International Thespian Society

International Thespian Society
ITS
Founded1929; 95 years ago (1929)
Fairmont, West Virginia, US
TypeHonor society
AffiliationEducational Theatre Association
StatusActive
EmphasisDramatic Arts
ScopeInternational
Colors  Blue and   Yellow
Chapters48 active (5,000+ chartered)
Members139,000 active
Headquarters4555 Lake Forest Drive, Suite 650
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
United States
Websiteschooltheatre.org/international-thespian-society/

The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society for high school and middle school theatre students. It is a division of the Educational Theatre Association. Thespian troupes serve students in grades 9–12; Junior Thespian troupes serve students in grades 6 through 8.

Festivals are held annually at the state and national levels. Each June the organization holds the International Thespian Festival. For 25 years it was held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.[1][2] As of 2019 it is being held at Indiana University-Bloomington where the first ITF was held in 1941.[3][4]

Membership currently stands at approximately 139,000 student members across 5,000 schools. The one millionth Thespian was inducted in 1976 and the two millionth Thespian was inducted in 2009. As of 2019, there have been over 2.4 million Thespians inducted. A few famous members include Tom Hanks, Val Kilmer, James Marsters, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Stephen Schwartz.[5]

  1. ^ Sievers, Jeremy (2013-07-09). "First-year student receives top awards at educational theatre festival". Drake University Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  2. ^ "Campus support key in thespian festival success | Announce | University of Nebraska-Lincoln". newsroom.unl.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  3. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 24, 2024). "2024 International Thespian Festival Kicks Off June 24 in Bloomington, Indiana". Playbill.
  4. ^ Schmalz, Emma (2024-07-09). "Charles County students earn recognition at International Thespian Festival". WJLA. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  5. ^ "How A Wyoming Teacher Started Group That's Launched Acting Careers…". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved 2024-08-23.