SCTA Hosts Annual Awards Celebration

The South Carolina Theatre Association (SCTA) is hosting its annual awards celebration at the Train Depot, 406 Park Ave SE, Aiken, SC, on May 20 at 7 p.m. This event is another effort to connect, create and cultivate theater in South Carolina.

This year our celebration is part of our 50th year celebration and looks to be a great success. Last year's event featured music, dancing and food, with over 100 attendees from all over the state of South Carolina. "For 50 years the SC Theatre Association has been the place to go for theatre in South Carolina to connect, create and cultivate theatre opportunities in our wonderful state for students, educators, professional actors and designers and leaders. We are thrilled to continue the celebration of our 50th with this year's Awards Celebration. We are marking a milestone and have come so far since the beginning and look forward to celebrating the people who are making it happen every day and look to the future of Theatre in SC," said Harry Culpepper, Jr., SCTA President.

This year we will honor the following award winners from across the state for their work in theatre:

2016 Lifetime Service Award - D. Keith Best. The Lifetime Service Award is a plaque awarded to a person judged to have contributed significantly to theatre in South Carolina throughout his/her career. Long-standing service to the field.

2016 Deborah Smith Hoffman Outstanding Mentor Teacher Award - Dr. Jimmy Chrismon. The outstanding mentor teacher award is a plaque awarded to that K-12 theatre educator judged to have contributed the most to rising, new, and even experienced theatre educators in South Carolina during the year most recently concluded.

2016 Theatre Advocacy Award - Diane Lee. The SCTA Theatre Advocacy Award is given each year to an individual or organization that has an outstanding record of advocacy for theatre across South Carolina during the previous year.

2016 Outstanding Theatre Educator Award - Kendra Johnson. The Outstanding Theatre Educator Award is given to the K-12 theatre educator, college or university professor, or teaching artist judged to have done the most at their respective educational levels for theatre students in South Carolina during the year most recently concluded.

2016 SC Theatre of Distinction Award - Town Theatre. The South Carolina Theatre of Distinction Award is given to a theatre in South Carolina that has exhibited a history of artistic, professional, or educational excellence, producing seasons of high artistic quality and establishing a strong presence in the statewide theatre community.

This event is open to the public. The evening will be filled with low country barbecue dinner, drinks, dancing, entertainment and awards presentations to celebrate the accomplishments of select individuals and organizations who have contributed greatly to theatre in South Carolina.

Tickets can be purchased on the SCTA Website at a cost of $40. Tickets may be purchase on-line at www.southcarolinatheatre.org. For questions call (864) 844.8111.

SCTA hopes this annual awards celebration continues to serve as a gathering event to promote partnerships within the theater community and recognize the accomplishments throughout our state.

About the organization
The South Carolina Theatre Association was founded in September 1967 at the behest of the Southeastern Theatre Conference. SETC, anxious to create a statewide theatre organization in each of its ten states, had appointed state representatives including Hill in South Carolina. SCTA hosts an annual state-wide convention in November. The 2017 SCTA Theatre Convention will be held November 2-5 at USC - Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina.