What is Thespians?

Founded in 1897 by Dr. Fred Lewis Pattee and Dr. John H. Leete, the Penn State Thespians is the oldest continual student organization on campus. Our mission is to provide students with educational experience in all aspects of dramatic production and present theatrical entertainment to the surrounding community. Every aspect of production is staffed almost entirely by students.

The organization also contributes to the community through various service activities including the IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon and the club-originated MasquerAIDS benefit.

Membership in the Penn State Thespians is based on diverse participation in two or more Thespians productions. For more information on becoming a part of this spirited organization, explore the rest of our website.

What kind of shows do you do?

Thespians does one mainstage musical each semester in Schwab Auditorium (see our complete list of shows in our Members section). We also do one children's show each semester at Schlow Library, where we convert a children's book into a short play, such as The Lorax and Amelia Bedelia. Every spring we put on an event called MasquerAIDS, which can be whatever we make it and has been a full-length play, a revue of scenes and songs, and a dinner theater musical in the past.

Do you only do musicals?

We traditionally do musicals as our mainstage shows, but our constitution in no way limits us to doing only musicals. We just like to do them. The children's show and MasquerAIDS are generally our more straight-play outlets. If you are more of an actor than a singing-dancing musical theater person, we recommend checking out No Refund Theatre, another student theater group on campus that does mostly plays (http://clubs.psu.edu/norefund).

What about backstage work?

Glad you asked! The majority of the members and pledges of Thespians are people who work backstage to put together every aspect of a production. Production staff, assistants, and crews are a huge portion of involvement in our shows. And we have our share of performers, too.

Is Thespians part of the School of Theatre?

Not at all. You do not have to be a theater major, minor, or even have any theater experience whatsoever to be involved with Thespians. We are a completely student-run organization that does theater just because we like to. A few of our members and pledges are in School of Theatre, but the majority are in unrelated majors, from film to education to meteorology.

Do I have to be a pledge or member to be involved in your shows?

Nope. You can audition for, perform in, and/or work on any of our shows without ever being a pledge or member. You don't even have to be a Penn State student to be in or work on our shows. Our productions are open to the entire community. You must be a Penn State student to pledge or be an active member, however.

Pledging? Is that like a fraternity?

As a Thespians disclaimer, we use the term “pledge” to characterize those individuals who are joining our club. We in no way partake in anything related to Greek society, nor do we condone any actions associated with this vernacular. We simply use the term because it very easily means “a person joining an organization”. By this same token, the Vice President of the club serves as “Pledge Master” to help guide the pledges through their joining process. Thespians also engages in a “Big and Little” system, where pledge are assigned a Big from an active member of the club who, in addition to the Pledge Master, serve as an automatic contact and source of information within the club.

What kind of people are Thespians?

The best kind! From all different places, in all different majors, with a wide range and variety of theater experience. Throughout this site we try to give you a feel for our membership with "Meet the Exec Board," committee chair profiles on the committee pages, as well as the many different activities that we are involved in. The best way to find out, however, is to get involved and see for yourself!

 

Check out our past shows - from 1898 to now!

Read the Thespians Constitution