Theta Alpha Phi Explained

Theta Alpha Phi
Letters:	Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΘΑΦ
Coat Of Arms:	File:The_Crest_of_Theta_Alpha_Phi.jpeg
Birthplace:	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Affiliation:	Independent
Status:	Active
Type:	Honor
Emphasis:	Theatre, 4-year schools
Scope:	National
Motto:	"The purpose of playing is [...] to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature"
Colors:	Purple and White
Symbol:	Comedy and Tragedy masks
Jewel:	Ruby
Publication:	The Cue
Chapters:	30
Nickname:	"Thetas," "Thetans," "TAPs," or "Taffies."
Lifetime:	22,800+
Address:	Theta Alpha Phi National c/o Kitty Laurich, Sec-Treas 500 E. Beechwold Blvd
City:	Columbus
State:	Ohio
Zip Code:	43214
Country:	USA

Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΘΑΦ) is an American honor society that accepts members who achieve excellence in the art of theatre. Membership is available to undergraduates and graduate students at member institutions.

The History of Theta Alpha Phi

The first chapter, referred to as Oklahoma Alpha, was formed on at Oklahoma A&M College, now Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Since the dissolution of the National Collegiate Players/Pi Epsilon Delta (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΠΕΔ) National Theatre Honor Society, Theta Alpha Phi is the oldest honor society for theatre in the United States. Other theater honor societies include Alpha Psi Omega (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΑΨΩ) and Delta Psi Omega (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΔΨΩ), the latter designated for 2-year schools.^[1]

Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity is an honors society rather than a recognition association or activity club. It confers nationally recognized honors on graduate and undergraduate students who earn a specified high level of quality in theatre study and production at over 30 selected, accredited colleges and universities. Theta Alpha Phi is restricted to four-year or graduate colleges and universities on a highly selective basis. It has no junior college branches or subsidiaries, and admits to membership only students of sophomore standing or above. Students become eligible after having successfully met a prescribed minimum of experience in directing, writing, acting in, or managing plays.

Theta Alpha Phi is the only independent theatre honors organization with standards and functions established solely by its own constitution without regard to requirements of other organizations. It is not a member of any association whose member societies are concerned with areas other than theatre, but which nevertheless control the standards and hence the functions of members. Theta Alpha Phi is the only national organization which honors graduate and undergraduate students for quality as well as quantity of work and study in theatre arts alone. Unlike some organizations which demand that students achieve a certain level in all studies, most of which are unrelated to theatre, Theta Alpha Phi demands excellence only in theatre. Hence, Theta Alpha Phi believes a student can be outstanding in theatre and deserving of honor in theatre without comparable achievement in all areas of study.

Theta Alpha Phi is democratic in organization. There is no secrecy, no "blackball," and no chapter or member discrimination on the basis of race, color or creed. The constitution, initiation ceremony, financial statements, and other records are available for inspection to any responsible person or organization. Throughout its history, Theta Alpha Phi has retained a consistent and dynamic "fraternalist" policy of mutual aid among members and member schools.

Symbols and traditions

The fraternity explains that pronunciation of its name can be either "Thay-ta Al-fa Fye" or "Thay-ta Al-fa Fee". The latter is closer to the original Greek pronunciation.

The official colors of Theta Alpha Phi are Purple and White.

The gold badge of the Fraternity displays prominently a form of the comedy and tragedy masks, long associated with the theatrical arts. It is crowned with four rubies and bears the black enameled letters Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Θ, Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Α and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Φ on the left eye, nose and right eye, respectively.

The motto of Theta Alpha Phi is "The purpose of playing is [...] to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature" (a reference to the "advice to the players" speech in Hamlet).

Members are referred to as "Thetas," "Thetans," "TAPs," or "Taffies."

Theta Alpha Phi presents a national award called the Medallion of Honor, which it purports is the highest national tribute made in educational theatre.

Theta Alpha Phi's magazine, The Cue, was established in 1922 and is oriented distinctly and solely to students of theatre in higher education. With articles, pictures and other features relevant to mature college students rather than to younger readers or faculty. The Cue provides a useful and important service not only to members, but to all students of theatre.^[2]

Chapters

Chapter information from the national website, Baird's Manual (20th, reprinted from the 19th ed.) or the Theta Alpha Phi magazine, the Cue. Active chapters noted in bold, inactive chapters noted in italics.

Approximately 50 dormant chapters are not listed, which may be re-activated with faculty sponsorship.

State	City	University	Chapter	Status	Installed Date and Range	Reference
Oklahoma	Stillwater	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma Alpha	Inactive	-	^[3]
Ohio	Delaware	Ohio Wesleyan University	Ohio Alpha	Active
Louisiana	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Louisiana State University	Louisiana Alpha	Active
Wisconsin	Ripon, Wisconsin	Ripon College	Wisconsin Alpha	Inactive
Florida	Deland	Stetson University	Florida Alpha	Active
Pennsylvania	Lewisburg	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania Alpha	Inactive
California	Redlands	University of Redlands	California Alpha	Active(?)
Connecticut	Storrs	University of Connecticut	Connecticut ?	Active(?)
Missouri	Columbia	University of Missouri	Missouri ?	Inactive	-
Arizona	Tucson	University of Arizona	Arizona Alpha	Inactive	-	^[4]
Colorado	Colorado Springs	Colorado College	Colorado ?	Active(?)
Oklahoma	Tulsa	University of Tulsa	Oklahoma Beta
South Dakota	Huron	Huron College	South Dakota Alpha
California	Los Angeles	Occidental College	California Beta
Iowa	Fairfield	Parsons College	Iowa Alpha
Ohio	Berea	Baldwin-Wallace University	Ohio Beta
Oregon	Salem	Willamette University	Oregon Alpha
Utah	Salt Lake City	University of Utah	Utah Alpha
South Dakota	Mitchell, South Dakota	Dakota Wesleyan University	South Dakota Beta
Tennessee		University of Tennessee	Tennessee Alpha
Pennsylvania		University of Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania Beta
Montana		University of Montana	Montana Alpha
Wyoming		University of Wyoming	Wyoming Alpha
Michigan	Adrian	Adrian College	Michigan Zeta	Active	-, >
Michigan	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo College	Michigan ?
Hawaii	Manoa	University of Hawaii	Hawaii Alpha
Alabama	Auburn, Alabama		Auburn University	Alabama Alpha			^[5]
South Dakota	Vermillion	University of South Dakota	South Dakota Gamma
Indiana	Bloomington	Indiana University Bloomington	Indiana Alpha
Michigan	Hillsdale	Hillsdale College	Michigan ?
California	Stockton	University of the Pacific	California Gamma	Active
Oklahoma	Shawnee	Oklahoma Baptist University	Oklahoma Gamma
Illinois	Galesburg	Knox College	Michigan Alpha
Indiana	Franklin	Franklin College	Indiana Beta	Active
Missouri	Canton	Culver–Stockton College	Missouri Gamma	Active	-, >
Ohio	Ada	Ohio Northern University	Ohio Epsilon	Active
Missouri	Warrensburg	University of Central Missouri	Missouri Delta	Active
Michigan	Albion	Albion College	Michigan Epsilon	Active
Indiana	Terre Haute	Indiana State University	Indiana Delta	Active
Florida	Winter Park	Rollins College	Florida Gamma	Active
Ohio	Bowling Green	Bowling Green State University	Ohio Iota	Active
New Jersey	Hoboken	Stevens Institute of Technology	New Jersey Alpha	Active
Arkansas	Arkadelphia	Ouachita Baptist University	Arkansas Beta	Active
Illinois	Elmhurst	Elmhurst University	Illinois Iota	Active
Kentucky	Morehead	Morehead State University	Kentucky Alpha	Active
Louisiana	Grambling	Grambling State University	Louisiana Gamma	Active
New Jersey	Montclair	Montclair State University	New Jersey Gamma	Active
New York	Ithaca	Ithaca College	New York Beta	Inactive
Ohio	Mansfield	Ohio State University at Mansfield	Ohio Eta	Active
Ohio	Granville	Denison University	Ohio Kappa	Active
Wisconsin	Whitewater	University of Wisconsin–Whitewater	Wisconsin Delta	Active
Alabama	Birmingham	Howard College	Alabama Beta			^[6] ^[7]
Arkansas	Arkadelphia	Henderson State University	Arkansas Alpha
California	Santa Barbara	University of California, Santa Barbara	California Delta
Illinois	Bloomington	Illinois Wesleyan University	Illinois Beta
Illinois	Peoria	Bradley University	Illinois Gamma
Illinois	Normal	Illinois State University	Illinois Delta
Illinois	Charleston	Eastern Illinois University	Illinois Epsilon
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago City College	Illinois Zeta
Indiana	West Lafayette	Purdue University	Indiana Gamma
Indiana	Hanover	Hanover College	Indiana Epsilon
Iowa	Cedar Falls, Iowa	University of Northern Iowa	Iowa Beta
Iowa	Des Moines	Drake University	Iowa Gamma
Kansas	Pittsburg	Pittsburg State University	Kansas Alpha
Michigan	East Lansing	Michigan State University	Michigan Delta
Missouri	Parkville	Park College	Missouri Beta
Missouri	Canton	Culver–Stockton College	Missouri Gamma
Nebraska	Lincoln, Nebraska	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Nebraska Alpha
Nebraska	Hastings, Nebraska	Hastings College	Nebraska Beta
Ohio	Berea	Baldwin-Wallace University	Ohio Beta
Ohio	Springfield	Wittenberg College	Ohio Delta
Ohio	Ada	Ohio Northern University	Ohio Epsilon
Ohio	Westerville	Otterbein College	Ohio Zeta			^[8]
Ohio	Hiram	Hiram College	Ohio Eta
Pennsylvania	University Park, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania Gamma
Pennsylvania	Grove City, Pennsylvania	Grove City College	Pennsylvania Epsilon
Tennessee	Maryville	Maryville College	Tennessee Delta
Tennessee	Nashville	Tennessee State University	Tennessee Epsilon
Utah	Provo, Utah	Brigham Young University	Utah Beta
Utah	Logan	Utah State University	Utah Gamma
Virginia	Williamsburg	College of William and Mary	Virginia Alpha
Washington	Bellingham	Western Washington University	Washington Gamma
Wisconsin	Whitewater	University of Wisconsin, Whitewater	Wisconsin Delta
Wyoming	Laramie	University of Wyoming	Wyoming Alpha

National Officers

National President - Kathleen DeVault (Ohio Northern University) 2017-Current

Historical

Maud Babcock - National President (1920-1922)^[9]

Notable members

• Ruth Moench Bell^[10]
• Keene Curtis^[11]
• Margaret Draper^[12]
• Florence Kirk^[13]
• Conrad Prebys
• Eva Marie Saint^[14]

External links

• • Archival materials related to Theta Alpha Phi, in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

Notes and References

1. From the National website, accessed 8 Aug 2021.
2. Book: Jack L. . Anson . Robert F. . Marchenasi . Baird's Manual of American Fraternities . 20th . 1991 . 1879 . Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. . Indianapolis, IN . 978-0963715906 . VII-57.
3. This was the first chapter of Theta Alpha Phi.
4. https://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Arizona_Desert_Yearbook/1985/Page_1.html University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ) - Class of 1985
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=ubuxkcmJcHEC The Cue He Knew - Robert W. Masters
6. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Parent_s_Guide_to_Colleges_Universitie/ZYPBe-lnuMwC A Parent's Guide to Colleges & Universities By Lottie B. Larabee · 1963 p238
7. https://books.google.com/books?id=TDZaAAAAMAA The Cue Volume 33
8. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=osu1486631390090945&disposition=attachment HISTORY OF SPEECH AND THEATRE AT OTTERBEIN COLLEGE - 1847-1950 Charles Ward Dodrill
9. https://www.natcom.org/sites/default/files/pages/Womens_Leadership_Project_Babcock.pdf Maud May Babcock, President of the National Communication Association, 1932
10. Book: Binheim. Max. Elvin. Charles A. Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. 1928. 171–172. 8 August 2017.
11. News: 'U' Dramatists Wait Honors . The Salt Lake Telegram . June 3, 1943 . 15 . Newspapers.com . August 21, 2018.
12. News: Chekhov Stage Group Holds Utah Actress. The Salt Lake Tribune. August 11, 1940. Utah, Salt Lake City. 59. Newspapers.com. April 23, 2016.
13. Book: The Eleusis of Chi Omega. 47. 1. 1945. 108.
14. Bee Gee News May 30, 1945 . BG News (Student Newspaper) . 24 July 2020 . 30 May 1945.