Every January, Illinois high school students interested in theater gather at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, affectionately known as Theatrefest. In January 2007 it was held on our own University of Illinois campus.

As a freshman last year, my first experience of Theatrefest was fantastic! I was surrounded by thousands of people just like me: in love with theater!

On a Thursday night, everyone filed into Krannert, and we saw the opening ceremony. This included excerpts from various past all-state performances, and a few welcoming speeches.

Friday was full of different workshops and productions, and concluded with a dance. Of course, I didn’t realize that you had to buy the tickets to the dance in advance, and was disappointed to find that I couldn’t attend.

Saturday, Uni students saw the all-state production of "Les Misérables," which included then- junior Ethan Berl. The quality of the singing and acting was impeccable, seeing as the performers were chosen as the best in Illinois.

Throughout the festival, I traveled from workshop to workshop. I learned how to prepare a better audition, played new improvisation games, and figured out what to do with my hands while I’m singing.

Many of my friends chose to visit a workshop about special effects with makeup. Then-freshman Tianna Pittenger emerged from the workshop with a nasty fake gash on her forearm. It was amazing to see what can be done with a little makeup and latex.

There was also a plethora of inviting shows performed by various high school students. Two of Uni’s plays from Student Productions were even showcased. It was so difficult to decide which performances to attend!

Needless to say, I am tremendously excited to go to Theatrefest this coming Jan. 10-12. As a bonus, this festival will be in Normal at Illinois State University, which means that we will stay in a hotel! It’s basically like a huge sleepover, even though I’m sure we’ll have a “lights out” time.

But I know that so many other people are excited, too! Not just from Uni, but more than 4,000 other students and teachers from Illinois. There are 163 schools attending, 20 different productions, and more than 50 exhibitors (colleges/universities and businesses/organizations related to theater).

So, why wouldn’t you want to go to Theatrefest? As Shakespeare (and the theme from Theatrefest 2003) declared, “All the World’s a Stage!”