VA Thespian Update
VA Thespians Kudos & Happenings
DECEMBER: 1 month from festival!!
Check out website for the most up to date information and follow us on our socials! We are excited for our 2024 attendees to join us for the largest & greatest "find your light" VTF yet!
We would also love to share out about your programs on our social media pages. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @vathespians so we can follow you back/keep track of your happenings. You may see your school or show featured soon. Use #vathespians for us to easily find your post!
We have over 60 schools registered for #VTF2024!
NOMINATE YOUR FELLOW EDUCATORS, ADMIN, & SUPPORTERS BY DEC. 10th!
THESPY SCHEDULE!
We are so excited to have you and your students join us at the Virginia Thespian Festival next month.
Attached is SCHEDULE DRAFT #1 for Thespy entries. Not everyone receiving this email may have students who registered for Thespys, but all registered high school directors are receiving this email just in case.
Please read over the below information carefully and check in with your students regarding their submissions.
- All entries on this draft are for "completed" thespy applications that were completely submitted by November 17th.
- If you do not see an entry for a student you believe registered for a Thespy, please check in with the student to see if their entry says, "complete". They may have started one but did not complete it. In that event, it will say, "incomplete" or "in cart".
- Please email me back with a screenshot if their entry says "complete" on your end. I will then check the entry on my end of Open Water.
- If a student has an "incomplete" or "in cart" thespy application, we cannot add them to the schedule at this time. There are over a hundred "incomplete" or "in cart" entries, so adding all of them to the schedule is impossible. Because we have an unprecedented amount of thespy entries this year and are at a new venue, it's important that we ensure we can accomodate the 500 plus complete entries we have.
- Although I did my best to avoid scheduling conflicts, there are bound to be some, especially for students who are in multiple Thespy entries.
- Please look over the schedule to see if you notice any scheduling conflicts for your students. You can complete this conflict form by Friday December 8th if you notice that your student has a Thespy scheduled at the same time or too close to one another.
- I will do my best to swap your students' conflicts with other students who have scheduling conflicts; if I cannot then I will move to the overflow/makeup time slots.
- I plan to leave everyone with no scheduling conflict in the time they have so as to not cause confusion.
- I've taken the one-acts into consideration when making the schedule, so I hope there are no conflicts with your students' thespy and their one-act.
- Playwriting and Short Film entries will not be on this schedule.
- Please ensure your students are finalizing those entries.
- All playwriting entries will be seen by judges prior to the festival.
- All short film entries will be screened at the festival for audiences and judges.
- Final submission pieces for Playwriting and Film are due Dec 8th. Please arrange a time with us to submit those pieces as there is now a different process once the original registration window is closed.
- We will send a final list of those participating in those categories around Dec 10th for your final check.
- The final draft will hopefully be sent out before December 14th so that all students can know their Thespy times and rooms before the winter break.
- For the entries on the attached document plan to be there 15 min before your time slot and up to 15 min after your time slot for planning purposes/ checking for conflicts.
Get excited to see our NEW spirit store/ swag items sold at VTF, coming soon...
Most Recent Registration Updates & Reminders
VTF Arrivals
Please complete the transportation survey below if you're registered for VTF! We need this to secure bus parking spots at the hotel by Tues Dec 5th! Otherwise, your bus may not have a spot to park during the festival.
Teacher Tool of the Month: Cameo
Also, tag us in your posts on social media so we can re-share @vathespians
Check out our 2024 sponsors and learn more about them in 2024!
ALL STATE EXPERIENCES!
VTF- All State Audition Announcement
The Virginia Thespians are pleased to announce auditions for our 2025 All State show
A Chorus Line
Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
*****First 100 auditioners guaranteed a spot to audition*****
Your Directors: Megan Emanuel (Troupe 7962) & Justine Mackey (Troupe 6794)
Performance: Will take place at our 2025 Virginia Thespian Festival & 1 Preview Performance on December 14th @Spotswood High School Penn Laird, Va
How this works: Rising 9th-12th Graders can audition for casting, 12th graders may audition for experience & an exciting casting opportunity in a professional off broadway show.
Rehearsals: Tentative Schedule 24-25
*During auditions, you also have the chance to audition for featured solos from the current West End, Broadway-bound musical SuperYou with the creative team, to premier at our closing ceremony this year, Saturday Jan 6th, 2025!
Students auditioning must prepare the following for auditions:
1 Minute of a song from a broadway show of your choice, that best showcases your vocal ability
(Must bring sheet music-accompanist provided. Nothing from A Chorus Line )
Those interested in Tech Only Please fill out this form by 12/31:
VTF- 2024 All State Crew Application
Ready to fill out your audition form? Reserve your audition spot by 12/31. Here it is:
Familiarize yourself with this Choreography
Fee: $250 - Does not cover transportation, shoes, base costume pieces (Grants available to those in need)
Check out our 2024 VTF Vendors!
TEI 2024: Aug 4-6th, 2024 at the Drury Plaza Hotel
TEI: Thespian Educator Intensive
Some of our partner's school programs. Check them out!
2. Averett University (BA Theatre, BA Theatre Arts with Teaching Licensure (Pre-K – 12), BA English and Theatre, BFA Musical Theatre, BFA Acting, BFA Directing, or BFA Design & Technical Theatre)
3. Gannon University (BA in Performance for Media and Stage or a BA in Theatre Design and Technologies as well as a BA in Theatre and Communication Arts)
4. VA Tech (BA in theatre general, theatre design and technology, or theatre performance. You can also study music or cinema.)
5. Rowan U. (BA in Theatre or dance)
6. Radford U. (B.A. and B.S. in theatre/ minors as well)
7. High Point University (BA in theatre, other majors)
8. Coker University (BA. in General Theatre, Performance, MT, Tech Theatre)
9. New York Film Academy (Lots of options: BFA, MFA, 1 or 2 year certification, etc.)
10. Longwood University (BA or BFA)
11. Ferrum College (BFA in Acting or MT programs)
12. New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (BA, BFA, 1/2 year certifications, etc.)
13. Metropolitan School of the Arts (gap year training program)
14. University of Maryland Baltimore County (BA- Design & Production, Theatre studies, Theatre Teacher Pathway/ BFA, Minors)
15. Catholic University (Acting B.F.A., Drama B.A., Accelerated Degree (B.A./M.A.T.E.), minors, etc.)
16. University of South Carolina (Theatre and Dance programs- B. of A., M. F. A., M. A. T., M.A. or Minor).
Come meet them at VTF 2024!
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT: Candace Decker
Candace is helping us create our alumni board, performs professionally, and typically drives all the way from Wisconsin to teach workshops at VTF! See her throwback Thespian photo below! Candace Decker has performed her one-woman cabarets throughout the mid-west and east coast. An award-winning actress for her work on Chicago stages, she is a NY Cabaret Symposium Fellow, an Indiana Arts cabaret grant recipient, Wisconsin Laird Foundation artist grant recipient, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read, Waukesha Reads and Menomonee Falls Reads cabaret artist. She holds a B.A. in theatre from James Madison University and is a proud Virginia State Thespian, who attended First Colonial High School, Troupe 3178. Candace received the Virginia State Thespian Conference Scholarship and First Place Acting award for state many conferences ago, and is a proud member of the Virginia Thespian Alumni board. This is her 8th year as a guest teaching artist, where she has taught improv workshops, adjudicated Individual events (Thespys) and co-taught cabaret workshops with Ryan Cappleman. Candace recently appeared as Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music, Marmee, in Little Women-The Musical and will be seen on a Milwaukee stage this spring as Jack's Mom in Into the Woods.
Know an alumni doing incredible things? Email executivedirector@vathespian.org so we can brag about them and their accomplishments!
How to Find out More...?
Email: executivedirector@vathespian.org
Website: https://www.vathespian.org/mission.html
Location: Winchester, VA, USA
Phone: 703-554-3416
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaThespians
Twitter: @thespians1
SEND YOUR AWESOME SHOW POSTERS!
We would love to feature them on our Thespian socials too!
Chapter Leadership Summit July 2024, in DC TBD
Rebranding your ITS Troupe?
UPCOMING EVENTS/ CALENDAR
-VTF Registration: Sept 8th- Nov 10th, Late Window until Dec 1st
-VTF 2024: Jan 4-6th in Tysons Corner, VA!
-Statewide NYC Thespian Trip (NEW DATES) Feb. 23-25th, register by Oct. 1st!
-On the horizon (Arts Awareness Day in March, End of year VTO Social, etc.)
HAPPY FALL SHOW SEASON!
Virginia Thespians Alumni Group
Spring/ Fall ITS Inductions Checklist
1. Hold an interest meeting. Ask- Who is interested in becoming inducted into ITS?
2. Share out the point application (your own copy) for students to complete with their past and current theatrical experiences for certain point values.
3. Have students fill out the Member Google form, (your own copy) for the exact information you need to collect to put them into the official ITS/ EdTA system, and pay $35 for the one-time membership fee, which lasts them a lifetime. (More materials at the bottom of the newsletter to promote and explain ITS.)
4. Hold inductions. Here is a sample outline to use. You can create your own rituals, traditions, or if you are in a pinch, it can be less than 30 minutes before school starts or before a rehearsal for example.
5. Log into your myedta account to input all of your new inductees.
6. Pay the lump sum as the director, if your students didn't pay EdTA directly. Our suggestion is to collect the money as you typically do for school events, work with your bookkeeper or boosters to cut one check to EdTA to keep it simple.
7. Hold an end of year or semester celebration to hand out the new goodies when they are delivered to the school!
Don't have a troupe yet? Read more about the benefits and process here! You do not need a minimum number of students now to activate/ reactivate your troupe. Get started today! Other resources on inductions from EdTA.
*Hold fall inductions so your students get inducted so they get the discounts for all events and so they can qualify to move onto nationals with their Thespys.
VIRGINIA THESPIAN FESTIVAL 2024!
The Main Auditorium
The Vault Blackbox Space
The Hilton Tysons McLean Hotel Lobby
Festival 2024!
1. Do you want to bring a show? We are accepting mainstages & one acts NOW!
2. Do you want to come for one day or a full weekend? Only full weekend schools can compete now so consider fundraising, asking your administration for support, add this into your yearly calendars now to plan your season around it.
3. Will you need transportation? Reach out to nearby schools to consider sharing a bus to save on money and getting to know a nearby program.
We hope to see you there!
Need information to share about Thespians or VTF 2024?
Here is a Festival Guide for students or new troupe directors.