Prairie Fire: Season 2 - Episode 8 - May 2025
Prairie Fire turns the reins over to some Advanced Documentary students from the University of Illinois for this episode of Prairie Fire. They produced stories about The Idea Store and The Station Theater in Urbana, we introduce you to a K-Pop dance group on the campus of the U of I, and finally meet a professor tackling the largely unrecognized issue of food insecurity.
The Idea Store
The Idea Store is one of the most unique -- and environmentally responsible -- stores in east Central Illinois. Located in Lincoln Square Mall, Urbana, the store is a colorful, messy mecca for creative reuse (also known as upcycling). Shelves brim with coffee tins, pins, puzzle pieces, plastic eggs, ribbons, bins of corks, paint swatches, slides, old jewelry...nearly anything goes.
Co-founded by Carol Jo Morgan and Gail Rost in 2010, the Idea Store mission is to give discarded items a second life and provide them to the community. Inventory only consists of donated items. Profits support their mission of fostering creativity, education, environmental stewardship and community.
The Idea Store is can be a boon for public school art teachers, clubs and art enthusiasts short on budget but long on creative ideas.
Emily Stutzman, Mazie Gierat and Nazala Salauddin produced, directed and edited this overview of the store and its treasured place in Urbana-Champaign's creative community.
The Station Theatre
When Rick Orr purchased the small Station Theatre in 1972, he declared, "Theatre should always be a celebration." And 53 seasons later, the aptly-named Celebration Company at the Station Theatre in Urbana has established a long and rich history of producing live theater for the region. The historical brick train depot turned theater is easy to miss on the near outskirts of Urbana's town center. But its reputation is known among theater lovers far beyond Illinois.
Performing at "the Station" is an informal benchmark for theater lovers and students as they build their resumes. The theater specializes in tackling cutting edge, avant guard and challenging theatrical repertoire, as well as all the standards -- from plays to musicals and everything in between.
In this short documentary, student producers Layli Nazarova, Sam Rink, Dwayne Banks Jr., and Emily Richie take us behind the scenes at a recent production to meet the cast, crew and founders who keep the Station Theater an anchor for quality theater in Illinois.
Free Food Giveaway Professor
Many of us assume that college kids have plenty of eating options. They have a meal plan! They make dinner with a microwave and a hot pot! They pool resources and make a group feast! But reality can look a lot different when you factor in the fact that many students are on very tight budgets. University of Illinois Clinical Assistant Professor Toni Gist has gained a campus-wide reputation by tackling the largely unrecognized issue of food insecurity one donation at a time.
She's called the "Food Giveaway Professor." When Gist realized how pervasive food insecurity is on campus, she started gathering extra food from her home to bring to her nutrition classes. Donations and outreach grew, and now she offers a variety of fresh, canned and packaged foods for students at Bevier Hall before, during and after classes. Everything is free.
Meet Professor Gist in this short documentary by Anna Koh and Annisyn Krebs-Carr.
Truth & Beauty
In a university as large and diverse as the University of Illinois, there's seemingly a student organization for any interest; from bug collecting to ancient swordplay to astronomy and everything in between. But the K-Pop dance team Truth & Beauty (known as T&B) stands out as a popular attraction at university events. Truth & Beauty performs the established dance routines that go with popular K-Pop (Korean pop) songs. The group was founded as a way for students to have fun as they learn about K-pop, exercise and de-stress as they dance. But since its founding, the group has expanded in both size and scope. Auditions are required. The group competes against other dance teams.
Paige Gaines, Lindsey Bruneman and Adrien Reetz produced this short documentary about the history and campus-wide appeal of the Truth & Beauty dance troupe.
