General Information |
ITF is the premier experience for Thespians – students inducted into the national theatre honorary called the International Thespian Society. ITF celebrates outstanding student work and elevates the teachers who create those opportunities to learn and excel.
ITF showcases dozens of student performances, including full-length main stage productions and one-acts, on a national stage. ITF is home to the annual Thespy Awards program, where more than 1,500 students compete for superior honors and Thespy Awards, the highest achievement in school theatre. Student technicians compete in the BACKstage Challenge. Students can take workshops on every aspect of theatre and participate in talkback sessions with Broadway and theatre industry professionals.
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ITF 2025 will take place June 22 - 27, 2025 at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Beginning in 2025, the Theatre Education Conference will take place concurrent with ITF, June 22-24, also in Bloomington.
ITF 2026 will take place June 21 - 26, 2026 at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.
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All students in grades 6-12 who love theatre! This includes inducted Thespians, future Thespians (students not yet inducted into ITS but who are associated with a troupe), and adult leaders such as troupe directors, teachers, parents, and guardians. Adult leaders must be at least 21 years old at the time of ITF. Theatre education partners (industry and college representatives) are also encouraged to attend.
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Registration opens on February 5, 2025. Participants register with their troupes, with one adult serving as the primary adult leader. The primary adult leader is the organizer for the group, receiving communications from ITF about housing, payments and any other relevant information.
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Students who wish to attend ITF who are not affiliated with a troupe or whose troupe is not attending must be accompanied by a primary adult leader. Primary adult leaders must first register themselves, then register the student(s) they will be chaperoning. Adult leaders must be aged 21+.
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Absolutely! If you are working toward your Thespian induction, participating in ITF is a great way to earn points. In general, you can earn one point per day attended. Troupe directors have discretion over the actual points awarded, so talk to your teacher about how to earn the maximum points possible from your participation. You may need to demonstrate which workshops you attended, for example, or new things that you learned as a result of attending.
Download our handy points sheet for more ideas on how to earn Thespian induction.
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Please be mindful that ITF is designed for young people, not adults, and troupes should bring enough adult leaders for a successful experience.
ITF requires a minimum 1:8 adult to student ratio when registering your troupe.
Troupes should select one adult to serve as their primary adult leader. This person coordinates registration, payments, transportation, rooming lists, and nightly attendance checks for the group. This individual will also serve as the contact person for all communication from ITF.
Depending on the size of your troupe, additional adults may need to register to meet the adult to student ratio requirement. Adult leaders must be at least 21 years of age at the time of registration.
Adult leaders are expected to supervise and discipline minors attending with their group. Adult leaders are responsible for ensuring students attending with their group are in their rooms by curfew.
Adult leaders are required to complete background checks as part of their registration.
For groups housing in dorms, adults will be assigned to single occupancy rooms.
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No. Adult leaders are asked not to bring their infants, toddlers or young children to ITF. ITF is designed for youth in grades six through 12 and their adult leaders. While serving as an adult leader at ITF, your full attention should be given to the registered youth participants in your troupe.
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Attendees may inquire about lost and found items at registration and information. Any items reported to lost and found will be held until registration and information closes on Friday, after which time any unclaimed items will be discarded. ITF is not responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged items.
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Yes! We have a number of unique sponsorship and exhibit opportunities available. For more information, contact Angel Wuellner at awuellner@schooltheatre.org.
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Housing, Meals, and Transportation |
All Access Passes include on-campus housing and meals from Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27.
Dining halls will be open on move-in and move-out dates, and meals can be purchased with a credit card.
Activities Only Passes do not include housing or meals. We encourage troupes to budget $70 per person, per day for meals and $175/night plus tax for hotel rooms.
Please note travel costs are not included in registration fee.
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No, chapters are not housed together. Troupes will be assigned housing based on how early they register, how many rooms they request and other factors.
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ITF housing includes campus housing and hotels. To participate at ITF, all registered attendees are required to stay in either campus housing or an ITF host hotel. ITF requires this for many reasons, including but not limited to risk management, logistics and agreements with Indiana University Bloomington and local law enforcement.
CAMPUS HOUSING
All-Access Passes include housing and meals at a designated residence hall on campus. Groups will be assigned housing based on when they register, accessibility requests, and other factors. Room styles and bathroom accommodations (including private, semi-private and community) vary by building. ITF may be assigned to dorms that have community bathrooms. We are unable to accommodate specific dorm building requests.
All Adult Leaders a housed in single occupancy rooms.
Primary Adult Leaders are responsible for assigning roommates for students and submitting a housing form by May 14, 2025.
Lofted beds
Most beds are twin XL and lofted (approximately 4 ft. off the ground). It is critical for all primary adult leaders to indicate any accessibility requests when completing housing forms. Please note in your housing assignment if anyone in your group needs their bed de-lofted. ITF is required submit requests to de-loft beds to IU in advance.
HOTELS
Activities Only Passes do not include housing or meals. Groups who prefer to stay off-campus should register using the Activities Only Form. ITF has contracted with a variety of hotels at varying price points. Room types (king, double/ double, suite) also vary, but for budgeting purposes you can expect to accommodate an average of three people per room.
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We are not able to guarantee that two or more groups will be housed together unless they are all registered in the same group/invoice under one Primary Adult Leader.
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A question that we often get is, “Can students and adults share a room?” ITF works to honor individual school administration policies, as well as remaining in compliance with Indiana University’s Programs Involving Children (PIC) policy.
If staying in campus housing, adults and students are not permitted to sleep in the same room, per IU’s PIC policy.
If staying in a hotel, ITF recommends that adults and students sleep in separate rooms and never share a bed. Check with your school administrator for best practices related to safe boundaries between adults and students.
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The nearest airport to Indiana University is the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). The airport is 50 miles north of Bloomington and serviced by most major carriers.
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Options include shuttle or rental car (bus and train services are not available). Attendees are responsible for booking their own transportation between the airport and campus. This is not included in registration fees.
Shuttle: GoExpress offers shuttle service between the Indianapolis International Airport and various stops in Bloomington for $25 per person each way. Reserve online to guarantee your seat.
Car Rental: The following car rental companies offer on-site pickup options at the Indianapolis International Airport Ground Transportation Center, located on the first floor of the Terminal Garage:
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GoExpress shuttles and routes are designed with accessibility in mind, and priority should be given to attendees with accessibility needs. Shuttle access is not guaranteed for all attendees. A schedule will be available in the app as we get closer to the event.
Adult leaders might be asked to provide transportation to and from an event. Therefore, it is highly encouraged and a best practice for two adults to be in a vehicle while transporting youth. If this is not possible and you cannot provide two adults for each vehicle, the minimum required is one adult and two or more minors. Staff and volunteers should use all safety precautions including only transporting the number of passengers the vehicle is recommended to carry. Minors must only ride in seats with safety belts.
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Registration |
Registration opens February 5, 2025 and closes May 7, 2025.
We will not be able to make exceptions for new registrations after May 7.. This is to ensure that all processes related to the event can be completed before the start of ITF.
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In progress registrations do not automatically save to your cart.
If you are registering a large group, we recommend completing the primary adult leader first. Then, primary adult leaders can login into the attendee service center to register the rest of their group. There is not a cost associated with adding attendees.
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