Secondary Division

The Secondary Division is one of the most active divisions within MTA. Each year, there are two regional festivals which pre-qualify schools to attend the Mississippi Theatre Association’s Festival. The regional festivals are hosted by Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. The festivals are held the first weekend in December.

The division also hosts continuing education / professional development workshops to assist teachers teaching theatre arts. CEU credits are typically given for attendance at the Festival/Convention and for the continuing education workshops.

If you need assistance getting your theatre program off the ground or if you need advice with productions or your curriculum, feel free to contact one of the division chairs listed below or the Executive Director. We are here and willing to assist you in making your program the best it can be!

Important Dates:

• • • 2020 MTA Teacher Workshop
      
      Friday, September 11
      
    • 4:30 pm – Welcome & What Is MTA – Suz Allmon, MTA Secondary Chair/ Oak Grove High School; Cindy Howie, MTA Secondary Vice Chair / Tishomingo County High School
    • 4:45 pm – Playwriting – Kris Lee, Mississippi University for Women
    • 5:45 pm – Set Safety – Tim Matheny, MTA Past President / William Carey University; Craig Dettman & Jay Morris, The University of Southern Mississippi
    • 6:45 pm – Q&A – Suz Allmon & Cindy Howie
      Saturday, September 12
    • 9:00 pm – Devised Theatre – Tonya Hays, Mississippi State University; Carrie Ferguson-Bellew- Long Beach High School
    • 2:30 pm – Stage to Stream – Carrie Ferguson-Bellew – Long Beach High School
    • 3:30 pm – MTA 2021 Festival Questions
      Register for the MTA 2020 Teacher Workshop HERE

   

  • Playwriting Competition:
    Opens April 1, Closes November 1, 2020. Click here for more information.

• • North Dramafest
    November 7, 2020 – Virtual Festival
  • North Festival Information – Mississippi State University – Virtual in 2020
  • North Festival Schedule – Mississippi State University – Virtual in 2020
  • Virtual Tickets
  • North Festival Virtual Program 

• • South Dramafest
    November 7, 2020 – Virtual Festival
  • South Festival Information – University of Southern Mississippi – Virtual in 2020
  • South Dramafest Schedule – University of Southern Mississippi – Virtual in 2020
  • Virtual Tickets
  • South Festival Virtual Program 

• MTA Theatre Festival — January 14-17, 2021 — Virtual Festival
  
  • • School Letter and Festival Information school mailer
    • School Registration Spreadsheet
    • Upload Registration Spreadsheet
    • Virtual Ad Sales / Commercial Spot Sales  
    • Updated Virtual Filming Rules
    • 40’ wide x 20’ deep empty playing space (maximum)
    • 1 camera / one continuous shot / no zoom-in/out
    • Lighting – 6 areas of general light (maximum), specials must be part of setup – Basic warm and cool gels permitted.
    • Spotlights permitted
    • Sound – Use of voice amplification allowed; may record directly from soundboard.
    • Call-and-response from an off-camera person.   e.g. “School Name, ARE YOU READY?” “Students Respond” “GO!”
    •  All set pieces must start behind a go-line. To accommodate spaces that do
      not have a backstage area, the set may simply be pushed out of position and brought into
      position at “GO.”  Must call CLEAR to stop official time.
    • From “Go” to “Clear” may not exceed 45-minutes.
    • For the purposes of this year’s festival, we will NOT require proof of the 10’x10’.
    • *In the event that editing is required due to Covid regulations, all action must end and begin from the same position.

    • All special circumstances must be submitted for approval by the MTA Executive Committee BEFORE filming. 

      Youth Individual Events

  • • Youth Individual Events Rules 
    • 2021 Youth Individual Events Virtual Guidelines 

   

  • • 10 Minute / Devised Theatre Festival
    • 10 Minute Festival

   

  • • Junior / Senior College Auditions
    • Jr. / Sr. College Audition Registration
    • Jr. / Sr. College Audition Rules
    • Jr./Sr. College Audition – How to mark your music (Virtual MTA 2021 will allow CDs, MP3s, etc. )
    • Jr./Sr. College Audition – Sample audition

   

Important Information:

• Join the Conversation:  MTA hosts a Theater Teacher E-Mail Listserv. Subscribe to the list today to join the conversation. 
  • If you don’t have a listserv password you can request a new password here.
• MTA Rules and Guidelines: Read these prior to the regional AND state festival.
• Banned Productions 2020 Productions performed at regional festivals within the last 3 years.
• MTA and Dramafest Scoresheet
• MTA Scholarship: $2000 to a deserving high school senior who intends to pursue a theatre degree at a Mississippi college or university.
• “What to Expect at DramaFest“: A video explaining what students and teachers can expect at the Drama Festival. (Please note in the guidelines the new “Go Line” rule that was instated in 2015.)
• Using Copyrighted Music in Theatre Productions: This post urges theatre organizations to use music wisely, making sure they have the legal right to use it in their productions.
• Tips for College and University Auditions : A video explaining what colleges are looking for in their top high school recruits at MTA
• Portfolio Pointers for students auditioning for tech
• Code of Conduct