The lights on the stage darkened as the actors prepared to change scenes. In the front row of the small theater, a fifth grade girl stared on in anticipation. When the lights returned, a wide smile spread across her excited face- she recognized the scene immediately. This was her story.

Every year, a group of University of Illinois students collaborate with Booker T. Washington Elementary School fourth- and fifth- graders to organize the Student Playwrights Outreach Theatre (SPOT) performance. The performance includes a series of plays adapted by the SPOT team from short stories written by the children.

This year, the performance is Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Studio Theater at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Josephine Blough, junior in FAA and SPOT coordinator, said that this year is SPOT’s sixth year putting on the show. The SPOT team travels to Booker T. Washington Elementary School and collects students’ stories in story boxes. They then choose between 17 and 20 stories that are converted into scripts to be acted out.

The students write about a variety of topics, Blough said, from dodgeball games to a trip to Disneyland to family vacations. The student’s imaginations come alive in their stories.

Grazyna Jakubowska, senior in FAA and director of SPOT, said her favorite story last year was the show’s finale. The story included a “motorcycle dude,” a princess, ten ponies and a giant. The actors adapted the story into a musical in which they rapped parts of the story.

This year, they have adapted 17 stories into two to three-minute plays. The whole performance will last about an hour.

Jakubowska said she likes being involved with SPOT because it’s a great way to reach out to the Champaign community through theater.

“I feel strongly that theater can be used for social outreach,” she said. “It can be used for more than just a theater performance that you see once.”

On the day of the show, the SPOT team will put on a morning performance just for the fourth and fifth-graders. The students take a field trip to Krannert for the show.

Aurora Adachi-Winter, junior in FAA and actor in the show, said her favorite part of being involved with SPOT is the day when the children come. Before the show, they do not know which stories were chosen to be adapted.

“The kids are really excited when they see their story,” Adachi-Winter said. “Once they recognize that it’s their story, they are incredibly happy, and that’s the best part.”

Blough said that it’s the best feeling in the world to see the children smile and recognize their stories being played-out in front of them.

For the children whose stories did not get chosen, the performance also incorporates audience volunteers. They engage audience members by asking them to be part of the plays.

The SPOT team is made up of 13 actors and two directors. It is open to students outside of the Department of Theater, and hopes to branch out to more of the community in the future.