Behind closed curtains, actors, techies and costume designers prepare the final touches before the stage opens to a crowd of students.  This time, instead of taking the stage, EHS drama sits in the audience as they eagerly wait for the anticipated All State production.

Each Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, EHS Thespians travel to Illinois State University to participate in the Illinois High School Theater Festival.  There, they get to attend various workshops and shows that better their theater skills.

The festival performs one big show each year that allows actors, technical directors and costume designers from different high schools across Illinois to participate.  This year, seniors Meghan Ide and Cole Frizzo were chosen for the technical crew for the festival’s production of “Big Fish.”

“I interviewed with the producers of the show,” Ide said.  “The interviews were just like a job interview . . . I talked about shows I’ve worked on and techniques I used, trying to show I was capable of being in an All State production.”

Frizzo and Ide auditioned for the show’s technical crew, along with 350 other students from across Illinois.

Alongside the production put on by the festival, there are multiple high schools that are chosen to perform their shows for fellow students.  Nile West High School performed “White Guy on the Bus” and Wauconda Community High School performed “All Shook Up.”

After watching shows put on by different high schools, theater students are given the opportunity to participate in various workshops that can improve their theater skills, such as acting or dancing.  According the the Illinois High School Theater Festival website, students have over 150 workshops to choose from.

“I liked that each workshop was different and no matter if you were an actor, techie or costumer you could go to whatever workshop,” senior Lilli Thalmann said.

The weekend also allows students to not only learn more about various theater skills and bond more with each other, but the opportunity to meet with theater students from across Illinois and learn more about different high school productions.

“I got to see how theater companies from other schools operated and (it) really expanded my view of theater,” senior Maeve Heumann said.  “I love seeing what other people my age are inspired to present at this festival.  I look forward to it every year.”