Thespys

Below are the links to the Rules and Procedures for the Thespys.

Changes for 2027

• Preliminary Categories (Contrasting Monologues, Monologue, Solo Musical Theatre Performance) Students that receive a Superior in the preliminary round will have the option to be adjudicated in-person at the state festival to determine the Showcase performances. This Showcase Consideration option will be indicated on the Thespys form during registration when the YouTube link is provided.  In an effort to allow students more time at Festival, only the top 25 scores who selected “Yes” for Showcase Consideration from each category will be adjudicated in-person at Festival.  Even if “No” is selected for Showcase Consideration, all superiors from the preliminary digital submissions will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday of Festival and advance to ITF in June.

There will be preliminary virtual submissions via YouTube prior to the High School Festival for the following categories: Contrasting Monologues, Monologue and Solo Musical Theatre Performance.  Students that receive a Superior in the preliminary round will have the option to be adjudicated in-person at the state festival to determine the Showcase performances.  This Showcase Consideration option will be indicated on the Thespys form during registration when the YouTube link is provided.  In an effort to allow students more time at Festival, only the top 25 scores who selected “Yes” for Showcase Consideration from each category will be adjudicated in-person at Festival.  Superior performances that qualify for showcase adjudication will be announced via social media and teacher email by Feb 2, 2027. Students with a Superior in the preliminary round will be allowed to compete at the International Thespian Festival regardless of results of the in-person performance.

High School entries in the Short Film and Playwriting categories will be adjudicated virtually only. The deadline for submission is the registration deadline of January 14th.

The remaining Thespys categories and all Junior Troupe categories will be held in-person at festival.

Please note that rights and licensing guidelines will be adhered to more strictly at the International Thespian Festival. It is the responsibility of the Troupe Director to verify the performance rights for students wishing to compete at ITF if a Superior is earned at the Alabama Thespian Festival.  Students not actively enrolled in a Troupe will not be able to compete at ITF. For details, see:

https://schooltheatre.org/thespys/approved-material

For the virtual and Short Film submissions, please upload videos to YouTube.  Troupe Directors may upload student videos or students may upload their own videos.

• The videos must be sent in the form of a YouTube link.
• Your YouTube link should be listed as Unlisted, meaning that only people with a copy of the link can view the video. To learn how to do this, watch this quick tutorial.
• Please Title your video as the following: “First Name Last Name, Thespy Event Title-AL” For example,  “John Doe, Solo Musical-AL”

Playwriting submissions should be uploaded to the Playwriting Submissions Google Drive Folder.

The deadline for preliminary virtual Thespys submissions is January 14, which is also the registration deadline.  The deadline to register for the remaining Thespys categories is the registration deadline of January 14.

We will continue to use our online adjudication system and online results will be provided to Troupe Directors at the conclusion of Festival.

Rules and Guidelines for the Thespys: 

Link to Thespys Program Guide, Rubrics and Training Videos