13 Schools Selected for 2021 International Thespian Festival Main Stage
The lineup features 10 plays and 3 musicals.
Thirteen schools have been invited to perform on the main stage at the nation's leading high school theatre festival.
The International Thespian Festival takes place June 22-25, 2021, in its all-virtual format. Produced by the Educational Theatre Association, the festival celebrates student achievement in the performing arts. The highly coveted invitation to the main stage is a huge honor for International Thespian Society students: High-caliber productions from across the country are screened each year, and only the best receives this honor.
This year's ITF main stage lineup reflects the pandemic's impact on school theatre. Several of the shows were created for virtual performance, and the lineup features 10 plays and 3 musicals. (Complete list of schools and shows follows.)
In addition to viewing main stage performances, at ITF drama students and their teachers can participate in more than 40 workshops, interact with 60+ colleges in a unified college fair and audition process, and meet with industry leaders and Broadway professionals.
JUST ADDED TO ITF 2021 WORKSHOP LINEUP: Hip-hop dancer Justin "Jet" Valles will instruct a hip-hop dance workshop suitable for both students and teachers. Valles appeared in the movies Breaking Through, Step Up: Revolution, and Step Up: All In.
ITF is packed with opportunities to be inspired by the best high school theatre in the nation and is open to all theatre lovers. Register at itf.schooltheatre.org.
TOP 6 PRIME-TIME SHOWS ON ITF 2021 MAIN STAGE
CLYBOURNE PARK
By Bruce Norris
Director: Roberta Emerson
Montverde Academy, Troupe 3977
Montverde, Florida
DISTANCE LEARNING
By Carey Crim
Director: J. Jason Daunter
Claremont High School, Troupe 2129
Claremont, California
A KILLER PARTY: A MURDER MYSTERY MUSICAL
Music by Jason Howard, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen, Book by Rachel Exler & Kait Kerrigan
Director: John Monteverde
South Eugene Theatre, Troupe 750
Flower Mound, Texas
CLUE, THE STAY AT HOME COMEDY (HS VERSION)
Adapted from the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
Additional Materials by Hunter Foster, Eric Price & Sandy Rustin
Adapted from the Paramount Pictures film written by Jonathan Lynn and the board game from Hasbro, Inc.
Director: Jonathan Luke Stevens
Ashland High School, Troupe 4630
Ashland, Oregon
SHE KILLS MONSTERS VIRTUAL REALMS
By Qui Nguyen
Director: Danielle Miller
Hoboken High School, Troupe 7268
Hoboken, New Jersey
Disney's NEWSIES
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Jack Feldman, Book by Harvey Fierstein
Based on the Disney film written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White
Director: Bob Henrichs
Lincoln Southwest High School, Troupe 6547
Lincoln, Nebraska
7 ADDITIONAL MAIN-STAGE MARATHON SHOWS RUNNING ON DEMAND AT ITF 2021
GHOSTLIGHT
By Stephen Gregg
Director: David Tate Hastings
Olathe South High School, Troupe 5006
Olathe, Kansas
BREATHING THROUGH COVIDBy the Company of Breathing Through Covid
Directors: Andrea Lee Roney & Debra Buckner
North Penn High School, Troupe 5464
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
THE TEMPEST
By William Shakespeare
Director: Clark Taylor
Mount Vernon High School, Troupe 7702
Sandy Springs, Georgia
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By Oscar Wilde
Director: Pamela Hurt
Prestonwood Christian Academy, Troupe 6605
Plano, Texas
THE HOPE PROJECT
By Daniel K. Isaac
Director: WT McRae
The Berkeley Carroll School, Troupe 3946
Brooklyn, New York
WOMEN OF SPOON RIVER
From the anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Directors: Jill Campbell with Kailani Stroup (student)
State College Area High School, Troupe 5029
State College, Pennsylvania
SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Director: Katherine Rochon
New Jersey All-State Thespians
New Jersey
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