It’s a blast at the International Thespian Festival! Whether you attended or not, check out the titles of some of the great performances. Explore now!
ITF 2024 Main Stage Productions
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson
When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.
School: Arroyo Grande High School, Arroyo Grande, CA
Indecent by Paula Vogel
Indecent, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, is a deeply moving play inspired by the true events surrounding the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance—a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel. INDECENT charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
School: Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA
2024 Chapter Select One-Act Showcase
Juliet and This Guy Romeo by Don Zolidis
Two rival families are at war in Verona, Wisconsin. The adults argue about politics on Facebook all night long, while the teenagers aggressively hashtag each other all day. But when a pair of teens from the different families fall so crazy in love that they start speaking in iambic pentameter, it’s a tragedy waiting to happen. This zany comedy skewers the online animosity between liberals and conservatives with a little help from Shakespeare.
School: Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Sewell, NJ
The Velveteen Rabbit, adapted by Elise Kauzlaric
In the world of toys, life begins when humans leave the room. When one group of toys discovers a velveteen rabbit, they learn what it means to be truly loved by their owner. Adapted from the classic story by Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit tells the story of the unconditional love between a boy and his toy bunny and how that love makes the rabbit real.
School: Paradise Valley High School, Phoenix, AZ
Almost Maine by John Cariani
Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
School: Springfield Township High School, Erdenheim, PA
Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher
A mystery thriller, the tale of a neurotic invalid, whose only contact with the outside world is her phone. Over this, one night, because of a crossed wire, she hears plans for a murder, which turns out to be her own. Her frantic efforts to enlist help through the only means at her disposal, her growing terror and realization of the truth, and (along the way) the hints about her own life and personality she lets drop, make this a full character portrait not only of herself but of the unseen murderer, whose identity and motivations are surmised but never revealed. A tour de force of acting for the female star, who commands the stage throughout, this play also picks up through the many phone calls, personality vignettes of the outside world, including gangsters, phone operators, a police sergeant, etc., each of which is distinct and of vital importance to the storyline. The play has been adapted by the author for an easy stage presentation, which should be as telling as the original radio version; although both have been made available in this present printing.
School: Alma High School, Alma, AR
Property Rites by Alan Haehnel
Kyle Macmanus has invested millions in a high-tech work of art — fifteen human-figure sculptures programmed to perform thousands of movements, monologues, dialogues, and more. But just when Kyle is about to sell the sculpture, it malfunctions; the figures are alive. As each one struggles to achieve autonomy, they begin a fatal race against their desperate owner’s destructive plan.
Schools: Wells (Power) Academic and Performing Arts Complex, Jackson, MS
Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper
In the midst of a bombed-out city still feeling the aftershocks of war, the rebellious and intense Antigone defies her uncle to bury her disgraced brother. This contemporary response to the myth of Antigone brings powerful, modern prose to an ancient and universal story.
School: Vestavia Hills High School, Bloomington, AL
Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Jason Pizzarello
After Alice tumbles down a mysterious rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange land where everyone is raving mad. With the help of a Cheshire Cat, an astute Caterpillar, and a righteous Humpty Dumpty, Alice must find her way home and discover who she really is. A darker, more faithful version of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale that reimagines the experience of Wonderland, and ends with an unexpected new twist.
Schools: Marianas High School, Mt. Carmel School, Hopwood Middle School, Francisco M. Sablan Middle School, Saipan, Mariana Islands
