State
Washington State Thespian Festival
Washington State Thespians is a chapter of the Educational Theatre Association. WA Thespians hosts multiple events to honor student achievement and support theatre educators in our state. Their biggest event is the Washington State Thespian Festival.
What Happens at State?
At State, students develop their skills as thespians and meet people from high schools across the state. Activities include:
Workshops: Attend a wide variety of workshops taught by national clinicians, college professors, local theatre educators, and working professionals. Performance workshops include acting, dance, voice, auditioning, dialects, and stage combat. Technical theatre workshops include costume, lighting, and sound design. There are workshops for writers such as comedy and sketch writing. Workshops are a great way to develop your skills and try new things. Have you ever wanted to try swing dancing? This could be your chance!
Performances: See performances from other schools, including clippings from both fully produced shows and works in progress.
Showcase Performances: Performers who scored in the top 10 percentile at Thespys (IE) can audition for a main stage showcase. Showcase Performers will perform on the main stage for the entire state on Saturday.
Showcase Production: Technical theatre applicants with top scores at Thespys (IE) can participate in showcase interviews on Friday. The top scores in each category will be invited to display their work on Saturday.
Honor Troupe Applications: Troupes present their portfolio of work, which includes documentation in the form of photos, programs, social media screenshots, and other evidence of troupe participation in state events, community service, and other activities. The portfolio is adjudicated against a rubric in hopes of earning the title of Bronze, Silver, or Gold Thespian Honor Troupe.
Tech Olympics: The Tech Olympics is a competition to showcase the skills of theatre technicians. Teams compete in a variety of events such as coiling rope, mopping, changing lights...
Duck Buddies: For $2, you can buy a rubber ducky with a name tag for a celebrity, fictional character, or historical figure. Each ducky is a part of a famous couple and your job is to find the person who has your ducky's other half. If you have Bert, you're looking for Ernie! Once you find the person, snap a selfie with each other and your ducks to win a gift card prize! Proceeds benefit Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids.
Thespian Scholarship Applications: Senior thespians can apply, register, and interview for one of two $1000 scholarships.