Is your troupe ready to perform at Thespian? We have multiple venues for you to choose from! You can bring a mainstage show that is seen by the entire festival. You can bring a Chapter Select to compete to represent the state of Alabama at the International Thespian festival. Do you have a Junior Troupe? You can bring a show as well to participate in the Junior Chapter Select.
Mainstage information:
Welcome!
Alabama Thespians will have two performance slots available this year for Main Stage. This is an exciting opportunity for the selected schools and for the state thespian membership. We would like you to consider bringing your show to the State Thespian Festival!
Please review the information provided here to decide whether or not your show would work in the performance spaces.
Alabama Thespians recognizes and appreciates all of the effort and dedication required to bring a main stage to festival. We would like to honor this commitment by offering troupes performing main stage productions at festival the following:
- Troupe Director Fee will be waived with no volunteer slots required.
- A $350 grant will be awarded to offset travel costs.
Requirements
A completed application must be submitted online by the deadline.
Proof of Performance Rights must be submitted at the registration table on day 1 of Festival.
Registration
Schools who are selected for a main stage performance must register all performing and tech students and adults for conference (all students who are active in the production – front and backstage). No student will be allowed to perform at the conference that is not registered for the conference. The only exception to this will be student musicians performing in orchestras for musicals.
Restrictions
Our main goal is to provide festival attendees with as many performance opportunities and experiences as possible while at festival. It is for this reason we ask that schools not submit a show for main stage in two consecutive years. Any school who presented in the year prior will not be considered for main stage performance. (In the unlikely event that we do not receive enough submissions for mainstage, Alabama Thespians reserves the right to allow a school who presented in the previous year to submit an application for performance.)
Deadline for application is October 30.
Mainstage Information and Application
Chapter Select Information:
Note: To give as many schools as possible the chance to perform at Festival, schools may present in only one Festival venue: main stage or the Chapter Select Showcase. If your school is performing in the Chapter Select Showcase then your school cannot perform as part of Festival Main Stage. Chapter Select stages 3 shows throughout Saturday at Festival. Each show has forty-five minutes to perform, ten minutes to set, and five minutes to strike. Participants must be registered for the entire Festival weekend.
There are three slots available for Chapter Select.
Lighting: General area lighting is available (stage right, stage left, up center, center, and down center stage) as well as blue and amber washes. Special lighting effects are not available.
Sound: The theatre will provide a CD player, amplification, and speakers. Mics are not permitted in this event.
Sets and props: The following set pieces are allowed and if your show is chosen to represent the state of Alabama at International Thespian Festival, they will be provided by the University of Lincoln, Nebraska: 2 music stands, 1 sofa, 1 arm chair, 1 desk, 1 desk chair, 1 table, 4 chairs, 6 cubes, 6 stools, 8 stacking chairs A prop is any item that will fit through a single door and can be carried by a single person. Set pieces are anything that will not fit through a single door and cannot be carried by a single person. Hand props are items carried onstage by an actor in one hand. Set pieces and flats are not allowed if troupes wish to be considered for Alabama Chapter Select Winner. Set pieces are allowed for those who wish only to be considered for Best in Showcase.
Chapter Select Policy:
- ALL cast members and members of the technical crew must be registered for festival.
- Performance rights must be secured and submitted upon confirmation of participation.
- Troupes cannot participate in the Chapter Select Showcase in consecutive years. Exceptions to this rule can be made in the event that all of the slots are not full once the deadline has been reached. No troupe will be considered as the Alabama entry for International Chapter Select two years in a row.
- Winners of the Trumbauer “Studio Select” showcase MAY compete in the Chapter Select Showcase, but they cannot use the same performance selection at Festival.
- Your time will start as soon as you begin loading in and will stop when you finish loading out. You will be penalized for any amount of time that exceeds 45 minutes performance time.
- Please adhere to the times given to you for load in. You may not move your play into the theatre prior to your time as no storage will be available.
- Please clear your items from the dressing room into the green at the appointed time. You may leave your things in the green room during your performance.
- You must have all of your items cleared from the performance area immediately following your show. We will not have storage space available.
- Royalties: Troupes without a performance license or waiver on file will NOT be allowed to perform.
- Published material: Troupes must secure written permission from the publisher for presentation at the Festival during Festival dates. Troupes are responsible for payment of royalties. Upon written request, some publishers will waive royalty fees for Festival performances.
- Original works: Troupes must have a written statement of originality from the author/playwright—even if it’s you or one of your students—on file with the EdTA National Office.
- Works based on non-dramatic material: Troupes must obtain permission to use said material from the publisher. This applies to textbooks, children’s books, novels, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, etc.
- Works translated from another language: Troupes must have written permission from the publisher of that translation. This applies to non-dramatic material as well as dramatic.
- Music: Troupes must secure permission for all music used in a performance.
- Cuttings: Troupes must secure permission to present a cutting from a play from the play’s publisher. The statement of permission must be attached to the Chapter Select Acceptance sheet.
Deadline for application is January 14. You may register for Chapter Select Showcase during Festival Registration.