To Register:  Bring a cash or check (written out to Park High School) and consent form to Ms. Cap by the date listed. Complete the registration form with Ms. Cap. 

The 2026 Thespian Festival isat PiM Arts High School in Eden Prairie on Saturday, January 11th through Sunday, January 12th. You can attend workshops, compete in Thespys, watch shows, audition for colleges and scholarships, and make new theater friends across the state of MN. Here is everything you need to know.

Registration Deadline: Friday, November 21 

See Ms. Caponigri (room 208) ASAP to register!  Be sure to bring cash or check for registration (cost breakdown below).  

Information about the festival: 

When: 

Saturday-Sunday, January 11-12, 2026; ALL DAY both days! 

Where: 

PiM Arts High School

7255 Flying Cloud Dr, 

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Pricing: 

Register with Ms. Caponigri by November 21:

• Inducted Thespians: $100 (PHS Booster Members: $50)

• Future Thespians: $110 (PHS Booster Members: $55)

Register with Ms. Caponigri by December 5:

• Inducted Thespians: $130 (PHS Booster Members $65)

• Future Thespians: $140 (PHS Booster Members $70)

Additional Opportunities: 

• Participate in Thespys:  A competition in 21 areas of theater!  You choose up to two categories! Work with Ms. Caponigri or Ms. Ball 1:1 to develop your competition piece or decide to compete in a whole group!  For a list of categories, see here: Thespian Competition Opportunities

The MN Thespian Chapter Conference is a gathering of high school students from across Minnesota where participants watch, do and learn. Our primary purpose is to help foster a statewide community of students who are being prepared for their journey into theater...whether as a patron, performer, producer, administrator or technician.

Over the two-day conference, students and educators will…

• participate in workshops on a variety of theatre topics, led by theatre professionals from across the state

• attend one act performances presented by fellow Thespians, as part of the Chapter Select Contest and the Freestyle Showcase

• participate in and/or watch the International Thespian Excellence Awards presentations (the Thespys--formerly the National Individual Events Showcase) in acting, musical theatre, and/or technical theatre.

• Audition for college representatives from theater programs across the state and the Midwest.

• Audition to receive a Thespian Scholarship to help defray the costs of your post-secondary plans.

• Learn a new skill and compete in the Tech-a-Thon with others from your school

• Participate in a staged reading of a brand-new, student-written work in our MN Thespian Originals (MTO) Playwriting program 

• Meet your State Thespian Officers and maybe even run for office yourself

• network and have fun with other like-minded people who love theater as much as you! 

What does your cost include:

COSTS:  The student registration fee includes:

• Access to workshops and individual performance sessions.

• Access to one act performances.

• Access to the Tech-a-Thon

• Access to all conference performances

• Lunch & Dinner on Saturday and Lunch on Sunday.

• A conference T-shirt.

• Juniors and Seniors are eligible to participate in the college auditions.

• Seniors are eligible to participate in the scholarship interviews (2 per school).

Thespys (The International Thespian Excellence Awards): 

The International Thespian Excellence Awards is an educational program that offers Thespian Festival delegates the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on prepared theatrical material and technical designs. Students who attend our conference can choose to just watch Thespy performances or, if you wish, you can participate and present in up to two categories.

The performance categories include: Monologue, Duet Acting, Group Acting, Solo Musical Theatre, Duet Musical Theatre, and Group Musical Theatre. 

The technical categories include: Makeup Design, Costume Construction, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Scenic Design, Short Film, Sound Design, Stage Management, Theatre Marketing, and Playwriting.

Students who perform a Superior rating at our state conference will be invited to present their performance at the Thespys event at the International Thespian Festival in June.  You do not need to be an inducted Thespian to participate at the state level, but if you advance and wish to perform at ITF, you will need to become an inducted Thespian member.

There is a $5 fee to participate in Thespys. The $5 fee covers up to two Thespy entries. 

For more information about the International Thespian Excellence Awards, including rules for each category...

•  Thespys Program Guide, including event requirements and rules

• Rubrics for Thespys events

Troupe Directors will indicate student participation in Thespys during initial registration. Once we receive your registration and $5 fee, our Thespy Coordinators will invite students to register themselves for the event using an online program called Open Water. Specific details and instructions will be sent to those participating. 

Drop/Change policy and fees 

• Any drops and/or changes requested after Wednesday, December 8, 2021 will incur a $10 late fee per event. This includes Individual Events, College Auditions, and Scholarship Auditions. This includes a situation where one student drops and you’d like to add another student in his/her place. 

• Late additions will not be accepted. 

• Schools will be invoiced for any Drop and/or Change fees incurred immediately following Conference.

• There will be no general registration changes or refunds after December 15, 2021.

Tech-a-thon:

The chance for techies to show us their stuff. 

Any school or combination of schools may participate and/or register a team for Tech-a-Thon. Each team must have five to seven team members. Each team will participate in challenges at five different stations. 

The skill-based stations could include: sewing a button, tying knots, folding a drop, coiling a cable, hanging and focusing a light, shifting props, legging a platform, and/or completing a costume quick change.

No prior experience or registration is needed.  Just show up with your team and sign up on site at the Conference!

Although we do keep times as a score and have fun prizes, this is primarily a fun and educational event.  Tech-a-Thon allows team members to demonstrate their abilities to meet challenges encountered in a production environment. Skills in accuracy, speed, and efficiency will be evaluated. Additional discretionary points may be awarded (or subtracted) by the judges for creativity, ingenuity, teamwork, etc. 

Students can also participate in the Tech-a-Thon without competing! Just stop by and try your hand at a new skill!  

College Auditions:

Juniors or Seniors (as of January 1, 2024) who attend the 2024 MN Thespian Conference are eligible to audition for colleges and universities.  These auditions are introductory auditions which give you a first chance to get used to the college audition process as well as an opportunity to begin connecting with schools that offer performing arts degrees.

Registration for College Auditions is included in the registration process. This will get students’ names in the list of auditioning students and will allow us to contact students with further information.

Performance auditions consist of two contrasting or complementary monologues or a song and monologue.  Your total audition may not exceed two minutes.  If you plan to sing, an accompanist will be provided and you will need to bring sheet music.

At the conference, you will present your audition during the morning audition slots.  After the audition, you will find out which schools are interested in talking with you further, at which point you can visit their tables during the afternoon.  Students are free to visit with schools who have invited them to meet as well as those who have not.

Troupe Directors will indicate student participation in College Auditions during initial registration. Once we receive your registration, our College Audition Coordinator will contact students to gather more detailed information.

Scholarships: 

Seniors who attend the 2026 MN Thespian Conference are eligible to interview for one of several $1,000 scholarships.  Ms. Caponigri and Ms. Ball are allowed to submit up to THREE names.  If you are interested in participating in Scholarship, please let Ms. Caponigri know at time of registration. 

Each school that participates in the MN Thespian Conference may recommend up to three students to participate in the scholarship interview.  Those students are then invited to complete the scholarship application and interview with the scholarship panel at the conference.  The application includes a basic resume and statement of educational purpose.  The interview includes a presentation of performance or portfolio and questions from the panel (total of 10 minutes per applicant).

Scholarship participants must be Seniors with a GPA of 2.75 who are inducted Thespians as of January 1st, 2024.

Troupe Directors will indicate student participation in Scholarship Auditions during initial registration. Once we receive your registration, our Scholarship Audition Coordinator will contact students directly to gather more detailed information.