Iowa Thespy Award Program

At the Iowa Thespian Festival, students have a chance to participate in the Thespy Award program, which is a part of the International Thespian Excellence Awards (formerly known as the National Individual Event Showcase), sponsored by the Educational Theatre Association. The International Thespian Excellence Awards is an educational program that offers Thespians the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on prepared theatrical material and technical designs.

• ​Download the Iowa Thespy Award Guidelines

• Download the National Thespy Award Guidelines
• Download the Individual Events Rights Permission Form (only required for certain performances - see below for more details)
• Download the Adjudication Rubrics 

​Check out this video tutorial on how to submit your pre-recorded Thespy performance:

• Thespy Submission Tutorial

Performance Individual Events include:

• Monologue
• Duet Acting
• Group Acting
• Solo Musical Theatre
• Duet Musical Theatre
• Group Musical Theatre

​Technical Individual Events include:

• Costume Construction
• Costume Design
• Lighting Design
• Makeup
• Scenic Design
• Short Film
• Sound Design
• Stage Management
• Theatre Marketing

STUDENTS MAY ONLY PARTICIPATE IN TWO INDIVIDUAL EVENTS AT THE IOWA THESPIAN FESTIVAL.

For 2020/2021, if a student may qualify for the national Thespy program in more than one category.

Students do NOT need to be inducted Thespians to participate in Individual Events at Iowa Festival, however, if a student qualifies for the International Thespian Excellence Awards at the International Thespian Festival, he or she MUST be an inducted Thespian at the time of your ITF registration to participate.  

For a complete list of rules for each event and more details, check out the Iowa Individual Events Guide below.  
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Thespy Award Submissions

Click the link to access the portal to submit your Thespy Award performance. 

Thespy Submission Portal

Deadline for submissions:
Friday, February 26, 2021

Festival Quick Links

> All State Cabaret
​All-State Staged Reading (Coming Soon!)
> College/Thespian Scholarship Auditions
> Contact Information
> Playworks Competition
> Registration Materials
> State Thespian Officer Candidates
> Studio Theatre Performances
> Tech Challenge
> Thespy Award Program

Acting Thespy Help

Musical Thespy Help

Theatre Technology Thespy Help

Short Film Thespy Help

Royalty Information

It is the responsibility of entrants to obtain permission for the use of copyrighted material. In certain cases, permission is not required. 

• The performance of a song from a published musical in an adjudicated category is considered a fair use, and no permission is required.
• The performance of a monologue or scene from a non-musical play at chapter conference/festival or in an adjudicated category may be subject to an agreement previously negotiated between EdTA and several major publishers. Determine the identity of the publisher (check the title page of the script or consult an internet database like findaplay.com or doollee.com), then check the following listing for the publisher’s most recent policy. If the work is published by a house not included below, an entrant must apply for a Special Rights Form.
• If there is an exception as noted above (e.g., Neil Simon plays), complete the appropriate sections of the Rights Application and Permission Form and mail it to the publisher or leasing agent. The name and address of the publisher or agent should be in a notice of copyright published with the script.