Founded in 1929, ITS isthe student honorary division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) , the professional association for theatre education. It serves 4,700 schools around the world with an active student membership of more than 125,000. Each Thespian inductee has completed over 100 hours of excellent work in theatre arts and related disciplines. In doing so, they have acquired essential 21st century life and career skills that include creativity and innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and effective communication. Inductees join theranks of over 2.3 million Thespians and Thespian alumni including Jane Lynch, John Goodman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Tom Hanks.