The International Thespian Festival is an annual week-long theatre festival that brings together U.S. high school theatre clubs, thespian troupes, and programs.
Location
editOrganized by the International Thespian Society, it was held annually in late June on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska until 2020.[1][2] In 2022, its first in-person year after the COVID-19 Pandemic, the International Thespian Festival was held at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.[3] The festival was held at Indiana University in 2023 and will be held at the same location in 2024–2026.[4][5][6]
Festival
editThere are over 120 workshops offered during the festival, including such titles as "Creating Believable Stage Villains", "Period Hatmaking", and "Fun with Dialects." These workshops are taught by high school teachers, college professors and theater professionals.[7]
There are also auditions for national cast productions, usually to premiere the school edition of two well-known Broadway shows. In 2008, the chosen casts and crews put on productions of "Hairspray" and "Sweeney Todd".[7]
The festival features an event called the Thespy Showcase, formerly known as the Individual Events (IE) Showcase. Following a series of performances and judging periods at the local and chapter level, winning students compete for the chance to perform in the categories of monologue, duet acting, solo/duet/group musical theatre, and mime, or show off their skills in the technical categories of costume design and construction, publicity design, scenic design, stage management, lighting design, and short film. [8]
References
edit- ^ "Thespian Festival". Official Website for Educational Theater Association. Archived from the original on 2010-03-15.
- ^ Melanie Mensch (2000-06-29). "For love of the theatre". The Daily Nebraskan.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "International Thespian Festival 2023". itf.schooltheatre.org. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Steele, Destinee (2023-02-14). "International Thespian Festival 2023". Dramatics Magazine Online. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "International Thespian Festival 2024". itf.schooltheatre.org. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "FAQ". itf.schooltheatre.org. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ a b Charles Isherwood (2008-07-13). "Talk About Your Spring Awakening". The New York Times.
- ^ "National Individual Events Showcase". Official Website for Educational Theater Association. Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-12-01.