The
International Thespian Society is an honorary
organization for high-school and
middle-school theatre students located
at more than 3,600 affiliated secondary schools across the United States
, Canada
, and
abroad.The International Thespian Society was founded in
Fairmont,West Virginia. The mission of ITS is to honor
student excellence in the theater arts; its motto is, "Act well thy
part; there all the honor lies." It is a division of the
Educational Theatre
Association.
Student involvement
The ITS inducts high school students active in theater each fall or
spring, with members earning points towards a higher status.
The
International Thespian Officers are student leaders,
elected annually at the Leadership Conference, a training event for
leaders at the troupe, state, and international level held at the
International Thespian Festival.
There are six ITO offices: a
Chair/International Liaison, an officer from each of the four
Thespian regions of the USA
, and a Publications
Editor-Webmaster-Secretary.
In some schools they have 7 officers, President, Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Webber, Historian, and publicity.
The International Thespian Officers
The International Thespian Officers is a group of student members
of the International Thespian Society who are elected by their
peers to serve as the voice of the student membership of the
organization. They bring the needs of Thespians and suggestions for
policy and service changes to the attention of the Educational
Theatre Association Board, serve as an integral part of the
leadership training program, and represent the Society and take an
active role at student-oriented functions such as chapter
conferences and the annual International Thespian Festival.
Festivals
Festivals are held annually, both at the state and national level.
The season
culminates with the International Thespian
Festival, held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
each June.
At "Festival", the "Chapter Select Showcase" showcases troupes
qualifying from their respective State Thespian Festivals.
Main
Stage is where adjucators watch shows from the various middle
and high school groups in front of an audience of about 3,000, in
the Lied Center for Performing Arts
. There are auditions for national cast
productions, as well as individual events. The Individual Events
offered at the Thespian Festival are monologue, duet acting, solo
musical, duet musical, group musical, mime, lighting design, scenic
design, publicity design, costume design, costume construction,
stage management, and short film.
Workshops and performances fill the daily schedules of Thespians,
while dances and themed chaperone dinners occupy the
evenings.
Additionally, High School Juniors are given the opportunity to
audition for dozens of colleges and universities, and Seniors are
given college scholarship opportunities.
There is also a Jr. International Thespian Society (or Jr. ITS) for
Middle School in grades 6-8. Junior Festivals are offered annually
in two areas of the country. The 2008 Junior Thespian Festivals
will be Feb, 6-8 in Tupelo, MS and March 20-22 in Phoenix, AZ. For
more information regarding Junior Thespian Festivals, contact Julia
Hedges at jhedges@edta.org.
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