TNR Q&A

by PJ Roup, 33˚, Editor, Active for Pennsylvania

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jim Dill, 33°, HGA, Director of Support Services for Supreme Council, to speak with him about the cutting-edge program, Thursday Night at the Rite, which just concluded a recordbreaking fourth season.

The Northern Light: Wow! Let me start by saying congratulations on a spectacular season four. A lot of our members are familiar with Thursday Night at the Rite. Many, however, might not be aware of how it got its start. Can you walk us through the birth of this fantastic program?

Jim Dill: Thursday Night at the Rite was born out of COVID. At the beginning of the pandemic, Grand Lodges, Lodges, and Valleys were being closed down nationwide. Because of that, there was no way for us to reach out to our members and continue our Masonic journey together. It was a collaborative process here at Supreme Council to figure out how we get into their homes since that’s where they’re trapped and continue to bring the message of Scottish Rite, the Core Values that we believe in, and our fundamental purpose, which is brotherhood.

TNL: What were the challenges of getting such an ambitious program up and running in the middle of a pandemic?

JD: Doing a television show is a collaborative process, and right from the beginning, we couldn’t collaborate.

In my dining room, we set up a sound stage, and in Erik Fattrosso’s dining room, he set up a different process. Zoom really wasn’t what it is now, but we would find a way on the phones to collaborate, and I would record everything in the blind, and then Erik would try to adapt it in whatever way he saw it in his head when he would hear my words. So, the first season was totally blind. The only time Erik and I got to see each other was in the evenings when we did Thursday Night at the Rite. He would be in the studio, and I was on the other side of the building in my office–both double-masked so that we wouldn’t contaminate each other.

Beyond that, we had a greater challenge that, fortunately, we had the infrastructure here to deal with: how do you create a platform so that 1,000 people can all log in at the same time? Our IT department pulled together. It wasn’t easy. We had many breakdowns the first season because we really didn’t anticipate how many thousands of people were going to try to all get on to the system at the same time. That’s a good problem to have, and luckily, our IT department was agile, and before the season was over, we were able to take care of those problems.

TNL: I know the membership embraced it from the beginning. When did you realize you had captured lightning in a bottle?

JD: Ten minutes into the first episode. We monitor the chat from before the show begins to after it ends. From the very beginning, we realized how lonely our members had become so quickly. They clearly enjoyed this time together, and it was in that moment we knew all the work that we had put into it was worth it. At that time, we didn’t think that we would still be doing Thursday Night at the Rite four years later. We originally saw this as just a remedy for the time we couldn’t physically get together. Our members still enjoy it and engage with it, and leadership here is listening.

TNL: Talk a little about the metamorphosis of the program. What changes were made in seasons two through four?

JD: In the beginning, everything we used, with the exception of a couple of educational pieces, was from our library. We had heard rumors that a couple of Valleys were putting together these Zoom reading events, so we took it to the next stage. We went on the stage here at Maxwell Auditorium with plexiglass between every actor, and we did several degrees as old-fashioned radio plays.

Through the chat as well as through the survey you did here at The Northern Light, we realized that the members were incredibly interested in life at other Valleys. Let’s face it: Valley life in Bangor, Maine, is different from Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is different from Boston. That feedback was really the genesis of going out on the road and letting Valleys perform the work their way and opening it to the broader audience of the NMJ.

And ultimately, the segments about the Valleys were as interesting as the degrees. It was not just seeing a high-quality recording of a stage production but listening to what the Brothers wanted to share about the pride they had in their own Valley.

TNL: I imagine it’s quite a thrill for the Valleys and their members to be in the spotlight on such a large scale throughout the jurisdiction. From a technical standpoint, how difficult is it to take your production crew on the road? How long does a typical shoot take?

JD: The shoot only takes two or three days, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. We now have a dedicated crew of six–three camera operators and three on the sound crew. There is a lot of planning to get all of that equipment on location, but after four seasons, we are pretty efficient. We know within a few minutes of arriving where we are going to place the sound crew and cameras. Typically, we have to do a little bit of restaging the actors since they are used to acting on stage. Things have to be a little different for video, but everyone has adapted well. We all look at it as an educational opportunity.

TNL: How much goes into producing a season of Thursday Night at the Rite?

JD: It is an all-hands production. For the shoot, it is just the media department. Then we have to come back and put the show together–and it’s just not editing video of the degree. Marketing starts preparing for it, IT starts preparing for it, and the membership team too. So, by the time we get to show night, every department is represented on the line with us. That’s so important to know. This is a Supreme Council effort, and every single department has a part in it. Without any of those critical parts, it would fall apart.

TNL: What are the plans for season five?

JD: From the beginning, our objective has been to fill the gaps in our library, so our first goal for season five is that by its conclusion, Valleys will have access to a proper stage production of every degree. Not just that, but bringing it back to Valley life, we’re also planning to visit every state in the jurisdiction.

We’re also hoping to open the season with a little twist. There are Valleys that have produced some modern and interesting adaptations of our degrees. Our plan is to show the traditional version followed immediately by a modern adaptation done by the same Valley. Our members can see the first one for passport credit and the other for enjoyment. Having them back to back should, we hope, enhance our understanding of the degree.

TNL: Any parting thoughts?

JD: I never thought that Thursday Night at the Rite was going to be a long-term part of what we do here. I’m happy that it is, though. We will continue to try to improve on what we do. We’ll keep bringing the membership experience to the show, and we will try to bring new wrinkles as well. I hope the members keep enjoying it the way they have through the first four seasons.