Look out Columbus, here we come! Well, at least a few of us are planning on attending this year’s OCTA State Conference, which will be held over the Labor Day weekend. Some people always “close up the cottage,” “celebrate Christmas,” “take our last few vacation days” or do whatever on that weekend. Then there are some of us, who consider this weekend at Conference their vacation. There will be a total of 15 excerpts from the 5 regions of the state. These are the ones that were chosen the best from their regions. In this delegate’s feeble memory, this is the first time that the excerpts have all been different. Selections are being performed from the following plays: The Laramie Project, All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged), Monky Business, Art, Is There Life After High School?, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Pirates of Penzance, West Side Story, Shirley Valentine, Grace and Glorie, and Desire Desire Desire. There will be workshops on directing, makeup, props, (and here is a goody) stress management, board development roundtable, scriptwriting, etc. This will also be OCTA’s 50th year and there will be events centered around that theme. Looks like a good time can be had by all.

And, in a press release from AACT (American Association of Community Theatres) it was announced that OCTA (Ohio Community Theatre Association) has been named recipient of the Distinguished Merit Award. The award is bestowed on individuals and organizations in recognition of contributions made to promote and develop the highest standards for community theatre, according to AACT President Jill Patchin. The award was presented at AACT/Fest, the national theatre festival, June 25-28 in Torrington, CT.

OCTA has given over 50 years of service to its over 100 member theatres in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. OCTA was founded in 1953 for the purpose of promoting excellence and creativity in live theatre.

Said the award nominator, “One of the most amazing things about this organization is the number of dedicated volunteers that work to make this happen. OCTA’s only employee is a part-time Executive Director. While the hard work, dedication and organization of their Executive Director cannot be praised highly enough, the scale and depth of OCTA’s programming would normally indicate a much larger paid staff - truly a compliment to OCTA’s corps of volunteers.”