2026 FLORIDA THESPIANS JUNIOR STATE FESTIVAL (FEBRUARY 5-7, 2026)

JUNIOR STATE REGISTRATION GUIDELINES AND F.A.Q. 

Dear Troupe Directors, 

Hello and welcome to your Festival Registration Guide for the 2026 Florida Thespian Junior State Festival. I hope the information found in this guide helps you to successfully navigate the registration process with ease. For any registration process inquiries, kindly contact your District Chair and they will assist you. For any system issues or questions, contact your District Chair, who will escalate unresolved issues to the Junior State Office.

Thank you for your cooperation. We have an amazing festival planned for you and your students and look

forward to seeing you in Orlando in February!

~ Tara Whitman, Junior Festival Chair

REGISTRATION 

ALWAYS label your registration materials to include District and Troupe Number (EXAMPLE: 12-4405) and School Name. Be sure to include the zero if applicable (EXAMPLE: District 07, Troupe 816 would be entered as 07-0816).

Registration Site: https://florida.cothespians.net/ 

Step One: Log into your account. 

*If you are new to your troupe, but the troupe has registered and attended the State Thespian Festival in the past, avoid creating a new account/login. Instead, email your District Chair, who will contact State Leadership for login details.

Step Two: Confirm and update your account information under “Account” in the upper right corner. 

Step Three: Before registration opens, gather the following information from your attendees.

• Students’ and chaperones’ First and Last Name 
• Student Graduation year 
• Email address (parent email is acceptable) 
• Phone number (troupe director’s phone number works as well)
• T-shirt sizes
• Date of Thespian Induction

EVENT REGISTRATION ORDER

Before doing anything else in the system:

Confirm all information is up-to-date for your account by clicking on the little picture of a person/your email address displayed in the upper right corner. Select “Account” and review the information carefully. Select “Edit” if you need to update your district and troupe number, administrator’s name and phone number, troupe director name and phone number, school address, etc. It’s extremely important that the information listed here is accurate. Failure to check and verify this information could result in your troupe being removed from the festival.

STEP ONE: REGISTER YOUR DELEGATES

1. Under “Directory,” click “Students” to add students to your record. Import from Thespian Point Tracker if applicable. Under “Register,” click “Students” to register the students for the festival.
2. Under “Directory,” click “Chaperones” to add chaperones to your record. Under “Register,” click “Chaperones” to register the adults for the festival. Chaperones must be at least 21 years old. To ensure that students are properly supervised, troupe directors must register one chaperone for every ten students (1:10) and at least one chaperone of each gender, if their group consists of students of both genders.
3. Under “Directory,” click “Troupe Director” to add the troupe director to your record. Under “Register,” click “Troupe Director” to register your troupe director for the festival.
4. Verify that any delegate who wishes to order a  t-shirt has the box selected and that sizes in the system are correct.  
5. Confirm your school address is correct in the system as these are where shirts will be mailed prior to the festival.

STEP TWO: MAINSTAGE PRESENTERS

1. If your Mainstage was selected, register this event first. The system will block out the entire day if you are presenting a Mainstage so be sure to register all students involved in your production. Mainstage performance information was shared with the presenting troupe directors. If you have any questions, please contact matthew.macdermid@floridathespians.com. 

STEP THREE: ONE ACTS

1. If your One Act was selected and you are not a Mainstage presenter, register it as the first event. One Act performance information was shared with all presenting troupe directors. If you have any questions, please contact your District Chair.

STEP FOUR: THESPYS & ADDITIONAL EVENTS 

1. Thespys are registered on a first-come, first-served basis and will take place Friday-Saturday at the festival. Register up to 12 Superior rated Thespy events. (*All troupes may register Excellent rated Thespys, if and only if all Superiors are already registered or cannot advance.) Up to 8 of your 12 events can be performance Thespys.
   1. Under “Register,” click “Student Events” to register your Thespys.
2. Additional Events
   1. District Showcase Representative – Performance (Opening Ceremony)
      1. This event does not count towards one of your 12 Thespys. Performances will be adjudicated during the Opening Ceremony and the performer(s) will receive a rating, but the showcase will not have any Top Honors designation. If a troupe/student/event wants to be considered for Top Honors at State, the event needs to be registered as one of your 12 events.
      2. You must also fill out this form by December 11, 2025: Opening Ceremony Performance Form

2. District Showcase Representative – Technical (Opening Ceremony)
   1. This event does not count towards one of your 12 Thespys. Technical presentations will be adjudicated during the afternoon on Thursday at the OCCC and the student will receive a rating, but the showcase will not have any Top Honors designation. If a troupe/student/event wants to be considered for Top Honors at State, the event needs to be registered as one of your 12 events.
   2. You must also fill out this form by December 11, 2025: Opening Ceremony Technical Form

THESPY/EVENT BEST PRACTICES 

• Enter correct titles, there are NO TBAs. These must be identical to those presented at your District festival. 
• Group Members must match your District festival registrations. (There are no substitutions.) 
• You will be unable to delete a student if they are attached to an event. If you desire to delete a student, first delete their event. 
• Register largest events first, followed by smaller events. 
• Register single person events LAST. 

STEP FIVE: SERVICES 

1. MAINSTAGE AND CEREMONY TICKETS: Tickets are not guaranteed with a troupe’s registration. Tickets are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, based on when completed registration materials are received by the State Office.
   1. Please select tickets for the performances/events you wish to attend.
   2. Troupes will only be allotted the number of tickets that match the number of registered student delegates + 1 td + chaperones in the ratio of 1:10.  Requests may not exceed that number.
   3. If your troupe does not receive tickets for the performance(s) you select, remaining tickets will be offered at Registration. In addition, RUSH PASSES will be available for those wishing to join an evening’s Rush Ticket Line.
2. SCHOOL OR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR PASSES
   1. School and/or District Administrators may attend our festival free of charge. Please add the number of school/district administrators you will have in attendance from your school and be prepared to give us their names at registration.
3. FATE (FLORIDA ASSOCIATION FOR THEATRE EDUCATION) MEMBERSHIP
   1. Join or renew your membership in our state’s theatre education organization.
4. DAY PASSES
   1. Day Passes are for individuals 21 years of age or older OR for students who are in 5th grade or under.  No middle school aged student may attend on a day pass.
   2. Day Pass holders are permitted to attend our daytime events. They do not receive tickets and will not be permitted in the venues during the evening performances. 

STEP SIX: ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS 

1. PLAYWRITING SUBMISSIONS: Submit plays via the Scene Writing Form and register events in the system. These are due by the January 8, 2026 deadline.
2. ONE ACTS: Submit one act information via the One Act Form and register the event in the system. The form is due by the December 11, 2025 deadline.

PAYMENT AND COMPLETED REGISTRATION: 

1. Once you’ve completed your registration (people, events, and services), click the green “Proceed to Payment” button. Your invoice will be issued at this time. You cannot go back after this!
2. Choose “Pay by Check” or “Pay by Credit Card” in the system. If you pay by credit card, first check your card limit to ensure the payment goes through.
3. *THIS IS NEW THIS YEAR!* Registrations will be submitted digitally. You will need a digital copy of your invoice, (this is generated when you finalize your registration), completed and scanned Official Signature Form, and, if you paid by credit card, a digital copy of your receipt. If you are paying by check, it will need to be mailed and RECEIVED by the deadline.
4. Fill out and submit the Registration Material Submission Form.

Checks can be mailed to:

Tara Whitman, Junior Festival Chair

Florida Thespians

P.O. Box 784539, 

Winter Garden FL 34778