Download International Thespian Festival

Charter a troupe and
recognize student achievement
PRIDE
CONFIDENCE
MOTIVATION
CONFIRMATION
That’s what you instill by recognizing
student accomplishments.
>2.2 Million
Thespians inducted since
1929
More than
Over
4,400
schools
100,000
active inductees a year
The International Thespian
Society brings distinction to:
• students
• theatre programs
• schools
• When students earn ITS induction, there is a
sense of accomplishment on par with other honor
societies.
• Students will be provided assessment, competition,
performance, and leadership opportunities at the local,
state, and international level.
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program by:
1. Recognizing, rewarding, and encouraging
student achievement
• Induction into ITS includes tangible benefits to the students in the form of pins,
certificates, member cards, and publications.
• An ITS troupe quickly becomes a very visible, positive symbol of the theatre program in
the school and community.
• Having inductions recognized by an international organization lends distinction to the honor, making it a
valuable addition to any student’s resume.
• The process of working toward induction and achieving additional honors provides clear, attainable goals,
keeping students motivated.
• ITS offers students opportunities to excel at the local, state, and international level and receive tangible
recognition with custom pins, medals, trophies, and more.
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program by:
2. Celebrating the work of students
involved in all aspects of theatre
• Students earn points for all of their contributions
to the theatre program.
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Performance
Construction
Direction
Lighting
Sound
Leadership
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Promotion
Stage management
Business management
Costumes
Make-up
Design
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
3. Student leadership opportunities
• Student leadership is a valuable addition to any resume.
• Troupes and State Chapters have multiple officer
positions.
• Being an officer provides Thespians with the
responsibility to demonstrate and practice leadership
skills in a small and cohesive group.
• Chapter, state, and international leadership opportunities
allow dedicated officers to reach beyond the scope of
their own troupe’s program.
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
4. State Chapter events
• Expand students’ educational and theatrical
horizons by providing exposure to theatre arts
educators, professionals, and peers beyond
their own schools.
• Allow students to gain perspective by
participating and competing with peers from
across their state.
• Promote a strong sense of belonging to a
community beyond students’ own schools.
States/regions with chapter events, 2016-17
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
5. National events
• These events offer another opportunity to expand students’ horizons by providing exposure to theatre arts
educators, professionals, and peers beyond their own school.
•
International Thespian Festival is a weeklong immersion in
performance, critical observation, and learning. Activities
include workshops and performances, college and
scholarship auditions, individual event assessments, and
much more.
•
Junior Festival is a two day event with one day of
activities exclusively for Junior Thespians to
participate in Junior National Individual Events and
workshops.
Maximize the effectiveness of your
school’s theatre program with:
6. Grant and award programs
• ITS troupes have opportunities to recognize and honor
supporters at the state, national, and international levels.
• volunteers
• teachers
• administrators
• schools
• ITS scholarships at the state chapter and
national level totaled over $345,000 in 2016.
95%
of school administrators believe that theatre experiences improve
students’ overall academic skills.
2012 EdTA-Utah State University Survey of Theatre Education Programs in U.S. High Schools
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
7. Opportunities for community-wide recognition and support
• Funding and resources usually follow the most publicized school activities. ITS can be a valuable
tool for raising a theatre program’s profile in the school and community by providing opportunities to
showcase its successes.
• These opportunities lead to more prestige, additional
resources, and higher revenues in the form of increased
ticket sales and patronage.
• Opportunities include induction ceremonies, multiple
honor ranks, and scholastic distinctions.
• An annual national food drive and other activities
offer community recognition to the troupe and school.
Maximize the effectiveness of your
school’s theatre program with:
8. Increased fundraising
potential
•
Increased awareness and stature of the theatre
program because of the honor society expands
its fundraising potential.
$
Most high school theatre programs rely entirely on
box office revenue to support their activities.
2012 EdTA-Utah State University Survey of Theatre Education Programs in U.S. High Schools
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
9. Royalty adjustment application assistance
• ITS troupes may request assistance in applying
for reduced royalties for plays (non-musical)
from certain publishers.
• Reduced royalties mean that more money is
available for theatre program operations.
Maximize the effectiveness of your
school’s theatre program with:
10. Graduation and honor items
• While good work is its own reward, additional incentives
often help to motivate students to reach a little farther.
• All exclusive ITS honor items are optional, so troupes may select
what works best for them.
• Certificates of achievement
• Graduation honor cords, stoles, tassels
• Trophies, plaques, medallions
• ITS pin system for recognizing induction
and subsequent achievements
Maximize the effectiveness of your school’s theatre program with:
11. Professional development for troupe directors
• Supporting teachers by providing professional development, networking, resources, and
recognition is core to the ITS parent organization, the Educational Theatre Association
• Subscriptions to Dramatics magazine, full of articles and interviews on creative and
technical skills for future theatre artists, and Teaching Theatre journal, which explores new
ideas, teaching methods, and professional development
• Access to EdTA’s 8,000 member online Theatre Education Community, a place to share
knowledge, get advice, collaborate, and network
• Member rates for events like the EdTA Annual Conference, the
International Thespian Festival, and chapter conferences
• Member-only pricing for more than 200 educational resources
So why does this matter?
Students get exposed to so much more at the competitions and festivals than I can possibly
give them in 50 minute periods and/or extra-curricular productions. It also gives me, the
teacher, the chance to connect with other theatre education professionals and workshop
leaders, and as we begin to get more financing, the opportunity to pay for guest artists to
come and extend my student's learning even more than I can.
– Philip Goodchild, Lennard High School, Troupe 7223
Junior Thespians has completely changed the drama program
here. Once we chartered our troupe, the kids all “stepped it up”
in every area of discipline, commitment and interest.
– Junior Thespian Festival Survey, 2015
The enormous amount of positive public relations
generated by this outstanding program is “priceless” to a
building principal and also to the entire Lincoln Public
School District.
– Jerry Wilkes, Principal, Lincoln Southwest High School
An ITS troupe honors your students’ achievements
and brings them resources and opportunities
beyond the scope of their school.
[email protected]
513-421-3900
schooltheatre.org/ITS
Learn more about EdTA and ITS by watching this video