Theatre productions come and go at Grand Canyon University, but Alpha Psi Omega keeps the show running year-round for the College of Arts and Media.
GCU's chapter of the largest national theatre honor society in the country – it has been on campus for 16 years – is where students find community, develop their acting and production skills, and receive mentorship that will prepare them for their careers.
“This club is your ease into the department if you are not quite ready or are unsure of the level of commitment you want,” recent graduate Cora Epton said. “If you just want to be a part of theatre and the performing arts community here at GCU, the best place to start is just showing up to an APO meeting.”
The club is open to all College of Arts and Media students, not just theatre students, who want to complete volunteer hours, practice acting skills or make a few friends. It serves as a support system for them as it carries out its mission to ensure a fruitful and educational college experience.
“The biggest difference it has made for me is the friends I made through it,” senior Caleb Moran said. “My Big (a big brother or big sister mentor) is Mikayla Cavanaugh (spring 2025 graduate), and since she inducted me, I have grown such a deep friendship with her. She has really helped and mentored me through the program.
“One of the main benefits I have seen is a sense of community. It really helps you connect with other people who are interested in theatre and just the school. Especially as a freshman or transfer, it helps you get used to how we do things around here.”
Each year, Alpha Psi Omega inducts new students during an elaborate ceremony.
Club members organize engaging activities, games and decorations around a theme that transform Ethington Theatre.
Through anonymous letters, members reach out to inductees to reveal the location and time of the ceremony and the theme. The spring 2026 induction featured a Super Mario Bros. theme, when Epton dressed as the character Peach and Moran as Mario.
The password to get inside Ethington? Reciting the Greek alphabet at the front door.
“This is a long-standing tradition,” Epton said. “They don’t know anything about inductions, which is the whole goal. It is supposed to be a surprise. The club is just a huge connection system and friends you will always have.”
The club has roughly 80 members who meet weekly. From preparing for auditions, to hanging lights in Ethington, to organizing fundraisers or even making birthday cards for the staff, the theatre honor society has a widespread presence in the college.
When new members are inducted, they are partnered with an existing member, or Big, who mentors them throughout college and sometimes even after graduation.
When junior Eva Britton was inducted by her Big, Emmarie Nichols, a spring 2025 graduate, she was cast in a short play Nichols was directing for her senior project. That gave Britton the opportunity to build her resume, develop acting skills and meet other actors.
“My Big helped me get connected to the theatre scene on campus,” Britton said. “It is a fun experience to have upperclassman that we look up to as freshman and be kind of adopted by them. They are taking us under their wing.
“If you do theatre at GCU, you do tech, hair, makeup, run crew. All of it. They give you the opportunity to learn all of it, which makes you more marketable in the industry."
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