Across the country, local residents are working to restore rundown theatres to their old luster, often with the hope that their community will benefit as well.

Rock band REO Speedwagon has set November 10th as the new date for its Champaign concert — one of several January and February dates the band postponed for singer Kevin Cronin's treatment for what he describes as a non-life-threatening condition.

The Fifth Annual Pens to Lens Gala and Screening is Saturday at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign. That’s the end result of the annual student screenwriting and filmmaking competition, where 16 student screenplays and four student films will be shown on the Virginia’s big screen.

The Pens to Lens student screenwriting competition is now in its fifth year.  The project of the Champaign-Urbana Film Society is accepting screenwriting submissions from K-12 students in east central Illinois now through February 28th.

Two local filmmakers explain to Illinois Public Media's Brian Moline what drew them to choose their screenplays from among 200 submissions from area students for this year's Pens to Lens event.