TTSF - What to Know When Deciding to Go

Cost: $500

What you get:

bus to and from convention
3 nights at a convention hotel
2 meal vouchers
festival shirt
access to mainstage shows
access to 3 days of back to back work shops
access to scripts, merch, and college vendors
opportunity to compete in performance and tech/design
opportunity to audition for colleges

Dates: Wed. Nov. 18 (leave right after school)- Sat. Nov. 21 (home between 3 and 5PM)

Important Deadlines:

Sept 8th- registration packet Due

Sept 8th- $50 deposit due

Sept 17th/18th- IE competition interviews

Oct 28th- Final Payment due (Remaining $450)

Parents FAQ:

Who can go? Any theatre student at LHS who is ready to learn more about theatre and represent our well-respected Thespian Troupe with professionalism and pride, and maintains passing grades.
How is security at festival? There is a special festival security team who work around the clock in the convention center and hotel to ensure everyone is safe, this is part of what we pay for in our registration.
Where will my child be all day? Students are required to be in a workshop, play, or competition at all times they are not with a director or in “lights out” room time.
What is rooming like? Festival asks that there be 4 students per room, and we make those assignments based on safety and comfort, but we do try to put one officer or upperclassman in each room to help students stay on schedule and find things.
How does the money work? $50 deposit is due Sept 8th. The remaining $450 can be paid out over time or in one bundle (you will have to set your own payment schedule) - final due date is October 28th. All Checks to LHS Theatre Boosters.
How will you get there and back? A school bus will pick us all up from campus on Wednesday at noon, and return us to campus Saturday afternoon. We will have exact pick up times Saturday morning, but likely between 3 and 5PM.
What will my child need at festival? We ask that each of our students have a LHS Theatre department shirt. Everyone will want some extra cash for food, scripts, or merch from vendors.
What is the food situation at festival? They provide us with 2 meal vouchers, everything else is on our own. There are lunch-line type places to get meals all over the convention center, but it can get pricey ($10-15 a meal). I suggest students get with their roommates and plan little breakfast and lunch snacks they can bring and share in a cooler in their rooms to save some money and build community.
What are IEs and competitions? IEs are individual events where students can compete with others at festival. There are both acting and technical/design IEs, and there is a whole list of them with all their rules and regulations on the TTSF website. If your child wants to participate, they are usually $25 to enter, and must be registered for NOW when filling out registration. Any competitor will need to be approved by us, though, since we are only allowed to bring a few competitors. Students may only participate in ONE National Qualifying IE, but are welcome to participate in multiple Texas only Events. (Per festival rules)

Please hold on to these documents, as TTSF is a ways down the road, and you will need this information later, too.

Payment Responsibilities

Registration paperwork due: Sept 8th
$50 deposit due by Sept 8th
Final remaining Balance of $450 (and any other individual fees listed below) due by Oct. 28th
You may pay this in portions prior to this date, but we MUST have it all by this time to finalize registration.
TTSF cannot give us refunds, so we cannot give refunds.
TTSF requires a $100 cancellation fee for any hotel rooms canceled at this point. You will be responsible for paying this fee if you drop from the trip, this includes if you drop due to grades- you must be passing to attend!
Payments can be made in cash or by check to LHS Theatre Boosters

Documentation Responsibilities

You must have a photocopy of your insurance card, along with the health release form on your person at all times during the festival in case of an emergency.
This form and copy are due to us by Oct. 28th (along with final payment) and will be re-issued to you when we receive our badges at the festival.
You must be academically eligible at the time of the festival to attend.
You must provide us with an emergency contact phone number for a parent or guardian in case of a personal emergency, or a major change in schedule (such as a rule break that causes you to be sent home)

Individual Event Responsibilities

You are responsible for choosing your own piece, or setting up a date to come work with a theatre on finding an appropriate piece.
We will work with each delegate to make sure they are registered for the best competition option for them this year. Be sure to mark your interest on the registration worksheet.
You represent our theatre program in those competition rooms, so if we feel like you are not ready at the time of festival, we may pull you from competition. This is not a time to goof-off!
You are responsible for finding out when and where your competition will be, and getting there on time. Times and locations will be announced and posted when we arrive for registration at the festival, not before. Use Guidebook for this.
You must have at least 3 rehearsals with a director and a dress performance time prior to leaving for festival. There is an evening date set for all delegates to perform for each other and parents before we leave.
If you are unsure of what competitions to sign up for, look online at the options- they are all explained in detail. You can ask students have gone before, or come to the office and chat with one of us about your options!

What to Bring

Troupe Day LHS Theatre Shirt! (Everyone will know who we are. Not because we are loud, disruptive, or cocky, but because we are classy, and have a large group of students representing us.)
Bring comfy clothes, you will be doing a lot of moving and walking. Heels and flipflops are bad choices.
Bring a small back-pack or bag to have with you during the day for snacks, notebooks, Thespian gear you may purchase, etc. (Needs to be small so you can fit it in your seat during shows.)
Bring debit or credit card for food, play scripts, Thespian gear, etc. The Gaylord is a cashless hotel.
Theme days will be announced via the Guidebook App- which you should download.
Bring snacks or small breakfast items if you’d like to save some $ on breakfast/ lunch
Phone and Charger (you’ll need your phone to use GUIDEBOOK which will give you the festival schedule and maps…but not so you can contact all the people who aren’t with you and watch ticking tockers instead of going to workshops or shows)
A good attitude, willingness to learn, participate, and meet new people!
Competition clothes. Rules and details are on the TTSF website, each different competition has its own set of requirements for what you should wear, so be sure you know what you need!

What NOT to Bring

Anything illegal at school is illegal at TTSF- tobacco, vapes, alcohol, guns, knives, other weapons, drugs (unless prescribed to you and declared on your medical form)
Laptop computers (not a time to sit online- you must participate)
Gaming systems (yes, it’s happened. no you can’t sit in your hotel room and play Duke Nukem)
Valuables
Anything that will reflect poorly on our department (including t-shirts with inappropriate slogans or pictures, etc)

Hotel Information

We will get our hotel assignment after registration, we don’t get to choose which hotel we stay at. There are 4 students per room. There are breakfast and lunch places in all the hotels, and several spread out across the convention center attached. You are encouraged to get with your roomies to bring snacks/lunch/breakfast items in a cooler. Please wear your badge until you get into your room and try not to look suspicious, TTSF has its own security team, and they are everywhere to keep us safe!

By signing the attached registration form and turning it in, you agree that your child will attend TTSF this year, and that all payments will be made according to the schedule above, or another previously determined schedule. You understand that refunds cannot be issued once a deposit is paid, and students must stay eligible to attend.

TTSF Registration Worksheet

An official consent and medical release form will be emailed to all parents and participants after registration day. Everything below is for LHS Theatre records in case of emergencies, and to help us create rooming assignments and competition assignments.

Student Name: _________________________________ LISD Student ID# _______________________

Guardian Name: ________________________________ Emergency Phone: _______________________

Rooming Request (Name 1-3 people you would like to room with, or let us know if there are any rooming issues we should be aware of).

Competition Options - Write a number next to your top 3-5 options (more if you’d like) This will help us start to determine who will be entered into which categories. All Competitions are described IN DETAIL on the Texas Thespians website, so take a look at the requirements before you choose! You may discover something cool…

Auditions (Seniors Only)

Acting College Audition Candidate

Musical Theatre College Audition Candidate

Technical Theatre College Audition Candidate

Theatre Educator College Audition Candidate

National Qualifying Events

Contrasting Monologue

Costume Construction Thespy

Costume Design Thespy

Two Person Scene (Duet Acting) Thespy

Duet Dance Thespy

Duet Musical Thespy

Ensemble Acting (Group Acting) Thespy

Ensemble Musical Theatre (Group) Dance Thespy

Ensemble Musical (Group) Thespy

Lighting Design Thespy

Make Up & Hair Design Thespy

Monologue Thespy

Playwriting Thespy

Prop Design Thespy

Scenic Design Thespy

Short Film Thespy

Solo Dance Thespy

Solo Musical Thespy

Sound Design Thespy

Stage Management Thespy

Theatre Marketing Thespy

Texas Challenge Events

Audio Challenge

Dramatic Design Challenge

Team Tech Relay

Team Costume Challenge

Team Lighting Challenge

Team Makeup And Hair Challenge

Team Mask Challenge

Team Production Challenge

Team Scenic Challenge

Payments:

Please let us know if you need help setting up a payment plan- we can help by sending email reminders. We will send out regular reminders about payment due dates for all, but if it would help you to receive something individually with what you still owe and when to pay, we can do that!

Payments can be made in cash or check to LHS Theatre Boosters.

Extra Info:

Please use the space below to let us know anything else about special accommodations, allergies, medications, etc. for your registration or payment plans, or any questions you have.
You may also provide additional emergency contact info in this space if you would like. This page will travel with us in the director binder in case of emergencies.

Signatures:

By turning in this registration worksheet and deposit, I understand that my child is being registered for Texas Thespian State Festival 2026. We owe a total of $500 for the trip ($50 deposit, $450 remainder), due by October 28th. Refunds are not possible, and my child must stay eligible to be able to attend.

My child also agrees to abide by all TTSF rules, and those that Lewisville ISD has for student travel. We understand that breaking rules can result in being sent home and possible further disciplinary action dependent upon the situation.

Guardian: _________________________________ Date: _______________________

Student: __________________________________ Date: _______________________