Theater students currently are waiting for a charter in the National Theatre Honor Society at Southeast Missouri State University, and the process is expected to be completed by the fall semester.

With the disbandment of the University Players last semester, an organization for theater and dance students at Southeast. the students found an opportunity to turn over a new leaf.

One of the main purposes of the group was to raise money to help students go to auditions. There are also a lot of traditions the organization was known for. The club had a scavenger hunt each fall and an award ceremony each spring. Members of the group were in "families" each year, and the older members would become "parents" to the new inductees.

Logan Borders, former president of UP, said it is sad to see it go, but it was an organization in need of major changes.

"Participation has slowly been dwindling, even since my freshman year," Borders said. "At the beginning of the year you start strong, and by the end of the year, you're fighting tooth and nail to get 12 members."

Borders said joining Alpha Psi Omega , the National Theatre Honors Society, would filter out the members who only joined UP because of tradition and fun and give more opportunities to dedicated members.

"When [students] come here for just acting, they want to act, but the department requires them to work in the shops and complete a crew assignment for class," Borders said. "This system not only supports that but it encourages them to try something different."

Deana Luetkenhaus, costume shop supervisor and APO adviser, said in order to join APO, a student needs to have a 2.5 minimum GPA and have experience in three or more areas of theater. Points are awarded for each area completed, and there is a minimum requirement of points to be inducted.

"Since APO is an honorary society which requires a good GPA and a well-rounded experience in many areas of theater, I hope that it encourages students to do their best and explore areas outside their specific areas," Luetkenhaus said.

One of the main purposes of APO is to create professionals in theater. As a nationally-recognized fraternity, the organization opens networking possibilities.

"If you go into an audition and you have Alpha Psi Omega on your resume, that can help you make a connection right there," Kelli Jaycox, president of APO, said. "It's a conversation starter."

The fraternity instills in students the idea that in order to be a part of theater, they need to know about more than one aspect. Jaycox said this belief appealed to her and led to her run for president.

"And understand how everything connects, whether you are working in the box office or hanging lights," Jaycox said. "Everything connects and one cannot work without the other."

Greek Life has always appealed to Jaycox, but seeing so many students in the theater department that have joined sororities struggle with time managment and, eventually, leave the department, she never thought it was an option. Now that APO is an option, she wants to get involved as much as she can before she graduates.

The organization has about 20 founding members, and the group expects to grow in the fall when it will have its charter. Right now the fraternity is in what Jaycox calls "a waiting game," and because of that, meetings, events and goals are hard to plan.

"There are many future goals, but one is to establish a yearly student-driven production each year," Luetkenhaus said. "Another is to raise funds for supporting student professional development."

The honor society has a scholarship the adviser can nominate members for. But a goal Luetkenhaus has is to eventually start a departmental scholarship for students at Southeast.

"I am honored to be a part of this and excited to see the students aspire to be the best they can be," Luetkenhaus said.

"I think it will be a good thing to add to the department," Borders said. "It could be a nice attraction to the program for incoming students to get them in the door if they see a nationally-recognized organization that they could be a part of, it gives them incentive to work hard and be involved."