International Thespians Society: Actors and actresses are called Thespians in honor of Thespis, a Greek playwright and performer. Thespis added a new dimension to drama by stepping out of the Greek chorus during a performance and reciting portions of the text alone, becoming the first actor. Thespian with an uppercase “T” refers to a member of the International Thespian Society, the world’s largest honor society for theatre students. The designation “Thespian” includes student members who excel in technical and production fields as well as performance in their high school theatre.