This past week, Troupe #5540 of the International Thespian Society (ITS) held its Spring Induction ceremony.
With over 40 new members, the officers had their hands full making sashes, buttons and organizing the actual ceremony. Overall, everything ran smoothly.
To qualify for membership, a student must show serious involvement in the Leesville Theatre Department which — according to the organization — equates to approximately “10 Thespian hours”. These hours can be obtained by performing on stage, working on the production team, working on a tech crew, attending events/shows, and even writing original material.
During the ceremony each new thespian is called to the podium and asked why they want to be a member of ITS, they respond, sign the membership book and stand the other new inductees for photos at the end. With the number of people the officers had to recognize, the ceremony itself stayed under a reason 30-minutes, with dessert and refreshments afterwards.
“I really liked the idea of being in ITS because I made the mistake of waiting till senior year to get involved,” said Brock Johnston, a graduating senior and a newly inducted thespian who has performed in Almost, Maine and Bring It On. “ITS allows me to stay involved and spend time with people who share the same interests as me.”
Loren Wait, the incoming ITS President for the 2017-2018 school year, said that as a leader in the club she hopes to “bring a closer knit feel within the group” and to keep the “honor society as successful and exciting as it’s been.” With some of the inductee being returning actors and techies, Wait hopes that they bring “new ideas and perspective” to benefit the troupe.
The theatre department has been on a stride of very successful, popular and award-winning shows. Hopefully the troupe can help keep this trend going into the coming years.
