WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN SOCIETY?
The International Thespian Society (ITS), founded in 1929, is an honorary organization for high school and middle school theatre students located at more than 4,600 affiliated secondary schools across America and abroad. The mission of ITS is to honor student achievement in the theatre arts. High school inductees are known as Thespians and junior high/middle school inductees are known as Junior Thespians. ITS is a division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA).
BENEFITS OF A THESPIAN INDUCTION
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Membership in the only international honor society for high school theatre arts students—a recognized demonstration of achievement and a valuable addition to college and employment applications.
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Log-in access to his or her member homepage and a variety of online benefits.
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A one-year, bimonthly subscription to the print edition of Dramatics magazine (a $38 value). The first issue arrives within six to eight weeks. They may also renew at a special member rate.
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Log-in access to Dramatics Digital from induction through the year following graduation.
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Special member pricing on theatre books and digital media through the online EdTA Store.
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Thespian-level access to the Theatre Education Community.
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Leadership opportunities at the troupe, chapter, and national levels.
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Eligibility for scholarships, grants, and awards through EdTA and its chapters. See schooltheatre.org/ags.
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Eligibility to audition at the International Thespian Festival for admission to college theatre programs, submit original plays to the Thespian Playworks program, audition for chapter Individual Events programs and qualify for the National Individual Events Showcase (NIES). See schooltheatre.org/festival.
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Eligibility to receive additional Thespian honors, including graduation and honor items, advancement through Thespian honor ranks, and Thespian scholar distinction.
THESPIAN POINT SYSTEM SUMMARY
The high school Thespian point system provides the recommended number of points awarded for a specific assignment. Troupe directors may use their discretion in awarding points according to the student’s quality of work and cooperation. Quality may include the caliber of the work done and the educational value of the experience. The troupe director makes the final decision regarding the awarding of Thespian points.
DETERMINING THESPIAN INDUCTION ELIGIBILITY
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One point represents approximately ten hours of excellent work. Use this formula in awarding points for items not specifically listed in the point system.
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To become a Thespian, a student must earn ten points, the equivalent of one hundred hours of work. Five of those points should be acquired at the school where he or she is to be inducted.
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Induction points should be earned through participation in at least two full-length productions, or one full-length and two one-acts, or four one-acts.
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Induction points should be earned in at least two of the listed categories, for example, acting and production.
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At the troupe director’s discretion, students may earn up to five points toward induction through participation in community, children’s, middle school, or professional theatre.
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Thespian membership is offered to all students who qualify. No student can be elected into the troupe, and no student can be denied membership if he or she has fulfilled all membership requirements.
