty reception was moved to the Student Union so that the student dance would be in the same location. Admission to the student dance was $1.00 and music was provided by a D.J. Bowling and billiards were also available in the basement of the Union.
All sponsors were invited to attend a meeting of the secondary school division of the Illinois Theatre Association. At this time, Dr. Carolyn Carson was recognized as the recipient of the Secondary School Division Award for 1990. In addition, coupons redeemable for free beverages at the faculty/sponsor reception were distributed.
Thirty-eight exhibitors pre-registered for the festival.College auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9:30 am.
The swap desk policy of swapping any valid ticket for a future performance ticket was maintained. The swap desk opened one hour before the first performance of Friday and Saturday and remained open until the close of registration.
The opening performance was Ten Minute Tuners by the New Tuners Workshop of Chicago.
The All-State production, To Kill a Mockingbird, was performed at 4:30 pm in Braden Auditorium.
The Festival included seven full-length performances and twelve showcase performances. Besides Stroud and Westhoff Theatres, Allen Theatre was used for full-length performances. This schedule was altered to accommodate the larger number of full-lengths.Friday night activities included a student dance at Metcalf gym and bowling and billiards at the Bowling/Billiard Center. At Capen Auditorium, The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie was shown with $1 admission charged.
There were 14 pre-registered workshops and 95 workshops. Workshops were held in U-High, Bone Student Center, Centennial East, Centennial West, CVA, Metcalf and McCormick. The swap desk maintained the policies of the previous three years.Thirty-two exhibitors pre-registered for the Festival.
College auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9:15 am.
The faculty reception was held in the Circus Room of Bone Student Center. Coupons redeemable for free beverages at the faculty/sponsor reception were distributed.
The opening performance was No Problem by Make It Live Productions of Evanston. Because registration was so high, the opening performance was ticketed as schools registered in the lobby of Krannert. Schools who arrived last to pick up their materials were unable to attend the opening performance. Several alternate activities were arranged for the students from these schools.
The All-State production, Dark of the Moon, was performed three times in the Festival Theatre (10am, 1pm and 4pm). The size of our registration with parents of cast and crew members families almost caused us to need more than three performances.
The Festival included 6 full-length performances and eleven showcase performances. The schedule was altered to allow a full-length to be repeated in the Colwell Playhouse on Friday.Friday night activities included a student dance in the ballroom at the Illini Union and bowling and billiards in the basement of the Illini Union.
This festival had the highest number of people registered.
There were 14 pre-registered workshops and 74 workshops. Workshops were held in Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Levis Center, the Music Building and the Nevada Street Dance Studio. The swap desk maintained the policies of the previous four years.
Thirty-eight exhibitors registered for the Festival by the Thanksgiving meeting. Several other exhibitors registered late and the Krannert lobby was almost full to capacity as far as exhibitor space.
The program book was modified for clarity and cost savings. Only one schedule which included everything including performances was used.
College auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9:00 am.
A sponsor's meeting preceded the opening performance at 8:00 pm in the Studio Theatre.
The faculty reception was held in the Pine Room at the Illini Union. Coupons redeemable for free beverages at the faculty/sponsor reception were distributed.
The opening performance was Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by the Neo-Futurists.
The All-State production, Jesus Christ Superstar, was performed Saturday at 4:30 pm in Braden Auditorium. Because of the high attendance figure, for the first time in Festival history, all three levels of the house were open. In addition, parents and exhibitors were encouraged to attend the final dress rehearsal at 10:30 am that morning.
Exceeding all past attendance records, 3005 students and sponsors registered for this year's festival. Because of the high number of participants, more performances and performance spaces were needed. The Festival included six full-length performances and sixteen showcase performances. Full lengths were presented in Stroud and Westhoff. Showcases were presented in Allen, Hayden, Kemp Recital Hall and a new space - The Old Main Room in the Bone Student Center.
Friday night activities included a student dance at Metcalf gym and bowling/ billiards at the Bowling/Billiard Center. The cost for the dance was $1.00.
There were 15 pre-registered workshop sessions and 140 workshop sessions. Most workshops were presented twice. Workshops were held in the Bone Student Center, Centennial East, Centennial West, CVA, Metcalf and McCormick. The Festival Headquarters was located in the ballroom of the Bone Student Center. A South Campus headquarters was located in the lobby of Westhoff Theatre. College auditions were held in Kemp Recital Hall beginning Friday at 9:15 am.
Thirty-seven exhibitors pre-registered for the Festival.
The program book was further streamlined to cut pages and to simplify its use by first time participants.
A sponsors' meeting preceded the opening performance at 8:00 pm Thursday in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center.
The faculty reception was held in the Circus Room of the Bone Student Center. Coupons redeemable for free beverages at the faculty/sponsor reception were distributed by the Illinois Theatre Association Secondary School Division.
Two opening performances of Theatre BAM's Schoolhouse Rock Live! were scheduled on Thursday night. Because of the high attendance numbers several modifications were made to the schedule. One performance was at 6:30 pm and one was at 8:30 pm. Schools had the option of requesting the early performance. The sponsor's meeting and the college auditionee's meeting were held at 8:00 pm between the two performances. The All-State production, Fiddler on the Roof was performed four times in the Festival Theatre (Friday at 1:30pm and 7pm, Saturday at 10am and 2:30pm). Even with the additional performances we still did not have enough room to accommodate registrants, parents, and workshop leaders.
Again past attendance records were exceeded. Not counting on-site registration, 3390 students and sponsors were registered for the Festival. The Festival included seven full-length performances and twelve showcase performances. Full-lengths were presented in the Colwell Playhouse and the Foellinger Auditorium. Showcases were presented in the Studio Theatre and the Music Auditorium and most of the performances were repeated.
There were 8 pre-registered workshops and over 100 regular workshops. Most
workshops were presented twice. Workshops were held in KCPA, Levis Center, and the Music
Building. College auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9 am in the Choral Rehearsal
Room and technical college auditions began at 8:30 am Friday in the Festival Green Room.
The faculty reception was held in the Pine Room at the Illini Union. Other Friday
night activities at the Illini Union included a student dance in the ballroom and bowling
and billiards.
The opening ceremony, A World of Illusions, utilized students from four Midwest universities. For the first time, tickets were required for Braden performances (Opening Ceremony and All-State). The capacity of Braden (3457) was exceeded by pre-registration but the weather solved the problem as several schools did not arrive until Friday morning. Tickets admitting participants to the orchestra, mezzanine or balcony for the opening performance were based on the school's registration date. The sponsors' meeting and the college auditionees' meeting were held at 8 pm in the BSC-Old Main Room and BSC-Circus Room respectively.The All-State production, Man of La Mancha, was performed twice in Braden Auditorium (Saturday at 1pm and 4pm.) The balcony was not used for these performances. Schools had the option of requesting their choice of performance when turning in medical release forms. Again orchestra or mezzanine tickets were assigned based on requests and the date of registration. Parents of the all-state cast were encouraged to attend the later performance.
As in the past few years, attendance has been on an increase. 3449 students and sponsors were in attendance at the Festival. Due to illnesses and weather conditions, 80 people who were pre-registered did not attend the festival. The Festival included ten full-length performances from five schools and forty-four showcase performances from nineteen schools. Three showcases were done by a touring Russian puppet troupe in Capen Auditorium.
The number of showcase performances increased because of the use of Capen, Old Main Room and a new showcase location, CE-116. One school that had been asked to do a full-length performance was unable to because the leasing company was unable to permit the performance.
Pre-registered workshops were discontinued this year. However, there were over 125 workshops, most of which were presented twice. Workshops were held in CVA, Centennial East, Centennial West, and McCormick Hall. College auditions were held in Kemp Recital Hall on Friday beginning at 9:30 am. Technical college auditions preceded the performance auditions at 8:00 am in CVA 149. 30 exhibitors were registered for the Festival.
The faculty reception was held in the Circus Room of the Bone Student Center. Other Friday night activities included two dances at the McCormick Hall gyms, one of which was a line dance. The bowling and billiards center was also open for students wishing to use these facilities.
Because of the high attendance numbers, two opening performances were scheduled on Thursday night of The Second City Touring Company. One performance was at 6 pm and the other was at 8:30 pm. In order to help clear the Krannert Lobby, a sponsors' meeting and auditionees' meeting was scheduled one-half hour before each opening performance.
The All-State Production, One Voice...The Legend of King Arthur, was performed four times in the Festival Theatre (Friday at 3pm and 8pm, Saturday at 10am and 2:30pm). Even with four performances we would not have had enough seats to accommodate registrants, parents, and workshop leaders had the weather not deterred some schools from attending.
As in the past few years registered attendance continued to increase. The Festival committee put a cap of 3400 students on the Festival and Festival registration was closed the weekend before Thanksgiving at the committee planning meeting. However, schools that were selected to bring shows to the Festival were allowed to add students to their registrations. The final pre-registered total was 3596. Due to weather conditions 23 schools decided not to attend and approximately 425 students and sponsors did not come to the festival. The festival included 17 full-length performances from eleven schools and 20 showcase performances from 10 schools. The number of full-length performances increased this year due to the slotting of full-length performances on Friday evening in the Studio theatre and the Music Auditorium. Lincoln Hall Theatre was also used for the first time as an additional full-length performance space.
Over 80 workshops were held in KCPA, the Music Building, Levis Center or the Illinois Street Residence Hall. Most workshops were presented twice. College auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9 am in the KCPA Choral Rehearsal Room and technical college auditions were held at 8 am in the KCPA Ensemble Room B. Forty-nine exhibitors were registered for the Festival.
A new feature of the festival this year was that an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet was available to registrants at the Illinois Street Residence Hall. Lunch tickets were available for $13.00 (cost for Friday and Saturday combined) and had to be ordered when each school registered. Over 800 registrants took advantage of this opportunity.
The faculty reception was held in the Pine Room at the Illini Union, Other Friday night activities at the Illini Union included a student dance in the ballroom and bowling and billiards.
The Opening Performance was an original piece ("The Armand Hosenfloyner Hour of Serendipity and Sideshow Exposition") specifically prepared for the IHSTF Opening Performance by the WNEP Theater Foundation. The opening performance was held in Braden Auditorium at 8:30pm following the sponsors' meeting and auditionees' meeting that were held at 8p.
The All-State production, Carousel, with All-State crew and orchestra, was performed twice in Braden Auditorium on Saturday at 1p and 4:30p. Parents of All-State company members were allowed to have up to four tickets for the 4:30p performance.
Again past attendance records were exceeded. At the Thanksgiving weekend planning a registration cap of 3550 was set. This cap exceeded the capacity of Braden Auditorium for the opening performance by approximately 100 people. Schools that were selected to bring full-lengths and performances were allowed to add students and a waiting list was started. The pre-registration total was 3648. Due to weather conditions on Thursday, several schools from Northwest Illinois were unable to arrive until Friday, allowing everyone present to fit into Braden Auditorium for the opening performance. The festival included 16 full-length performances from nine schools and 30 showcase performances from 16 schools. In addition, six showcase performances were commissioned from other divisions of the Illinois Theatre Association. Some of the traditional showcase performance spaces were used for full-length performances.
Over 165 workshops were held in Centennial East, Centennial West, CVA, McCormick Hall and the Bone Student Center. College auditions were held in Kemp Recital Hall on Friday with warm-ups in CE-116 beginning at 8:30am. Technical college auditions preceded the performance auditions at 8am.
Over 35 exhibitors were registered for the Festival.
Friday night activities included a student dance at the Metcalf Gym, an open mic and bowling/billiards at the Bowling/ Billiards Center, and a RehearScore sing-a-long run by MTI. For the first time, dance tickets were sold throughout the day on Friday, and this allowed students to spend all of the dance time in the dance instead of in a ticket line.
Bus service between the campus and area motels for registrants who needed local transportation was arranged as it has been each year at ISU. Registrants could also order, in advance, a lunch pass for Friday and Saturday for $10.50.
The opening performance was done by Jellyeye, a percussion performance group from Chicago. Two performances were held, at 6:15p and 8:30p.
The All-State production, The Kentucky Cycle, with All-State crew, was performed four times in the Festival Theatre (Friday at 3pm and 8pm, Saturday at 9:45am and 2:30pm). Parents of All-State company members were allowed up to four tickets for the Saturday 2:30p performance.
Due to concerns of the Theatre Department and Krannert Center, a cap of 3550 was set for the Festival. Registration was cut off at 3350 and a waiting list was started. After schools that had shows selected added their increased numbers, the remaining spots were filled from the waiting list. Only some schools on the waiting list were accommodated. Due to weather conditions, several schools, totaling 150 participants, did not attend the Festival. Had they attended, there would not have been enough seats in four performances of the All-State for parents and participants. There were eleven full-length performances in the Playhouse Theatre, Foellinger Auditorium and Lincoln Hall. Full-lengths were also held Friday evening in the Studio Theatre and Music Auditorium. Thirteen showcases were held in the Studio Theatre, the Music Auditorium and a new performance space, Levis 305. Scheduling of full-length performance curtain times was staggered based on the running time of the performance.
Over 150 workshops were held in KCPA, the Music Building, Levis Center, and the Illinois Street Residence Hall. Most workshops were presented twice.
More students participated in college auditions than ever before. Performance auditions were held on Friday beginning at 9am in the KCPA Choral Rehearsal Room and technical auditions began at 8am in the KCPA Festival Green Room.
Over 35 exhibitors were pre-registered for the festival.
Friday night activities at the Illini Union included the faculty reception in the Pine Room, a student dance in the ballroom and bowling and billiards. Tickets for the dance were again sold in advance at the KCPA headquarters for a $2 discount. MTI also ran a RehearScore sing-a-long in the Union.
Over 900 registrants took advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet at ISR. Tickets were $13 in advance for Friday and Saturday lunches.
At the sponsors' meeting preceding, the new lights-out policy for all schools in all hotels was explained. Lights-out was scheduled for midnight on Thursday and 1am on Friday.
The swap desk maintained the policies of the previous ten years. The policy of admitting people to performances without tickets at curtain time was continued. The ticket policy was printed on the tickets. A new feature which helped increase floor space in the KCPA lobby was the relocation of headquarters and the swap desk to the KCPA Great Hall Upper Lobby.
Graduate credit courses were available for teachers through Illinois State University, just as they have been every year since 1989.
The opening performance celebrated the anniversary year by performing selections from previous all-state productions. An all-state cast was auditioned for this production; the cast was chosen after the auditions for the All-State production. For the finale of the show all previous Festival Executive Directors in attendance made an appearance onstage to represent their year. Over twenty years were in attendance. As usual the opening performance was performed in Braden Auditorium at 8:30p following the sponsors' meeting and auditionees' meetings that were held at 8:00p.
The All-State production, Big River, with an all-state crew, was performed two times in the Braden Auditorium on Saturday at 1:00p and 4:30p. Parents of the all-state company members were allowed to have up to four tickets for the 4:30p performance.
The popularity of the Festival continues to grow in this the 25th anniversary of the beginnings of the Festival. There were nine full-length performances in Stroud Auditorium, Hayden Auditorium and Westhoff Theatre. Twenty showcases were performed in Allen, Capen, Kemp, Hayden, C-116 and Old Main.
Over 140 workshops were held in Centennial East, Centennial West, CVA, McCormick Hall and the Bone Student Center. The 25th Anniversary Committee also arranged for 11 professionals to come in and hold pro talks about their professions.
On Friday evening the invited guests and past executive directors went out for a celebratory anniversary dinner. The group returned for the faculty reception that was held in the Circus Room of the Bone Student Center. A special program was held at the reception to commemorate the anniversary. A special anniversary historical booklet was distributed.
Other Friday night activities included a student dance at the Metcalf Gym, an open mic and bowling/billiards at the Bowling Billiard Center, and a RehearScore sing-a-long run by MTI. Dance tickets were available during the day on Friday at a discounted rate in order to keep students from wasting time in line at the dance.
College auditions were held in Kemp Recital Hall on Friday with warm-ups in CE-116 beginning at 8:30a. Technical college auditions were held simultaneously in CVA 32 and 27. Over 25 exhibitors were registered for the Festival. An attempt was made to change the location of headquarters within the ballroom and the scene shop was moved up on to the stage. This did not work and the scene shop was relocated outside the ballroom for Saturday.
Bus service between the campus and area motels for registrants who needed local transportation was arranged as it has been each year at ISU. An all-you-can-eat lunch buffet was available in the Vrooman Dining Center. Lunch passes had to be ordered in advance.
The swap desk maintained the policies of the previous ten years. The policy of admitting people to performances without tickets at curtain time was continued. This ticket policy was printed on the tickets and a sheet explaining ticket allocation was enclosed in the ticket packet.
Graduate credit courses were available for teachers through Illinois State University.
2001
A Theatre Odyssey...The Epic Journey Continues
University of Illinois
The opening performance was Musical! the Musical!, an improv musical theatre troupe from Chicago. Two performances were held in the Great Hall at 6:00p and 8:30p. A sponsors' meeting and auditionees' meeting preceded both opening performances.
The All-State production, West Side Story, with All-State crew and orchestra, was performed four times in the Tyron Festival Theatre (Friday at 3p and 7:30p, Saturday at 9:45a and 2:30p). Parents of All-State company members were invited to the final dress performance on Thursday night and were allowed up to two tickets for the Saturday 2:30p performance. Some schools also attended the final dress performance on Thursday night because the four main performances had been filled.
Due to concerns of the Theatre Department and Krannert Center, a cap of 3700 was placed on the Festival (not counting All-State personnel). Over a dozen schools were on the waiting list and some were able to be accomodated; but, several schools who had been regular attendees were unable to attend.
There were nine full-length productions in the Playhouse, Foellinger Auditorium, and Lincoln Hall. Sixteen showcases performed in the Studio Theatre, the Music Auditorium, the Great Hall (ComedySportz Improv), and Levis 305. In order to alleviate some of the crowding of the Krannert lobby, scheduling of the curtain times for full-length productions was staggered based on the running length of the performances.
Over 150 workshops were held in KCPA, the Music Building, Levis Center, and Illinois Street Residence Hall. Most workshops were presented twice. College auditions were held Friday beginning at 8:30a in the KCPA Choral Rehearsal Room and technical auditions were held in KCPA Ensemble Rooms A & B. Over 33 exhibitors registered for the Festival.
The faculty reception was held in the Pine Room at the Illini Union. Other Friday night activities at the Illini Union included a student dance at the Ballroom and bowling and billiards. As was the case the previous few years, tickets for the dance were sold in advance at headquarters at a $2.00 discount.
An all-you-can-eat lunch buffet was available to registrants at the Illinois Street Residence Hall. Lunch tickets were $14.00 (cost for Friday and Saturday combined) and had to be ordered in advance.
The swap desk maintained the policies of the previous twelve years. The policy of admitting people to performances without tickets at curtain time continued. The ticket policy was printed on the tickets. The swap desk was located in the foyer of the Great Hall. The line went down the house left side of the balcony exits, keeping the swap desk line out of the flow of lobby traffic.
Graduate courses were available for teachers through ISU.
Written/ Compiled by Mina Halliday Casmir
updated by Kurt Steinhauser