The International Thespian Society (ITS) is one of the many honor societies at Leesville. A thespian is generally defined as an actor or actress, but has recently began to include those who do technical theater (like makeup and lighting). Thespian troupes are made up of high school students with a passion for various aspects of theatre.
Like most honor societies, the troupe at Leeville (troupe #5540) requires students to comply with and meet requirements before being inducted. To become an inductee, a student has to complete at least 100 hours of quality work in theatre arts. The hours are converted into points– one point equates to 10 hours.
Warren Cox, a sophomore inductee, received 12 points this year. “I was at school every night, I worked on two shows– both before and during the show,” said Cox. He worked on set construction and shifting for Yo, Vikings! and Chicago: High School Edition, on top of taking the Technical Theatre I class.
However, the hard work required to become a member doesn’t stop once inducted. There are various ranks a student can earn based on the number of points they’ve received. The highest honor is an International Honor Thespian who has accumulated 180 points (which is 1,800 hours).
64 students were eligible to be inducted this year, including 5 freshmen: quite a feat for the students who only had two semesters to complete their hours. In total, ITS inducted 57 students on Monday.
ITS is well known at Leesville for their annual dinner theatre, usually held around September. Besides offering encouragement, recognition, and learning experiences (including the annual dinner theatre) ITS is a community for theatre students.
“I’m really excited about getting to know more people,” said Cox. He believes theatre is something anyone and everyone should do. “It’s a great way to create lasting relationships and fun experiences in high school,” said Cox.
Hi! My name is Marie, and I am the editor-in-chief of The Mycenaean. I am also President of Model UN and President of Quill and Scroll Honor Society. I love whitewater kayaking and rollercoasters.
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