From the sound board in Maine to the stage in Boston, two Brothers pull back the curtain on Thursday Night at the Rite and what it means to be part of it.
In a theater in Massachusetts, a Brother stands center stage, waiting for a cue. He's done this before, but tonight the cameras are rolling, and the recording will reach Brothers while traveling, in night-shift breakrooms, in living rooms across the 15 states within the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Somewhere in Maine, another Brother is at the soundboard, listening for a microphone that isn't quite loud enough yet.
This is Thursday Night at the Rite. And the Brothers who make it happen each week have stories worth telling.
Launched in 2021 to keep Scottish Rite degree work alive during the pandemic, Thursday Night at the Rite quickly became more than a workaround. Today, it's a fixture of the Scottish Rite, NMJ, and a way for Brothers to witness degrees online that they might never see otherwise, performed by Valleys they might never have the chance to visit.
We sat down with two Brothers from opposite sides of the production stage to ask what it's like to be part of it.
Behind the Curtain: Brother John Knowlton, 32°, Valley of Portland
Brother John B. Knowlton found his way to Scottish Rite at an age when most men aren't even thinking about Freemasonry. He joined DeMolay at 16 to support his younger brother. He quickly fell in love with it and was later installed as Master Counselor, DeMolay's top youth leadership office, at 17. As soon as he turned 18, he joined Freemasonry.
Sound engineering and theater were already his hobbies and part of his professional life. When he learned that Scottish Rite degrees were full stage productions, the fit was obvious.
"Falling in with Scottish Rite made perfect sense," Brother Knowlton says. “Video production was what I already enjoyed from a hobby standpoint."
Brother John Knowlton, 32°, behind the scenes of Thursday Night at the Rite
From Skeptic to Believer
Ironically, when Thursday Night at the Rite (TNR),was first announced in 2021, Brother Knowlton wasn't sold. As a perfectionist about live degree work, he was wary about the program’s ability to capture the true degree experience. However, he quickly changed his mind.
When the Supreme Council came to Maine Consistory to record the 5°, and again two years later for the 11°, Brother Knowlton was on the crew. He saw firsthand that these weren't fallback videos, but were full productions, recorded with professional sound and lighting support, performed live by Valleys who care about the quality that they produce.
Then came the stories. Brothers working odd hours, catching a half-hour degree on a weeknight. Brothers who live too far to consistently attend degrees in their Valleys. The production value made him take Thursday Night at the Rite seriously. The reach made him believe in it.
"I learned that Thursday Night at the Rite is not a replacement," he says. "But rather another avenue of the same great degree experience."
: A behind-the-scenes look at building a set for a Scottish Rite degree
His favorite part of the experience is collaborating with crews from outside his own Valley. "Getting the opportunity to work with people and have our ideas come together really helps us take production to the next level.”
Throughout this experience, the one thing that keeps Brother Knowlton coming back is the challenge. The stage crew at the Valley of Portland thrives on being pushed, figuring out new problems, working with new people, getting closer each time to the version of the production they have in their heads. Thursday Night at the Rite gave them a bigger stage to do it on.
In the Spotlight: Brother Francis M. Hart, 33°, Valleys of Boston and Worcester
Brother Fran Hart became a Freemason in 2008 after stumbling upon his father-in-law's grandfather's Past Master apron. He asked his father-in-law about it, and the rest is history.
"To him, that was me asking to join," he remembers. "He brought out the application before I knew what was happening."
After he joined the Blue Lodge and became a Master Mason, he found his way to the Scottish Rite at the Valley of Worcester. At a new member reception, a couple of Brothers asked asimple question that changed his Masonic life: Had he ever thought about acting in the degrees? He had not. He said yes anyway.
Brother Fran Hart in costume as Lodge Junior Deacon for the 20°, Master Ad Vitam
From Valley Stages to Supreme Council Productions
When Illustrious Brother Hart thinks of his first rehearsal, he thinks of two things. First: he impressed the director by walking in with his lines memorized. Second: when he stepped on stage, he was petrified.
"I was told I hid it well," he laughs, "but I was absolutely petrified. However, once the nerves calm down and you get your first couple of lines out, you stop feeling your heart pounding out through your chest."
That experience eventually led to Supreme Council work. Illustrious Brother Hart has acted in Thursday Night at the Rite’s 4°, the 20°, and — perhaps most visibly — he is the lead actor in the Journey On anthem video, the cornerstone of the Scottish Rite, NMJ's Journey On campaign.
Seeing himself in the final cut for the first time was, in his words, "surreal." Brothers still come up to him in Valleys he's never visited and say they recognize him from somewhere. "It allows me to talk about Scottish Rite more," he says. "Which I love doing.”
However, his favorite part of the Scottish Rite? It isn’t the stage. It’s the Brotherhood.
"Brothers from all different walks of life, all stages of life, have a commonality in our fraternity," he says. "Some of us have our Golden Passport, and some are still working on it, but we all went through the same degrees. We all have the same connection to the Craft. Just that commonality in our experience, I absolutely love."
What Both Brothers Want You to Know
Ask either Brother for advice to a Master Mason curious about Scottish Rite, or a Scottish Rite member wondering whether to get involved in degree work, and the answer is roughly the same: just ask.
"Make your feelings known," Brother Hart says. "Don't be bashful. Someone will be there to ask, 'What would you like to do?'"
"I've never met a Brother who doesn't want to chat your ear off if they're on crew," Brother Knowlton adds. "They love what they do. Travel a little bit, find some Valleys that have the things you're interested in, and talk to them.”
From the sound board in Maine to the spotlight in Boston, Brothers Knowlton and Hart describe Thursday Night at the Rite the same way: another avenue, another way in, another chance to be part of the Craft alongside Brothers you might never otherwise meet.
Witness It for Yourself: Thursday Night at the Rite’s America 250: Summer Series
Just because Valleys slow down in the summer doesn't mean your Masonic journey has to.
Thursday Night at the Rit’s America 250:Summer Series brings the Scottish Rite back on demand — seven degrees you can witness on your own schedule, from wherever your summer takes you.
It's a fitting summer for it. The Craft has been woven into the American story since before the Declaration was signed, and as the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the Summer Series spends the season with the Brothers who helped shape that history and the degrees that carry their lessons forward.
You can also go behind the scenes of the 20°, the same degree Brother Fran Hart, 33°, stepped onto the stage to perform, and see the Brothers who bring it to life.
Seven degrees. Your own schedule. The same Thursday Night at the Rite, all summer.
Watch in the Member Center.