International Thespian Society
ITS members at the induction ceremony this year. ITS hosts a formal induction ceremony to commemorate the induction of new members. Photo used with permission from Ms. Isabelle Moore
Working behind the scenes on some of Mercy’s most popular events such as the haunted house, the International Thespian Society (ITS) is a community of theatre lovers, actors, and techies. ITS troupe 5693 started over 20 years ago in 1997 as a way to give recognition and honor to those who commit themselves to theatre.
“ITS is a troupe that honors great theatre and tries to encourage the creation of great theatre,” said ITS moderator Ms. Isabelle Moore. “It not only gives recognition to the kids who do work in theatre, but opportunities to get further involved,”
Aside from the haunted house, ITS runs a bake sale at the beginning of the year to help raise funds for the society and every ITS member is involved in a Mercy production. To be inducted into ITS, a student must have at least 10 Thespian Points, which is equivalent to 100 hours worked in the department. For actors, 10 hours would have had to come from doing crew work. For crew members, 10 hours would have had to come from acting in some way, such as taking an acting class or acting in the play. This rule is to allow all girls in ITS to have an appreciation for both sides of theatre. Aside from obtaining enough points to qualify to be an ITS member, girls are asked to write about why they want to join ITS.
“A lot of the girls talk about how they want to join a group that celebrates what they love so much and further immersing themselves in Mercy’s theatre,” said Ms. Moore.
Besides working in different theatre productions, Mercy ITS members all come together before first semester finals to host a Christmas party. Since most girls are stressed, the Christmas party allows the girls to destress and serves as a good reminder of how great the atmosphere of the Mercy theatre is. For Bryant, ITS is so much more than just a “club”.
“When I was a freshman, someone described it to me as the “honors drama club”, and while that may be true I think it is so much more,” she said. “We’re really just a big group of high schoolers devoted to the theatre and we all love what we do.”