About Alpha Psi Omega
The Rho Mu Cast of Alpha Psi Omega strives to do their best to create, within the theatre undertaking including socially and culturally, in their pursuits within the fraternal organization, the West Chester University of Pennsylvania theatre program, and beyond.
Membership to this prestigious organization is awarded to those who demonstrate that they strive for similar goals as those listed here.
Our Motto:
We strive to become artists through the one and only road of labor and service.
αιτειτε ψύχην ωφελιμον
We seek a life useful.
Our Heritage
Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society is a nationally recognized honor society that celebrates participants in collegiate theatre. The Alpha Cast- or first chapter- was founded on August 12, 1925 by Professor Paul F. Opp and the Masquers- the theatre organization at Fairmont State College- now called Fairmont State University.
Professor Opp and his students founded Alpha Psi Omega after Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity and Pi Epsilon Delta National Collegiate Players denied their charter petitions. At this time Fairmont State College was highly considered a "teacher's college" and therefore the aforementioned organizations were unwilling to offer the small following of theatre-interested students a charter. So, they started their own society, and with the help of their contemporaries and other colleges, ΑΨΩ has grown to include over 550 active chapters, making it one of the largest national honor societies in America.
Membership
The first members of the Alpha Cast of ΑΨΩ were Elinor B. Watson and Robert Sloan. They were a part of the Masquers, and searched for a national honorary organization to join, and when they couldn't find one, they researched how to form one themselves. Alpha Psi Omega's current membership is based on a few factors and each process of induction is based upon the methods of each chapter. In a general sense, membership is open primarily to undergraduate students of four-year institutions (colleges and universities) who are active in their collegiate theatre programs or organizations. Honorary membership may also be given to an individual- usually faculty members- after conferring and gaining permission by the National Officers.
Other factors may go into the eligibility of an individual, again based on the chapter/cast's induction process. Some casts use a "point system" to base their eligibility on. These point systems equate theatre tasks and positions to certain point values, which then determine the individual's eligibility for induction. Some chapters use a training process instead of an induction process. Some chapters induct their members, ans have the experience they gain while being a member of Alpha Psi Omega be their "process" or "training". Some casts offer membership to all students regardless of major or minor, while others limit their membership to those with a theatre major and/or minor and take GPA into consideration.
Our Rho Mu Cast
West Chester University is now home to Alpha Psi Omega's Rho Mu Cast, however before fall semester of 2016, this cast didn't exist. Fall 2016 was the first cast if Rho Mu students- the 12 Angry Women. Thanks to them and our faculty members, we have had many successful casts following our original cast.
The Rho Mu cast accepts transfers, especially those from our Sister Society (see ΔΨΩ). Some other casts are much different than Rho Mu, some even act as their version of West Chester's University Theatre organization and have their ΑΨΩ open to all eager students.