Southern Miss Welcomes South Mississippi High School Drama Festival

More than 650 students representing high schools from the southern region of the state will gather on The University of Southern Mississippi campus Dec. 3-4 to perform a variety of renowned plays as part of the Mississippi High School Drama Festival.

“Southern Miss is excited to serve as host of the drama festival again,” said Tom Hardy, activity director for the event. “It's a pleasure to see the awesome talent that South Mississippi has to offer and the Mississippi Theatre Association looks forward to having this talent come to the state festival in January.”

The general public is welcome to attend the festival as observers. The registration fee is $7 at the door. Observers will be accepted as space permits.

Judges for the festival include William Biddy, chair of the Department of Music and Theatre at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus; Dex Edwards, MFA, an internationally known designer and director and Roy Hudson, director of Theatre Education, Musical Theatre and Assessment in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Troy State University.

The Mississippi High School Drama Festival serves as a prequalifying event for the Mississippi Theatre Association Statewide Theatre Festival scheduled for Jan. 13-16, 2011. Up to five schools from the South Mississippi Festival will advance to the state event.

The South Mississippi High School Drama Festival is a collaboration between the Southern Miss Department of Theatre and Dance, Office of Professional Development and Educational Outreach at Southern Miss and the Mississippi Theatre Association.

For more information about the festival call 601.266.4186.