Update: Download the 2009 Junior Thespian Festivals participation and registration materials
Save the date and join us for the 2009 Junior Thespian Festivals: Junior Festival–East
Tupelo Middle School
Tupelo, Mississippi
February 6–8, 2009 Junior Festival–West
Estrella Foothills High School
Goodyear, Arizona
March 20–22, 2009
Students in grades six through eight, their theatre teachers, and chaperones are welcome at the Junior Festivals. All students must be chaperoned by an adult for the entire weekend of the Junior Festivals. We recommend that you register one chaperone for every eight students. Theatre directors and students from unaffiliated schools are welcome at the Junior Festivals. However, non-member schools with two or more delegates must pay a $75 school charge in addition to registration fees. The $75 can be applied toward charter requirements if the school becomes a member of the Thespian Society by June 30, 2009. If the drama director at the non-Thespian school is a member of the Educational Theatre Association, the unaffiliated school fee will be waived.
During each Junior Festival, delegates will be given the opportunity to work on a team to create a short play (5–7 minutes in length) for presentation on the stage before the entire delegation on Sunday morning. Students will be randomly divided into teams, and each team will be facilitated by an adult. The adults will guide the teams through idea-generating activities to help them develop their piece around this year’s theme: Adventures in Theatre. This activity is a means to encourage group work as well as individual creativity and to teach practical exploration through themes and issues. Teams will eat dinner together on Friday night, so it will be a wonderful time for them to connect with students from other troupes. The teams will regroup several times on Saturday to continue developing their work, and will have one final session together to rehearse on Sunday morning. All the plays will be presented along with the Individual Events finalist performances on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Individual Events is an educational auditions program offering Junior Festival delegates the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on prepared theatrical material. The goal for participating students is to find their talent, strengths, and weaknesses, and to grow as theatre artists. Up to ten selected pieces will be performed before the entire delegation on Sunday. There is a $25 application processing fee per event (if an event has two or more students, you pay $25 one time for the event).
Junior National Individual Events Showcase (JNIES) rules and guidelines
We encourage all schools to submit a play for consideration to be presented at one of the Junior Festivals. To be eligible to present a play, the school must have a chartered Junior Thespian troupe with ITS. To have your show considered, you must complete and submit a play presentation form (available in early November 2008) along with a copy of the proof of permission royalty payment. Shows will be selected based on content appropriateness, receipt of proof of permission/royalty payment, and the number of shows that can be fit into the schedule. We will accept shows one-half hour in length, one hour in length, and full length. The deadline to apply to present a show is January 9, 2009 (Tupelo) and February 20, 2009 (Goodyear).
We offer three 1-hour workshop sessions. Each session will provide a variety of workshops presented by local theatre professionals. The goal of these workshops is to expand theatre-related knowledge and skills and enable learning in a creative and fun way.
Your registration includes three meals: Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and Saturday dinner. We will contract with local hotels that provide a complimentary continental breakfast.
Basic fees
Thespians: $75 per student
Troupe directors: $35 per teacher
Chaperones: $35 per adult
Payment of all fees during this period must be by certified check, money order, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Diners Club.
Late registration fees
$25 per delegate for registrations received after January 9 (Tupelo) and February 20 (Goodyear). Delegates may register late for the Festival, but late applications for Individual Events will not be accepted. Non-Thespian school fee
$75 for each group of two or more representatives from a non-member school, which may be applied toward charter requirements. This fee is waived for members of the Educational Theatre Association. Substitution fee
$25 per delegate for student or adult substitutions. You may substitute at any time prior to the start of the Festival on Friday at 5:00 p.m., but it is best if you don’t wait to do it at the event. Instead, submit them in writing to the home office, with $25 for each substitution and a new health form, signed by the substitute’s parent/guardian. Cancellation fee
$25 per person, provided cancellation is received by January 9 (Tupelo) and February 20 (Goodyear). No refunds of Festival registration fees will be authorized for cancellations received after these deadlines. Requests for cancellations must be made in writing and must reach the home office by the above stated deadline to be honored. Refund checks (minus the per delegate $25 fee) will be sent by April 1.
Hotel reservations are the responsibility of the troupe director. The following hotels will hold non-smoking rooms with two beds at a group rate until 45 days prior to the event. We recommend booking Arizona hotels as soon as possible as there are several other events going on that weekend and rooms are going fast. You may make reservations at hotels other than those listed below; however, you may not be guaranteed a group rate. To ensure that you receive the group rate, please ask for the Junior Thespians rate when making your reservation. All hotels below offer complimentary continental breakfasts.
Tupelo
Holiday Inn Express
1612 McClure Cove
Tupelo, MS 38804
Phone: (662) 620-8184 $99 per room per night plus tax
Baymont Inn
625 Spicer Drive
Tupelo, MS 38804
Phone: (662) 844-7660 $84 per room per night plus tax
Sleep Inn and Suites
1721 North Gloster St.
Tupelo, MS 38804
Phone: (662) 840-7737 $78 per room per night plus tax Goodyear
Super 8
840 N. Dysart Road
Goodyear, AZ 85338
Phone: (623) 932-9622 $139.50 per room per night plus tax
Holiday Inn Express
16771 N. 84th Avenue
Peoria, AZ 85382
Phone: (623) 853-1313 $179 per room per night plus tax
Days Inn
25205 W. Yuma Road
Buckeye, AZ 85326
Phone: (623) 386-5400 $110 per room per night plus tax
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