National Collegiate Players also known as Pi Epsilon Delta () was an

honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

for participants in collegiate

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

founded in 1919.

History

Pi Epsilon Delta was established at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

on June 8, 1919. The first group contained 17 men and women, including 4 faculty members. Key people included the first president Ray E. Holcolm, first vice president Lawrence W. Murphy and Frances Allen Tucker who designed the key which was the emblem of the organization. It was established as a purely honorary group. By 1922, additional chapters were present at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In that year, Pi Epsilon Delta merged with Associated University Players to form National Collegiate Players. The ideals and scope of the new National Collegiate Players were identical to those of Pi Epsilon Delta. Associated University Players had been founded in 1913 at

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and had chapters at

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. All but the chapter at the University of Washington voted to join the merged organization. The name National Collegiate Players was adopted due to resistance to continuing the form of a Greek letter organization, that being viewed as yet another secret order. The Key and Motto of Pi Epsilon Delta were maintained in the new organization.

Jewelry and symbols

The Pi Epsilon Delta pin contained the two masks of

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and the letters Pi Epsilon Delta.

References

{{authority control Student societies in the United States Honor societies Theatrical organizations in the United States Fraternities and sororities in the United States Student organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in Wisconsin Former members of Association of College Honor Societies