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Two Tracks? - Nobody really likes a two-track system, but our feedback from troupe directors indicated that maximizing the number of students we can take is more important. So, for 2025 there will be a two-track system for Opening/Closing ceremonies, Meals, and most Troupe Events. The biggest down-side is not being able to have everyone be together for opening and closing ceremonies. But the advantage is that we won’t have to drastically reduce the overall festival capacity and will actually be able to have more participants in most troupe events etc. What about Main Stage? - Unfortunately, because of the limited space this year, the Main Stage program will have to take a brief hiatus. We will definitely revisit it for 2026. Are Thespys Still Virtual? - Yes, but… ahem…I mean and… we are going to be using OpenWater this year, which should make the technical side of uploading/submitting videos a little easier. (More info to come.) And, in addition to Superior-scoring thespians, we are going to try open up the in-person adjudication experience to as many Excellent-scoring thespians as space allows. (For the purposes of the Chapter Thespy Qualifier, a student’s average score during in-person adjudication may go up, but not down.) But Why Virtual? - The number one factor for us is still time and space at festival. However, we have also seen from our partners in higher education an increased emphasis on the importance of students being able to successfully record and submit auditions and/or pre-screens, digitally. We know that the in-person experience is still extremely important, but this model appears to be one that both facilitates a robust offering of activites at festival and helps prepare our students for the realities of the industry in the 21st century. To help our students and directors, we will be offering a session of Digital Thespy “How To's / Best Practices” for both Students and Directors. So please share the date/link with your students and colleagues. The meeting will be September 19th at 7pm via https://meet.google.com/mhz-qrqk-jnw
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