GUEST ARTISTS

The Iowa Thespian Festival offers many opportunities for Guest Artists, Colleges/Universities, and Vendors. You are invited to join us to
  • present workshops
  • showcase your organization at exhibitor booths
  • advertise on our festival materials
  • recruit students to your theatre program
  • participate in our college auditions
  • adjudicate performances and presentations​

For more information, you may contact the coordinators below:

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 16, 2025

Registration payment (if necessary) can be sent to the address below. Please mail one check for registration fees. Check should be made payable to "IOWA THESPIANS." ​
Nate Jorgensen, Chapter Director
Waukee High School
555 SE University Avenue
Waukee, Iowa 50263
FOLLOW THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO ENSURE YOU COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT REGISTERING, CONTACT AARON DEAN AT [email protected]

1

CHECK OUT THE GUEST ARTISTS OPPORTUNITIES

  • Check out the information below to see all the opportunities Guest Artist have to at the Iowa Thespian Festival
  • Once you have reviewed all the information for this year's festival, continue to the next step​

2

COMPLETE THE GUEST ARTIST REGISTRATION FORM

3

submit your payment (IF NECESSARY)

  • If you are registering for a display table, festival sponsorship, or to view scholarship auditions, you are not officially registered until   all fees have been paid.
  • Please mail one check for registration fees. Check should be made payable to "IOWA THESPIANS." ​
  • Mail any sponsorship materials (if necessary) and payment to: 
Nate Jorgensen, Chapter Director
Waukee High School
555 SE University Avenue
Waukee, Iowa 50263

GUEST ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

EXHIBITOR/VENDOR/DISPLAY TABLES

​You have a great opportunity to meet hundreds of students and teachers by registering for an Exhibitor/Vendor Display Table. Beginning at 8:30am on Friday, November 14, we will provide you with space to set up a display representing your college, organization, or theatre-related business. The display area will be open to festival delegates for the duration of the Festival. High traffic times will be before mainstage performances (Friday at 10am, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 9am and Saturday at 4pm).  
  • Exhibitor/Vendor Display Table Fee = $60​ 

THESPY AWARD ADJUDICATION

Each year hundreds of Iowa high school students perform in the International Thespian Excellence Awards (Thespy) competition. Students compete in the areas of acting, musical theatre, film, and technical events. Over 30 judges are needed to participate in the Thespy adjudication program. Adjudicators receive a $100 stipend. Guest critics provide comments to the performers and help determine the performances that will be featured in a showcase during the Festival.

The tentative schedule for Thespy adjudicators on Friday, November 14 will be:
1:00 - 1:45 PM - Judge Training 
2:00 - 5:30 PM - Thespy Performances
  • If you have questions about adjudicating Thespy performances, please contact Aaron Dean at [email protected] 

WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS

​At Festival, workshop sessions are offered for students, teachers, and parent chaperones. Presenting a workshop is another great way to make personal contact with students and teachers, as well as to promote your college and/or organization. Workshop presentations can be focused on any aspect of theatre - from onstage to backstage. There will be two workshop sessions of 45 minutes each and we offer a $100 stipend for individuals that present at both sessions.

The tentative schedule for workshop presenters on Saturday, November 15 will be:
1:45 - 2:00 PM - Workshop Setup 
2:00 - 2:45 PM - Workshop Session #1
3:00 - 3:45 PM - Workshop Session #2
  • If you have questions about presenting workshops, please contact Stacie Kintigh at [email protected]

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP AUDITIONS

Theatre students from across the state of Iowa will present both technical and performance auditions on the Saturday morning of Festival. College representatives have the opportunity to view the scholarship auditions, and invite students to meet with you individually on Saturday afternoon. There will also be a Meet and Greet with the scholarship candidates on Friday night. 
​
The tentative schedule for college representatives attending scholarship auditions on Friday, November 14 will be:
7:00 - 8:00 PM - Meet and Greet Session with all students auditioning for scholarships (in the GBPAC lobby)

The tentative schedule for college representatives attending scholarship auditions on Saturday, November 15 will be:
8:00 - 8:30 AM - Meeting in the audition location with the Scholarship Coordinator
8:30 - 11:30 AM - Scholarship Auditions
Noon - Callbacks posted
Noon - 4:30 PM - Opportunity to meet with scholarship candidates for a callback
  • The fee for viewing scholarships is $30 per college.  This fee will include access to all audition materials from scholarship candidates. The audition materials will include a resume, headshot, and troupe director recommendation form.  
  • If you have questions about scholarship auditions, please contact Emily Hintze at [email protected]

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

There are additional opportunities for you to support Iowa Thespians and to garner some excellent publicity for your college and/or organization. Each year, we have approximately 1,000 students, teachers, and parent chaperones from across the state of Iowa.  We would appreciate your support in helping provide an outstanding weekend of educational theatre.  In return, you will have an opportunity to promote your college and/or organization to these outstanding students and parents.
  • If you have questions about sponsorships, please contact Christina Myatt at [email protected]

SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES

Festival Sponsor- $1,000
  • Verbal, onstage recognition at Festival
  • Logo Recognition (linked to your website) on the Iowa Thespian website for a full year
  • Logo Recognition at all festival events
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo in prime location on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Full Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

Studio Theatre Sponsor - $800
  • Verbal recognition at Studio Theatre performances
  • Logo Recognition (linked to your website) on the Iowa Thespian website for a full year
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Full Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

Tech Challenge Sponsor - $800
  • Verbal recognition at Tech Challenge events
  • Logo Recognition (linked to your website) on the Iowa Thespian website for a full year
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Full Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

Thespys Sponsor - $600
  • Verbal recognition at Thespy Showcase
  • Logo Recognition at Thespy Showcase
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • 1/2 Page Black and White Advertisement in Festival Program [Dimensions: 8.5" x 5.5"] and on the festival app
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

Iowa Playworks Sponsor - $600
  • Verbal recognition at PlayWorks performance
  • Logo recognition at PlayWorks performance
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • 1/2 Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 8.5" x 5.5"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

ImprovWorks Sponsor - $300
  • Verbal recognition at ImprovWorks performance
  • Logo recognition at ImprovWorks performance
  • Logo Recognition on Festival T-Shirt (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • 1/2 Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 8.5" x 5.5"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

College/University/Organizational Promotion - $200
  • Advertisement/Logo on the Festival app (provided to ALL Festival Attendees)
  • 1/4 Page Black and White Advertisement [Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"] in Festival Program (some hard copies distributed to each school)
  • Promotional Materials of your choice placed in Festival Day Bags provided to ALL Festival delegates OR Teacher Only Day Bags

IMPORTANT ADVERTISEMENT INFORMATION
LOGOS/ARTWORK 
Please submit your artwork (logo/advertisement) in PDF or JPG format via the form below. Please name your file with either the school or business name; example: UniversityIllinoisAd.pdf or TRWAd.jpg
  •  PDF File: Save your file as “Press Quality” or “High Quality."
  • JPEG File: Save it as JPG Quality 12 (maximum). Photos should be at least 300 dpi.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
All promotional materials will need to be received by November 1, 2025 to be included in the Festival Day Bags. All materials can be sent - along with your registration check - to Nate Jorgensen at the address below.
Nate Jorgensen, Chapter Director
Waukee High School
555 SE University Avenue
Waukee, Iowa 50263