Festival online registration is now up and running! This link will take you to our official registration site: www.itsfest.org

Join us for the best week of high school theatre in the country. The Thespian Festival features more than fifty productions presented by schools from throughout North America and abroad. Plus: a full schedule of workshops presented by theatre professionals, individual performance events, a student playwriting program, opportunities to audition for college and university representatives and for Thespian scholarships, and a chance to hang out with 2,000 or so other Thespians. Don’t miss out. It’s a blast. (While about a quarter of the attending schools bring shows to share with their peers, many Thespian troupes have a great Festival experience without performing. There are no screening or qualification requirements to attend.)

The fees for the upcoming Festival are:

Monday arrival
$540 per person
Includes a double room in the residence halls, beginning Monday evening through Saturday night, and three meals a day beginning with Monday dinner through Sunday breakfast.

Tuesday arrival
$505 per person
Includes a double room in the residence halls beginning Tuesday evening through Saturday night, and three meals a day beginning with Tuesday dinner through Sunday breakfast.

Other fees
Single room (adults only): $90 per adult
Auditions: $25 per student
Individual Events: $25 per event
T-shirts: $19–$25, depending on size
Roundtrip transportation to/from Lincoln airport: $18 per person

Download the 2008 Festival online registration handbook

2008 Festival health form
2008 Festival refusal to consent form

Information about the 2008 Festival T-shirt

Update: Two PDIs will be offered at the 2008 Festival, on June 24–25.

Space for these PDIs is limited. For additional information, download the PDI flier.

The following troupes have been invited to present on the 2008 Festival main stage:

• Master Harold...and the Boys, by Athol Fugard, performed by The Westminster School, Troupe 3327, Atlanta, Georgia
• Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, performed by the Las Vegas (Nevada) Academy of Performing Arts, Troupe 5273
• James Still’s And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank, performed by Roosevelt High School, Troupe 5832, Seattle, Washington
• Little Shop of Horrors, performed by Pennsbury High School, Troupe 830, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
• Rent School Edition, performed by Bradford High School, Troupe 4982, Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Proof, by David Auburn, performed by Ryan High School, Troupe 1417, Denton, Texas
• Noises Off, performed by Salina (Kansas) High School Central, Troupe 639
• Jim Leonard Jr.’s Anatomy of Gray, performed by Blue Valley High School, Troupe 4847, Stilwell, Kansas
• Urinetown, performed by Salem High School, Troupe 5120, Conyers, Georgia
• The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, performed by Randolph School, Troupe 4590, Huntsville, Alabama

The early shows are Crimes of the Heart, by Beth Henley, performed by Tupelo (Mississippi) High School, Troupe 1949, and Chicago, performed by Pleasant Valley (Iowa) High School, Troupe 856.

More troupes will be listed as the information becomes available.

New for 2008: The Tech Challenge PDF is interactive! If you are interested in participating in the 2008 Tech Challenge:

1. download the form below
2. fill in the text boxes or choose from the selections
3. print out 2 copies for your records by clicking on the “Print form” button
4. click the “Submit by e-mail” button at the bottom of the form to e-mail the data to the home office
5. have the team student leader and team adult troupe director sign and date one printout and mail or fax it to International Thespian Festival (Educational Theatre Association), Attn: Diane Carr, 2343 Auburn Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45219-2815, fax (513) 421-7077

Note: if you save the PDF to your hard drive, the file will not contain the information you entered on the form; it is important that after your fill in the form, you print out a copy for your records.

The deadline for submitting Tech Challenge applications is May 8.

2008 Tech Challenge application

2008 Tech Challenge Guide
2008 Tech Challenge flier

Tech Challenge teams to date
(limited to 30 teams)

1. Techno Classics, Classical Magnet, Troupe 7168, Hartford, Connecticut
2. Drury Drama Team, Drury High School, Troupe 5135, North Adams, Massachusetts
3. Starlit Players, Denison (Texas) High School, Troupe 6319
4. Buskies, Council Rock High School North, Troupe 5028, Newtown, Pennsylvania
5. Fearsome Techies, Blaine (Minnesota) High School, Troupe 4745
6. Roho Technos, S.H. Rider High School, Troupe 1307, Wichita Falls, Texas
7. Rude Mechanicals, Grinnell (Iowa) High School, Troupe 4274
8. Rebel Rousers, Southside Senior High School, Troupe 2620, Fort Smith, Arkansas
9. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Tech Crew, Denver (Colorado) School of the Arts, Troupe 5869
10. Memorial High School, Memorial Senior High School, Troupe 2980, Houston, Texas
11. Iron Blue Jays, Ryan High School, Troupe 1417, Denton, Texas
12. Invisible Lightning, Alma (Arkansas) High School, Troupe 6338
13. Tri-School Theatre, Servite High School, Troupe 4566, Anaheim, California
14. Theatre Randolph Plus, Randolph School, Troupe 4590, Huntsville, Alabama

Download a list of the auditioning schools, advertisers, and exhibitors scheduled for Festival 2008.

Advertisers, exhibitors, college auditions, and sponsors
2008 Festival registration for college representatives and advertisers

Daily coverage of the 2007 Festival
Thespian Playworks submission guidelines
National Individual Events Showcase
Freestyle Theatre
Chapter Select Showcase