Thespian Society

The Basis of the International Thespian Society:

During the sixth century B.C., Thespis, a writer of tragedy, won the approval of the priests at the Festival of Dionysus. A new dimension was added to drama when Thespis, who was a prominent leader of the Greek chorus, stepped from that group and recited portions of the drama alone. In the moment he separated himself from the chorus, Thespis became the first actor.

In honor of Thespis, we celebrate those who dedicate themselves in the Fine Arts. We are Troupe #8462 and "We promise to uphold the aims and ideals of the International Thespian Society. We are students of theatre and excellence is our ideal. We promise to perform our part as well as we can; to accept praise and criticism with grace; to cooperate with our fellow thespians and work for the good of the troupe; and to share our love of theatre."

Arkansas State Thespian Festival is held February 7th through February 9th. We compete, learn, and watch performances throughout these three days.

Students can compete in performing challenges whether it's a solo, duet, or in a group for an interpretation or musical piece. They can also instead compete in non-performing challenges such as costume design, short film, or tech challenge where students compete against the clock in backstage work such as scene changes and backdrop folding.

Students can also attend workshops throughout the day. These workshops can vary from learning acting techniques, like Meisner, to creating a character for a play in 5 minutes, to creating a backdrop out of sponges and ostrich feathers; they are for all the faces in theatre. They are taught by teachers from different schools around Arkansas, the International and State Thespian Officers, and Special Guests from colleges or Broadway! Speaking of colleges, you can also audition for many different colleges that visit these Festivals to find young talent (like you)!

As this is not just for competing and learning, it's also to about having fun and meeting other people! During lunches there are one-acts that you can attend, you can watch the tech challenge and see that the crew in musicals and plays have a very hard job, and watch other amazing performers dance and sing for group musicals!

Thespian Festival is a great learning experience for people who really love the arts in all of its forms. Hope you can come this year!

"Act well your part; there all honor lies" ~ Alexander Pope's 'Essay on Man'