THESPIAN TROUPE # 7289 CONSTITUTION

Article I: Name, Purpose, and Governance

Section 1. Name: This organization shall be called Troupe # 7289. The Troupe has been chartered by Roosevelt High School. The charter affiliates it with the International Thespian Society (ITS), a division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA).

Section 2. Purpose: The Troupe is the honors component of the school’s theatre program. Its purpose shall be the advancement of standards of excellence in theatre. More specifically, the Troupe will encourage students to attain a better mastery of the theatre arts and will reward those who achieve it with induction into the Troupe. Thespians achieving honor ranks shall receive recognition of their exemplary accomplishment.

Section 3. Governance: This Troupe constitution and its bylaws are two components of a hierarchy of documents that govern the Educational Theatre Association and its membership. The documents affecting Troupes, in order of authority, are: the Educational Theatre Association Code of Regulations and Membership Policy, the Troupe handbooks, the Troupe constitution, and Troupe bylaws. This constitution may not be altered in any way that conflicts with a superseding document or school policies and procedures.

Article II. Membership

Section 1. Membership: Membership is achieved by complying with all induction criteria as defined in the Troupe handbook. The ITS Thespian point system is the official guideline for awarding induction points. Any changes to induction criteria, including the Thespian point system, must be adopted as a Troupe bylaw.

Section 2. Nominees: All nominees for active membership shall be regularly enrolled as students of Roosevelt High School, Portland, Oregon.

Section 3. Requirements: All active members must have participated in at least two (2) full-length plays or other theatrically related endeavors, and have earned a minimum of ten (10) points or 100 hours of superior work. Also, active members must be enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 for Thespian Troupes.

Section 4. Authority: Final authority concerning membership requirements shall be vested in the Troupe Director.

Section 5. Honorary membership: Honorary membership may be granted to adults for extraordinary and worthy assistance in the promotion of the theatre in the school and community.

Article III: Officers

Section 1. Officers: The Thespian Troupe shall have the following officers: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and clerk/scribe or historian. Duties shall be defined in the Troupe’s bylaws.

Section 2. Elections: The Troupe shall elect officers for the next school year in the last full month of the current school term. Officers are elected each school year and can run for any office.

Section 3. Service: Officers shall serve one term per election. One term is considered to be one full school year. If an officer is replaced during the school year, that officer shall only serve until the next available election at the end of that current term.

Section 4. Troupe Director: The duties of the Troupe Director will be to oversee all Troupe activities, to be the final authority in selection of new members, and to be the guide and inspiration of the Troupe.

Article IV: Meetings and Participation

Section 1. Meetings: At minimum, Thespian Troupe meetings shall be held monthly throughout the school year. Special meetings may be called by the Troupe Director, any officer, or by a quorum of Thespians.

Section 2. Quorum: A quorum shall be a majority of the Troupe’s active membership, including at least two officers.

Section 3. Denial of participation: Any Thespian who causes deliberate dissension or disruption of any production or business meeting may be denied participation in Troupe activities by a vote of two-thirds of the Troupe’s membership and the consent of the Troupe Director. Any member requesting reinstatement of participation rights may have them restored with the consent of the Troupe Director and two-thirds of the Troupe’s membership.

Article V: Dues and Fees

Section 1. Dues: There shall be no mandatory dues for Thespian induction except as provided by the Educational Theatre Association Board of Directors.

Section 2. Fees: Troupes may approve additional fees for local Thespian Troupe participation. This requires consent of the Troupe Director and a two-thirds vote of the active Troupe members at a regular Troupe meeting. The school and its Troupe Director may also assess user fees in accordance with school policy.

Article VI: Bylaws

Section 1. Purpose: Bylaws provide additional guidance for the governance and operations of the Troupe. No bylaw may be in conflict with the EdTA Code of Regulations, EdTA policies, Troupe handbook, Troupe constitution, or school policy or procedures.

Section 2. Adoptions and amendments: The Troupe Director may adopt or amend bylaws as deemed appropriate. Bylaws may also be added or amended by approval of a simple majority of the Troupe’s active membership and the consent of the Troupe Director.

Article VII: Amendments

Section 1. Exclusions: Article I may not be amended.

Section 2. Procedure: Articles other than Article I may be amended by approval of two-thirds of the Troupe’s active membership with the consent of the Troupe Director. This constitution and its amendments shall be subject to change according to any or all requirements of the International Thespian Society.

Adopted: Thursday, May 7, 2009



THESPIAN TROUPE # 7289 BYLAWS

Article I: Attendance

Section 1. A student arriving late to or leaving early from meetings or rehearsals without a reason considered valid by the Troupe Director will receive a demerit. Three such offenses will be counted as an absence from a meeting without excuse.

Section 2. Regular after-school meetings will begin no later than 10 minutes after school is released the day of the meeting and morning meetings at no more than 30 minutes prior to the start of the regular school day. Changes will be posted by 2 P.M. the day before the meeting.

Section 3. Irregular attendance indicates a lack of interest; therefore, any member absent four (4) meetings per school year without a written excuse submitted to the secretary, stage manager, or Troupe Director shall be automatically suspended from Troupe activities. The Troupe Director has sole authority to reverse the suspension.

Section 4. Attendance shall be considered in the Thespian points award system.

Section 5. Absences shall accumulate for only one school year at a time.

Article II: Thespian Points

Section 1. Induction points must be earned over the course of more than one production. In years when there is only one production, this requirement is waived.

Section 2. Induction points will be awarded for theatre-related work done outside the school’s theatre program. To qualify for points, a copy of the program or other verification must be provided.

Section 3. One induction point may be earned for attending non-school productions. To qualify, a ticket stub or a program must be provided as proof of attendance. A critique of the show (two-page minimum) must be submitted within one week of the production.

Article III: Induction

Section 1. An induction ceremony shall be held at least once each year. Additional ceremonies may be held as often as deemed necessary by the Troupe Director.

Section 2. Induction fees are the responsibility of the inductee. The Troupe will pay for induction pins and other honors items.

Section 3. The Troupe Director determines the time, place, schedule, and format of induction ceremonies.

Section 4. The Troupe Director and president conduct inductions. The vice president is responsible for training induction ceremony speakers, scheduling and rehearsing said speakers, and preparing the stage and induction properties as directed by the Troupe Director.

Article IV: Officers

Section 1. Duties: Troupe officer duties are defined below. The Troupe Director may assign other duties.

A. The president presides at all meetings, meets with other officers and Thespian Director regarding Thespian issues, appoints all standing and special committees, and directs and supervises Troupe activities.

B. The vice-president presides in the absence of the president and is responsible for the induction of new members.

C. The secretary keeps the records of meetings and attends to Troupe correspondence.

D. The treasurer keeps the point records of all activities: plays, production dates, casts, crews, and work accomplished as provided in the official point system.

E. The historian keeps a scrapbook of news clippings, posters, programs, etc.

F. Other offices such as publicity chair, Drama Club Booster liason, and TOTS-EAT (Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat) chair may be added at the Troupe’s discretion. All officer positions must be listed in the Troupe’s constitution.

G. The Troupe Director keeps the Troupe’s books and pays bills, and acts as business manager of Thespian productions.

Section 2. Requirements for all elected officers are as follows: each student must be an active member of the Drama Club or Thespian Troupe for at least one school year, and at the time of election must be enrolled in grades 9, 10, or 11 for high school Thespian Troupes. At the time of election, they also must be either inducted into Thespians or will be inducted into Thespians at the time they are sworn into office.

Section 3. Nominations for officers are to be made by current Thespians or inductees. Students may self-nominate. Officers will be elected by a majority vote. Nominations shall be made via induction letter or at the official Thespian meeting during the election cycle.

Section 4. Elections for the next school year will be conducted at the May Troupe meeting.

Section 5. Voting will be done by secret written ballot at an official Troupe meeting.

Section 6. Three members, including one officer, may request a recall election of all or any elected officers. This request must be submitted to the Troupe Director in writing and state the need for such an election. A special meeting will be scheduled within five school days upon receipt of the request for the purpose of voting on whether or not a recall election is necessary. Two-thirds of the membership is required to mandate a recall election. If a recall election is necessary, election of officers will follow the procedure set in Sections 2–4 above.

Section 7. Officers shall be installed at the Thespian induction in the current school term for the following school year.

Article V: Troupe Activities

Section 1. The Troupe is not a secret organization. All interested faculty, students, parents, Honorary Thespians, Troupe alumni, and administrators are welcome at Troupe meetings.

Section 2. At least one meeting or special event of Troupe #7289 shall include an open invitation to all students for the purpose of playing theatre games and creating improvisations. Roosevelt’s teams shall be called Roosevelt’s Roughrider RUCKUS improv teams and divided spontaneously into two groups: Havoc and Brouhaha. Additional teams may be added as attendance and interest increases, and those teams shall be named Mayhem, Bedlam, and Pandemonium.

Section 3. The Troupe shall sponsor at least one “good neighbor” program a year for the purpose of establishing good relationships with nearby Thespian and Junior Thespian Troupes and other dramatic groups as available.

Section 4. The Troupe shall cooperate with all other departments and clubs in the school in helping them with their programs in any way it can.

Section 5. The Troupe shall participate in “Theatre In Our Schools Month” each year.

Article VI: Conflict Resolution

Section 1. In the event issues/conflicts arise between a Thespian and the Troupe Director that cannot be solved through communication between the two parties, the issue should be resolved by the school administration as indicated in the Troupe handbook.

Adopted: Thursday, May 7, 2009