General Information |
The International Thespian Festival is the premier theatre festival for middle and high school students around the world. Held annually since 1941, it welcomes over 4,500 attendees for a week of nonstop theatre, including full-length high school productions on the Main Stage to workshops led by industry professionals and everything in between. At ITF, the future of theatre starts here.
ITF is produced by the Educational Theatre Association, which is the parent organization of the International Thespian Society.
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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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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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Students participating in ITF must be in grades six through 12 for the current school year. Students below 6th grade are not permitted to register for ITF or participate in ITF activities.
If for any reason a child below 6th grade must accompany an adult leader, please note that they are not permitted to be housed in campus housing.
If the registration group is utilizing our host hotels, a child below 6th grade may be included in those reservations. The child can be present on campus at the adult leader's discretion, but they are not permitted to participate in any ITF programming. This includes, but is not limited to, workshops, performances, and the exhibit hall.
For this reason, adult leaders are advised to not bring their infants, toddlers or young children to ITF, if possible.
ITF is designed for students 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 students.
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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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All attendees will receive a certificate of participation for attending ITF. Because of EdTA’s stature and reputation for high-quality professional learning experiences, many school districts accept these for professional development credit. Please check with your administration to find out whether your attendance will be accepted for continuing education or professional development credit.
Certificates of participation will be available after ITF. You'll receive an email from us after ITF with clear instructions on how to access your Certificates of Participation.
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Health and Safety |
EdTA and the International Thespian Festival (ITF) have a comprehensive Commercial General Liability insurance plan in place to protect ITF program participants.
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ASL interpretation will be available for both the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony.
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Promoting an inclusive environment is a top priority at ITF. Pronouns can be indicated during the registration process for all attendees, and if shared, they will be included on the official ITF name badges.
Housing accommodations will be made in the dorms if requested and dorms and many public buildings on campus have gender-neutral bathrooms. View a map of all-gender restrooms on the IU Campus. We are more than happy to work with any attendee to address specific concerns. Please email events@schooltheatre.org with any questions.
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The use of service animals such as guide dogs is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With a few exceptions (due to health and safety concerns), service dogs are allowed anywhere the handler is allowed on the IU Bloomington campus.
The use of emotional support animals is not covered under the ADA. Emotional support animals are allowed on campus only with prior approval in the residence halls.
For attendees staying in campus housing, primary adult leaders will be asked to include service animals in the Campus Housing form.
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Accessible parking can be found in a number of places across campus. Please refer to this interactive map for specific locations and details.
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Students attending with their troupe (not chaperoned by a parent or other relative) should follow their school’s policies for carrying and administering medications. Adult leaders and/or parents of students who normally take required medications outside of the school day should check with administration to ensure the necessary forms and protocols are in place prior to ITF.
For students who are attending ITF separately from a Thespian troupe, parents and/or adults acting as adult leaders are responsible for their own students’ medications.
All student prescriptions must be reported on an attendee's Health & Consent form. The form also requires prescription authorizations signed by the prescribing physician. The Health & Consent Form will include a blank template for the authorization form.
Adult (non-student) attendees are not required to provide prescriptions within the Health & Consent Form. However, they should expect that prescription information may be required so that First Aid staff can administer proper care.
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Participants with dietary restrictions should indicate this when registering for ITF. Dietary restrictions are taken into consideration when planning special meal functions. Buffet meals (including dining halls) will include allergen information at food stations. We work directly with IU’s dietitian for on-campus dining and food and beverage vendors to accommodate requests; however, no area will be completely allergen-free. Participants are expected to monitor for allergens at all meal functions.
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Housing, Meals, and Transportation |
All hotel reservations require a credit card at the time of submission. The card will not be charged until after the conclusion of your stay. You may provide an alternate card at check-in. All hotel reservations must be paid by credit card and are paid directly to the hotel.
ITF is unable to provide quotes, invoices, or receipts for hotel stays.
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All adult (non-student) attendees will be housed in single-occupancy dorm rooms. There is not an adult registration option that allows for roommates.
By default, all students will be housed in double-occupancy rooms according to roommate assignments provided in the campus housing form.
If a group has an odd number of students, the student without a pre-determined roommate will be housed in a single occupancy room. ITF will not make random roommate assignments in 2026.
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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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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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Payments |
Paying by credit card? Follow these steps to remit payment:
- Log in to the Attendee Service Center. (Login credentials are located in your ITF registration confirmation email.)
- Click Individual Payment & Invoice or Group Payment & Invoice depending on what kind of balance you need to pay.
- Use the instructions at the top of the page to enter credit card information and submit.
Paying by check? Please make payable to International Thespian Festival and mail to:
International Thespian Festival
PO Box 7410258
Chicago, IL 60674-0258
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Log in to the Attendee Service Center and click either Individual Payment & Invoice or Group Invoice & Payment. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click to open the PDF. Download or print accordingly.
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When completing your registration, select “Balance Due” as your method of payment. Once submitted, email events@schooltheatre.org to request a copy of your quote.
Please note: quotes are subject to all registration policies including payment, cancellation, and administrative fees.
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Programs |
There are a variety of opportunities for students to perform at ITF. Please refer to the Programs menu on the ITF webpage!
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The best resource for Thespys questions can be found on the official Thespys website. Please refer to the Thespys FAQ and additional pages for more info. Specific questions may also be emailed to thespys@schooltheatre.org.
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What constitutes mature content varies widely among school districts and communities. EdTA will never tell ITF audiences what they can and cannot watch, understanding that some people are uncomfortable watching mature content and/or that they would not be allowed to view such content in their schools. To ensure that all attendees are fully informed, all Main Stage shows featuring mature content are noted as such in the schedule. With the schedule published in advance, attendees can decide whether to see the performance in question, attend another show, or choose a different activity. The full schedule is posted before ITF begins to allow audience members to make choices about which shows to see.
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