Thespian National Company shows

The Thespian Society’s unique Thespian National Company shows bring together student actors and technicians from diverse backgrounds and far-flung hometowns with a veteran creative team to rehearse and perform a show as the centerpiece of the Thespian Festival. There have been six of them in the history of the event:

Godspell, in 1980
Grease, in 1982
A Chorus Line, in 1987
Ragtime, in 2005
Thoroughly Modern Millie, in 2007
Hairspray, in 2008

Actors and technicians are selected at regional auditions and auditions and interviews at the Thespian Festival a year in advance of the production. They are flown to a rehearsal site—usually the director’s home school—for a series of long-weekend rehearsal sessions during the spring. Usually there’s a preview performance at the rehearsal site the weekend before the event, then two performances at the Festival.

Rather than following a fixed schedule, Thespian National Company productions are mounted when the right combination of financial support, the availability of an attractive show, and a director willing to take on the daunting challenge fall into place. None is currently scheduled.