International Thespian Society

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International Thespian Society
The ITS Logo
Formation	1929
Extinction	(date of extinction, optional)
Type	NGO
Legal status	(ad hoc, treaty, foundation, etc)
Purpose/focus	Dramatical Arts
Location	Nationwide (USA)
Official languages	American English

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 America, Canada, and abroad. The mission of ITS is to honor student excellence in the theatre arts; its motto is, "Act well thy part; there all the honor lies." It is a division of the Educational Theatre Association.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 adn March 20-22 in Phoenix, AZ. For more information regarding Junior Thespian Festivals, contact Julia Hedges at jhedges@edta.org.

[edit] External links

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