This Saturday, the Thespian Troupe at Seminole High School, Troupe 3266, gathered in the KWC auditorium to induct its newest members into the honored drama club. 41 inductees were officially brought into troupe, increasing its numbers from 13 to 54 actors and actresses.
Current thespian, junior Erika Love commented, “We’re really glad we can expand our thespian family and open it up to new people and we’re excited to have more people involved.”
Inductee, sophomore Melina Martinez said, “I’m really excited [for being inducted] because I know many of the people here have fun personalities and there is never a dull moment.” Parents of inductees were also extremely proud to have their children brought into such an illustrious program. Ms. Donna Fox, the mother of inductee Frederick Hodgkin, said “I’m kinda excited. I’m proud of him [Frederick]. It’s a really neat program.”
As classical music played in the background, the induction ceremony started with a brief introduction from the president of the Thespian Troupe, senior Cheyenne Everhart. Shortly afterwards, junior and historian of the Thespian Troupe, Alana Fagan told the audience about the history of Thespians, an 82 year old organization with over 3,600 affiliated schools around the world.
Counselor Malikah Woody also gave a speech on the history of the induction ceremony and the famous “Dress-Up” Day for the new inductees. The inductees had to have taken part in at least two Seminole High School Theatre productions in order to attend the ceremony and would have to dress up as a famous movie character on September 30.
The next part of the ceremony was one of the most unique aspects of Thespians – its recognition of big and little brothers and sisters, affectionately known as “Bigs” and “Littles.” The big brothers/sisters provided advice to their respective little brother and sister anonymously and the time had come to reveal their identities.
Each “Big” announced the name of their “Little” and presented a personalized gift to their “Little,” ranging from posters and boxes of goodies to loud applause. At the same time, many of the “Bigs” also revealed what famous movie character their “Little” would look like, with outfits varying from Han Solo to Jack Skellington.
The induction ceremony was quite elegant as the inductees lit a candle from a flame symbolizing the Flame of Thespis and filed onto a row of risers as their name was called. When all inductees were on stage, Troupe Director Ms. Tiffany Ortiz repeated the Thespian pledge for all inductees to say and with that, the inductees became official members of the Thespian troupe. Everhart said, “I think its fantastic that our troupe is growing so much. I love that we’re adding so many new people to our theatre family.”
The induction ended with concluding remarks by secretary/treasurer Love and was followed by a booster sponsored reception with food and drink.
These new inductees will certainly do great things for Troupe 3266 and will always try to live up to the Thespian motto – “Act well your part; there all the honor lies.”