More than 900 community theatre enthusiasts, 600 of which are high school students, will travel to Meridian this week to participate in the annual statewide theatre festival and convention being held at The MSU Riley Center. The festival, which will run Thursday through Sunday, brings theatres from around the state to perform their one-act productions, to learn more about theatre and how to improve theatre arts in the respective theatres.

High schools throughout the state have been rehearsing plays since August in hopes of placing in the regional competitions and advancing to the state festival. High schools that were awarded a Distinguished Play Award at the north and south regional festivals held in December advanced to the state festival including Clinton High School, Jackson Academy, Meridian High School, Northwest Rankin High School, St. Andrews Episcopal School, Brandon High School, Oak Grove High School, Ocean Springs High School, Pearl High School and Pearl River Central High School. High school productions will be held Thursday and Friday at The MSU Riley Center. The top two winners of the Mississippi Theatre Association Festival advance to the Southeastern Theatre Conference in March.

Community theatres will also have the opportunity to compete against one another on Saturday, with the two finalists moving forward to the Southeastern Theatre Conference. This year, Biloxi Little Theatre, Pearl Community Theatre, Tupelo Community Theatre and Starkville Community Theatre will participate. All community theatre productions will take place at Meridian Little Theatre.

Additionally, MTA will sponsor a Theatre for Youth Festival on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The MSU Riley Center. The Theatre for Youth Festival is geared towards youth audiences and includes high school groups performing. This year’s lineup includes: Ocean Springs High School, St. Andrews Episcopal, Oak Grove High School, Brandon High School, Yellow Jackets Unified, St. Martin High School, Gulfport High School, Biloxi High School, Stone High School and Lafayette High School. Local families are invited to attend the Theatre for Youth Festival for free.

A full schedule of events is available on the MTA website. General admission tickets for the secondary productions will be available at the door.  Prices are $25 for a festival pass which covers access to performances and workshops for the entire weekend. There will also be a day pass available for $10. Passes are being sold at the MSU Riley Center and Meridian Little Theatre.

MTA is sponsored in part by grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information, visit the MTA website at mississippitheatre.org or contact Lindsey Eubanks, executive director of the Mississippi Theatre Association, at (601) 398-7778 or execdir@mississippitheatre.org.