Theatre Program represents East Aurora at State FestivalTheatre Program represents East Aurora at State Festival

 In early January, East High’s Drama Department traveled to Illinois State University to perform at the Illinois High School Theater Festival (IHSTF)—the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation.  

Workshops, professional development for teachers, presentations by university representatives, the opportunity to audition for fine arts scholarships, and over 25 different high school productions are scattered throughout the three-day festival.  

To receive consideration as one of the many performances featured throughout the event, schools apply and are visited by judges who evaluate school performances during their initial run. East High’s “Fight Girl Battle World” was evaluated at its premiere in September, after which the judges engaged the student actors in a thorough discussion about the show’s themes and performance.  

“We brought something different to the table, rather than just a classic [such as] “Beauty and the Beast”, said junior Chances Fisher. 

This was the first time that East Aurora District 131 was represented at the 45-year-old festival. Students who participated in the IHSTF performance, including senior Eduardo Benitez, said it felt good representing their school as they could feel the positive energy from their audience during their performance, indicating a good reception. 

“I really am proud of everyone [who was part of] “Fight Girl Battle World”, junior Brian Torres said. “We managed to pull a lot of technical things off.” 

Fight choreography, complicated lighting, and even actor immersion in the audience were all part of East High’s production as presented at the festival. 

“Representing East Aurora at a festival like this means more than the art [our students] produce,” Theatre Program Director Ross Wheeler said. “Our students were able to show other high schools in the state what it means to be a Tomcat. Tomcats are hard-working. Tomcats are able to process art and have meaningful discussions about how art changes lives. But I am most proud of Tomcats’ ability to support one another and their ability to work as an ensemble. Our Tomcats are a family, in every sense of the word, and others in the state recently had an opportunity to observe our family in action.” 

Senior Alondra Ochoa said the process of being judged, selected, and then performing at IHSTF increased the sense of community among cast and crew members, as they could confidently feel like this was their show. 

“Seeing the progress we made [on our show] makes me think we should be taking more risks in [putting ourselves] out there at something like Theatre Fest,” freshman Ayana Arredondo said. 

The East High theatre department’s next endeavor is Matilda the Musical–Thursday, April 23rd at 7pm, Friday, April 24th at 7pm, and Saturday, April 25th at 3pm in Hawks Auditorium.