Each school may bring one team for the qualifying competition. From this qualifying event, 9 teams will be selected to move forward to semi-finals later during festival.

1. Teams are limited to six performing at one time, although if you have alternates or extras, that’s fine—you will need to decide as a team who will perform each round of competition.
2. Team Names are not Required.
3. Audience is encouraged to watch the events.
4. Profanity, sexually explicit scenarios, or other inappropriate material will result in forfeiting of the round.  Decisions on what is profane etc. is up to the improv judge(s).
5. All rounds will be judged by outside judges that are professional improvisation artists.
6. Each team is required to attend check-in prior to the start of the Challenge rounds.

The second round will be three challenge events. Each event will consist of one improvisational exercise. A judge will be posted at each of the three events to tally points for each team. At the end of each round, judges rotate to the next room to start a new round. Once all three rounds are completed, the top four teams with the most points will advance to the Improv Showcase.

Improv Showcase
The top four teams will no longer be judged in the final event, instead they will perform in a final improvisational showcase. This showcase will be based on scenarios and suggestions from our Improv Judges and will be an hour in length. All four teams will be honored at the event. 

As we reimagined the “Tech Challenge” event, we knew we wanted to incorporate behind-the-scenes skills that went beyond “Technical” Theatre roles. It’s our hope to one day better incorporate elements of design and management roles, as well.

We felt “behind-the-scenes” or “backstage” was a better descriptor of this desire, and decided to align ourselves with USITT’s BACKstage Exam. The USITT BACKstage Exam (Basic and Comprehensive Knowledge Exam for High School Technical Theatre Students) is designed to evaluate the knowledge and work readiness of technical theatre students at the high school level. Developed by educators and industry professionals, BACKstage is the most comprehensive examination of its kind and was designed to assist students in determining their readiness for post-secondary activities in technical theatre. (For more information, visit www.usitt.org.)

To make sure we represented a full range of basic and comprehensive knowledge, we adapted the categories used in the exam as an organizational guideline. USITT’s BACKstage topics include: Audio, Costuming, Lighting and Electrics, Rigging, Scenic Construction, and Stage Management.

We are busy preparing for the 2025 Nebraska State Thespian Festival to be held in Omaha at the Hilton Omaha Downtown (and Holland Performing Arts Center. The festival will take place on January 2, 3, and 4 in 2025. Please read below for opportunities to participate in our Festival and then complete the online registration form.

PLEASE COMPLETE REGISTRATION BY NOVEMBER 1, 2024.   

1. VENDOR (College or Commercial): The Vendor Area will be located at the Hilton Second Floor Lobby – this is different than last year. Cost is $150 per table.

2. COLLEGE AUDITIONS RECRUITER: College Recruiters will be invited to attend Showcase callbacks on Thursday, January 2nd from 12:30pm-6:00pm (performance) and 3:00pm-6:30pm (technical) in the Hilton Downtown Meeting Room. Students interested in College Auditions NOT callback will perform/present after showcase callbacks are complete. Cost is $150 to participate and that includes a table at our Vendor Fair.