TN Thespians Monthly Newsletter

As a new school year begins, we are excited for all the opportunities that the months ahead will bring - in our schools and for our theatre community as a whole. We hope you have had a wonderful summer and are settling into a successful start to the year with your students. We can't wait to celebrate all of the creativity, talent, and passion that will fill your theatres and classrooms this year.

We are especially excited to announce that registration is now open for our 2nd Annual ThesFest, created specifically for our middle school Thespians. After a fantastic inaugural event, we look forward to welcoming even more students and educators for a day filled with learning, collaboration, and theatre galore. Be sure to register early and join us for this exciting opportunity on December 5th - more information is included in this newsletter.

Looking ahead, registration for our Tennessee Thespian Conference will open early next month. We are already hard at work planning another incredible conference experience and can't wait to share more details with you soon. Please encourage any potential sponsors and clinicians to check out our website for information on getting involved!

As the year gets underway, we encourage you to stay connected by visiting our website and following us on Instagram for announcements, resources, deadlines, and highlights from theatre programs across the state. We love seeing what your students are creating, so please continue sharing your photos, productions, and success stories with us.

Thank you for all you do to inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of theatre artists and leaders. We are excited for the year ahead and wish you and your students a fantastic start to the school year.

Sincerely,

Becky Williams

ThesFest Year Three!

Over the last two years middle school students in Tennessee have had the opportunity to participate in ThesFest, a festival focused on offering workshops and adjudications to middle school theatre students!

ThesFest offers workshops on all kinds of topics from acting and dance to puppetry and scenic painting! ThesFest is focused on teaching students new skills that they can bring back to their schools to make your programs even stronger!

Students can also participate in adjudications in performance and design! Participants will receive feedback from professionals in their field to help them grow in their acting or tech journeys! Our adjudicators will also choose outstanding performers who will get the opportunity to perform for the festival!

Teachers, we have not forgotten about you! We will be offering workshops throughout the day for educators to collaborate with each other and find new ways of supporting their students!

And something new and exciting this year! We will be taking submissions for one-act performances! Schools can earn a spot to perform for their peers from across the state! We have put in some stipulations in order to make it easier for any school who is interested in submitting!

This year ThesFest will be hosted in Franklin, TN at Page High School on December 5th! There will be a cap of 330 participants this year, so if you are interested, register soon!

We look forward to continuing this awesome event and hope to see your group at ThesFest this year!

- Donovan Hughes

Registration is now open for all TN Middle schools!

• Middle school focused
• Performance opportunities
• Workshops
• Adjudications
• One Act performance!
• Student leadership experiences

• Fun/social activities

New This Year!

Registration portal for an easy-to-manage registration process!

1. Register your school
2. Add your adult chaperones
3. Send your schools unique registration link to your students and parents to complete on their own! (Parents/ students will handle their own registration, opt in to a pizza lunch, sign up for adjudications, etc).
4. Finalize your registration rosters and generate your own Invoice/"Quote" to provide your Bookkeepers for easy payments.

Register by Wednesday October 28th! Spots are limited, so register soon!

• Tuesday, September 8th! - ThesCon Registration goes live

• Sponsor, Vendor, College, Exhibitor registration is now LIVE! Please send any introductions or recommendations to info@tnthespians.org

• Want to present a workshop?
• Interested in volunteering?

• Interested in sponsoring?
• Have an idea that you want to share?

Email us at info@tnthespians.org

Each month, we’re shining a spotlight on the incredible work happening in Tennessee’s theatre programs! Please share the ways you are kicking off this school year.

We’re looking for stories that inspire and educate — troupes leading creative community outreach projects, engaging in service initiatives, trying new fundraising ideas, or producing innovative, thought-provoking shows.

If your students have found a unique way to make an impact, we’d love to feature your story in our newsletter and on social media to inspire other troupes across the state.

Share your highlights using the Troupe Feature Form. Let’s celebrate the creativity and leadership that make Tennessee Thespians stand out!

We are also thrilled to announce an exciting partnership with them. BookTix provides online ticketing and marketing resources for schools throughout the US & Canada and they are now giving back to Tennessee Thespians!

BookTix is a proud sponsor of this year's Teacher Track at Tennessee ThesCon 2026 and will be presenting on several topics such as Marketing, Parody Lyric Writing, Fundraising & more! This track will provide you with the tools and inspiration to make a lasting impact on your theater program, from fresh marketing ideas to an in-depth understanding of the licensing process. Plus, you'll walk away with additional resources to help implement your newfound knowledge immediately.

BookTix will give back to Tennessee Thespians whenever new schools sign up through our Affiliate Program and sell tickets or fundraise on their platform! Find out more by clicking

Our Facebook is back! We have brought back the facebook page and will also be posting regular updates there. www.facebook.com/tnthescon

The Educational Theatre Association creates an educational and professional network for theatre arts educators, students, theatre professionals, and enthusiasts to share ideas and support the effort to have theatre arts education recognized in all phases of education and lifelong learning.

A guide to accessing and using the National Theatre Collection through your EdTA membership. Read full article.

• Member Benefits!
• Charter a New Troupe!
• Educational Theatre Foundation