January 26, 2024

The Georgia Thespians return to Columbus for their 15th state conference in the Fountain City from Feb. 1-3 — with many of Columbus State University’s performing arts facilities serving as center stage.

For three days, Uptown Columbus and sites throughout the area will host more than 5,800 aspiring actors, singers, dancers, playwrights, designers and stage technicians — along with their teachers and directors — for the 2024 Georgia Thespian Conference, or ThesCon for short. The massive event will include educational and competitive opportunities for Georgia’s top high school theatre arts students.

The conference officially opens Friday with a performance from the All-State Theatre Cast — dozens of selected performers from across Georgia who will perform a themed revue of musical-theatre numbers. It concludes on Saturday with an evening showcase of performances from students who have earned special recognition during the conference for their superior talents and with an encore from the All-State Theatre Cast.   

More than 120 theatre professionals and educators from across the country will join these students, leading workshops in all aspects of show business. While at the conference, hundreds of students will audition for admission to Columbus State’s Department of Theatre & Dance and other university and conservatory theatre programs. Many students will vie for more than $25,000 in Georgia Thespian Scholarships. 

Even more will compete in the Thespys, the individual-events contests in which theatre students present solo and small-group performances before panels of judges. The Georgia Thespian’s Film Festival will showcase award-winning student films, and more academically minded artists will compete in the Thespian Quiz Bowl, demonstrating the scope of their knowledge on theatre history, customs and technology. 

The conference is a multifaceted partnership that includes Columbus State and the city’s tourism and arts community — chiefly VisitColumbusGA, Uptown Columbus Inc., and Uptown’s excellent performing arts venues and meeting facilities. Some 200 Columbus State theatre students will provide essential volunteer support for the numerous events and activities that take place on its RiverPark Campus. Representatives from the university's Office of Admissions will be onsite throughout the conference to speak with students interested in studying in any one of Columbus State's 90-plus degrees and programs — even if those interests lie outside theatre and the arts. By the end of the conference, theatre majors and other Columbus State students are expected to have logged more than 1,100 volunteer hours supporting the event and the schools visiting the city.

Stages at the elegant RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, the historic Springer Opera House, and Columbus State’s College of the Arts will showcase dozens of selected school productions of musicals and plays. 

The university will host activities, workshops and exhibits in the Yancey Center at One Arsenal Place (home to the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Communication), the Schwob School of Music and the Corn Center for the Visual Arts. That is in addition to other Uptown sites that include the Columbus Convention & Trade Center and the Downtown Columbus Marriott. 

About Georgia Thespians

Georgia Thespians is one of the largest state chapters of the International Thespian Society, the 95-year-old honor society for high school theatre. Students are invited to membership in the Thespian Society in recognition of exceptional and extensive commitment to the performing arts in their schools and communities. The International Thespian Society is part of the Educational Theatre Association, the nation’s leading association of theatre educators.

Media contacts:
Nicholas Sostillio, State Director, Georgia Thespians State, nicholas.sostillio@gathespians.org
Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu 

Related news coverage:
Georgia high school theater students flock to Columbus this year in record numbers (Feb. 2, 2024, WRBL-TV)