BY LAWS

FOR THE

MS EDUCATIONAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION

Home of MS THESPIANS

ARTICLE I

Name

The name of the society shall be MS Thespians, INC.(DBA MS Educational Theatre Association)

ARTICLE II

Purpose

The purpose of MS Thespians, Inc. shall be the advancement and improvement of theatre arts in K-12 schools in Mississippi.

ARTICLE III

Membership

Membership shall be open to all schools that have an active Thespian Troupe and are currently in good standing with the Educational Theatre Association.

ARTICLE IV

Officers

Section 1. The chief leadership officer shall be the Chapter(State) Director. He/she shall hold office for a term of four years starting on August 1 and ending July 31 of the fourth year. There are no term limits.

Section 2. The State Thespian Officers shall consist of no more than 10 Thespians from across the state who apply to serve and shall be chosen and selected from an application process approved by the Chapter Director

Section 3. The State Adult Board shall be organized as follows: The Executive Board shall be appointed by the Chapter(State) Director and consist of the Treasurer/Secretary, a North, South, and Central Representative, a Junior Thespian Representative, an STO Coordinator and the Conference Chairperson; the Conference Committee will consist of Tech Challenge Chair, Scholarships Chair, College Chair, Vendors Chair, Individual Events Chair, One Act Marathon Chair, One Act Marathon Stage Manager, Workshops Chair and Playworks Chair. All positions and tasks therein can be divided equally into two positions with prior approval from the Chapter Director. Other board positions may be added at the discretion of the chapter director. The adult board members must be active Thespian sponsors and/or retired Thespian sponsors who are members of EdTA with good standing. All board members will serve a one year term and may be reappointed by the Chapter Director.

Section 4. All board members will be asked to sign the EdTA Professional Code of Conduct and complete the annual adult nomination form. If a board member fails to act in accordance with the code or fails to do his/her assignment, they may be removed by the Chapter Director.

Section 5. State Officer Apprentices shall be nominated by Troupe Directors and chosen based on application process which is approved by the Chapter Director.

ARTICLE V

Elections

Section 1. The Chapter Director shall be appointed by the Executive Board. Members who have served at least one term on the Executive Board or Conference Board are eligible. The Chapter Director will announce the upcoming election by January before the term starts in July. Candidates will be asked to submit a vita by the end of January.

Section 2. If the Chapter Director fails to follow thru on his/her duties, he/she can be removed by a 2/3 vote of the

Executive Board. If a vacancy occurs either by resignation or by removal, the treasurer will become the Chapter Director until the Executive Board can appoint his/her replacement.

Section 3. The State Thespian Officers shall be appointed each year at the state conference. The officers shall be appointed to serve for a one year term and may be reappointed for a 2nd term. To qualify for an STO, candidates must:

a. be a junior or senior who has served at least on term as a State Officer Apprentice(SOA),

b. be a member in good standing of an active MS Thespian Troupe,

c. submit an application and a letter of recommendation from his/her troupe director by the date determined by the chapter director,

d. be present at the annual state conference.

Section 4. These officers will be required to attend the annual state conference, annual retreat, other planning meetings as deemed by the chapter director and take an active role in planning and running the state conference. During the year, they will also serve as liaisons to the troupes in the state. They are expected to remain active members in good standing of their Thespian troupes throughout the year.

Section 5. The State Student Board shall be appointed by the Chapter Director and the Executive Board. Each school with an active Thespian Troupe may nominate 2 students for the state board.

Section 6. If the State Board members do not fulfill duties as mentioned in Article V Sections 3 and 4, the Executive Board members shall remove them as State Student Officers.

Section 7. The State Officer Apprentices will consist of active Thespian members in grades 9—11 who have been nominated by their troupe director. Each troupe director may nominate no more than 3 students each school year to serve as apprentices. The troupe director must have nominations in by a date deemed by the chapter director. Each nomination must include a separate letter of recommendation from the troupe director which should include why this student should be considered for the apprenticeship program. These students must attend a training session and state conference and will assist the STOs during the conference weekend.

Section 8. State Officer Apprentices will serve a one year term. After serving for one year, the student is eligible to apply to become an STO.

Section 9. If an SOA does not fulfill duties as mentioned in Article V Section 7, the Chapter Director and Executive Board shall remove him/her as an SOA which renders them ineligible for serving as a STO in the future.

ARTICLE VI

Meetings

Section 1. The state conference shall be held on a yearly basis. The date and site shall be determined by the Chapter Director, Executive Board, and State Thespian Officers.

Section 2. The State Thespian Officers and Executive Board shall meet at a fall retreat to prepare for state conference. The date and location of said retreat shall be chosen by the Chapter Director.

Section 3. All active Troupes shall be notified of the state conference by the Chapter Director.

Section 4. Schools interested in starting a Thespian troupe may be invited to attend the state conference for one year as a prospective troupe.

Section 5. All board meetings and planning sessions shall be open to any interested sponsor. They may attend as observers.

ARTICLE VI

Conference rules and regulations

Section 1. Students and sponsors attending the state conference and planning sessions shall abide by the

code of conduct that appears in the registration booklet. A student or sponsor in violation of the code will be asked to leave the conference at their own expense. If the violation is extreme, the school will not be invited to state conference the next year.

Section 2 The conference will hold Individual Events using the regulations as set down by the Educational Theatre Association. No exceptions are to be made to these regulations. Evaluation sheets from EdTA will be used for adjudication. Students will be given ratings of Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair, etc. No rankings will be given. Students who receive an overall superior rating will be eligible for Individual Events at the International Thespian Conference. The Chapter Director will submit the names of the students who receive superiors.

Section 3. The conference will hold a play marathon using the regulations as set down by the Educational Theatre Association. Plays will receive written adjudication from three adjudicators chosen by the Chapter Director. A representative from EdTA will serve as an adjudicator. Adjudicators will choose one play and an alternate to represent MS at the International Thespian Conference. Since the marathon is not a competition, no rankings---1st, 2nd, 3rd---will be given.

Reviewed and updated August 2, 2019