The International Thespian Society, the honor society of middle and high school theatre students, has inducted more than 2.4 million students since it was founded in 1929. To qualify for induction into ITS, a student needs 100 hours of work in theatre arts.
If they all gathered in a single place, Thespian alums would make up the fourth largest city in the United States—bigger than Houston, nearly the size of Chicago, and with the highest concentration of residents who speak with confidence, present themselves with poise and measure a two-by-four with accuracy. #ThespianForever. Many of those 2.4 million Thespian alums have gone on to distinguish themselves in their professional lives. Here’s a sampling of well-known Thespians in the entertainment industry and beyond.
BUSINESS/NONPROFIT/GOVERNMENT Laurie Baskin, Director of Research and Policy, Theatre Communications Group; Kathleen Belcher, Stage Director, Metropolitan Opera; Doug Booher, Director of Events Indiana University; Matt Conover, VP Disneyland Entertainment; Michael Durnil, President and CEO of Simon Youth Foundation; Kevin Fortson, Sr. VP Warner Horizon Television; Carolina Garcia, Director Original Series, Netflix; Merrick Garland, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Alvin Katz, Partner, Katten, Muchin, Rosenman LLP; Sharon Kneebone, Executive Director for the National Society for Histotechnology; Don Loftus, President, Parlux, Ltd.; Megan Tulac Phillips, Head of Marketing, Enterprise Agility, McKinsey & Company; Mark Weinstein, Sr VP and Global Head of Customer Engagement, Hilton
