I don't remember my induction into my high school Thespian Society as much as my initiation. All the potential members were required to go to the local mall and proclaim the first half of the Thespian motto: “Act well thy part” to strangers. If one of them replied with the second half: “There all the honor lies,” then you were in. (I believe in my case someone called a former member who came to the mall and said the special phrase to us all.)
At the time my pitiful need for attention was not as fully developed as it is now, in my dotage, so this was a little more like hazing than initiation. But it was the 1970’s and hazing was actually encouraged, and there was no Stranger Danger, and there were still malls.
I believe it was in the 90’s when I was in a mall and I heard a rowdy bunch of high-schoolers bellow "ACT WELL THY PART" from the upper level. I waved madly from the level below and yelled back, "THERE ALL THE HONOR LIES!" My God, the joy and applause I got back: I still remember it.
So, it was a thing in the 70's, and still in the 90's, but does it happen today? Chat GPT cagily says to ask the director of the local Thespian Society. I can't contact the director of the local Thespian society because I don't know them, of course. Do any of you know?
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