INTERNATIONAL THESPIANS FESTIVAL

Originally scheduled for the summer of 2020, the International Thespians Festival returned to Bloomington this past June for the first time in decades. Inaugurally held at Indiana University in 1941, the annual high school theatre festival’s most recent home has been the University of Nebraska at Lincoln since 1995 before its return to Bloomington in 2022. IU’s mainstage theatres, small theatre spaces, and classrooms provided more room for attendees, accommodating the growing festival. During the week-long event, over 2,500 high school theatre students and teachers attended live performances at IU Auditorium, the Musical Arts Center, and other campus venues, and participated in 384 workshops covering every aspect of production and performance.