2010s
After 12 years of service, Michael Peitz retires in 2011. A national search leads to the hiring of the association’s fifth executive director, Julie Cohen Theobald.
EdTA and Utah State University release a joint 2012 research study about the state of theatre arts education. The association also contributes to the National Core Arts Standards, which are released in 2014.
In 2013, Playworks is joined at festival by Musicalworks. Criticworks and Filmworks follow in 2018, forming the Next Generation Works suite of programs designed to promote original writing by and for Thespians.
EdTA creates an Online Theatre Education Community in 2014, which quickly grows to more than 7,000 members. A year later, the association launches JumpStart Theatre, a program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools where there currently are none.
EdTA establishes the Educational Theatre Foundation as its fundraising arm in 2017, to provide financial support in enhancing theatre education and expanding access to school theatre for every student.
In 2018, the organization outgrows its Mount Auburn building and moves to Cincinnati’s Norwood neighborhood, as the association expands to 5,000 troupes at schools, 135,000 active Thespians, and 2.3 million alumni.
In 2019, the International Thespian Society marked the 90th anniversary of its founding with a yearlong celebration of the power of theatre to instill confidence, empathy, and compassion to build better communities.