For more than 300 student actors and teachers from Jackson to Olive Branch to Corinth, the play will be the thing Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Mississippi State University.
The 32nd annual North Mississippi High School Drama Festival will feature performances by thespian groups from 10 schools. Two other schools will attend as observers of the event, which is co-sponsored by the communication department and College of Arts and Sciences.
Held for the 28th year on the Starkville campus, the festival will be held in the McComas Hall theater. Welcome and opening ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. on the 31st.
Each presentation and follow-up critique will take approximately one hour. Six will be held during the afternoon and night of the first day; four during the morning of the second day.
The festival is organized by Dominic Cunetto, the Mississippi State communication professor emeritus and former theater program director who founded the state festival in 1963. After a decade of growth, the festival split between the state's northern half and the University of Southern Mississippi-based southern half.
"Because the festival stresses learning and creativity, this is not considered a competition," Cunetto said. "The judges rate each presentation immediately upon its conclusion and discuss the strengths and weaknesses. Each group receives a certificate denoting a rating of superior, excellent, good, or honorable mention."
When appropriate, the campus festival gives additional honors for outstanding direction, overall merit and technical achievement, Cunetto said.
"The judges also will select an all-star cast of individual performers from the various plays," he added.
Three schools will be selected by the judges for the Mississippi Theater Association Convention in January at Greenville. One will be chosen at the convention to represent Mississippi two months later at the Southeastern Theater Conference in Miami.
Serving as festival judges will be Robert Anderson of Starkville, David Dye of Troy, Ala., and Ronnie Miller of Meridian. Anderson also is a Mississippi State communication professor emeritus, while Dye heads Troy State University's theater program and Miller holds a similar position at Meridian Community College.
Nettleton and Shannon high schools will attend as observers.
Performing in the festival will be (in order of appearance, with times approximate):
Oct. 31
Corinth High School, "Balcony Scene" by Donald Elser, 1:30 p.m.
Starkville High School, "No Fading Star" by Celeste Raspant, 2:30 p.m.
Olive Branch High School, excerpt from "Bus Stop" by William Inge, 3:30 p.m.
Caledonia High School, excerpt from "Anastasia" by Marcelle Maurette, 4:30 p.m.
[Followed by dinner break]
Bruce High School, "The Friends of Julia Dark" by Art C. Lennox, 7:30 p.m.
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (Columbus), "Smoke-Screens" by Harold Brighouse, 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 1
The Washington School (Greenville), "The Dark Lady of the Sonnets" by George Bernard Shaw, 8 a.m.
Tupelo High School, "Final Dress Rehearsal" by Jack Frakes, 9 a.m.
Itawamba Agricultural High School (Fulton), "Rise and Shine" by Edna Cadogan, 10 a.m.
Jackson Preparatory School, "Blackout" by Barry Gifford, 11 a.m.
The awards ceremony will be held approximately one hour after the conclusion of the final critique.
For complete information, telephone Cunetto at (601) 323-4746.