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The Tennessee Theatre Association


A.   Presidents of the Association

Year President Convention Site(s)
1968 Paul Crabtree, Crossville Crossville
1969 Fred Fields, Knoxville Gatlinburg
1970 Fred Fields, Knoxville Shelbyville
1971 Sherwood Lohrey, Memphis Gatlinburg
1972 Cecil Jones, Nashville Nashville
1973 Thomas P. Cooke, Knoxville Chattanooga
1974 Dorethe Tucker, Murfreesboro Murfreesboro
1975 Patricia Bogan, Memphis Memphis
1976 John Bradley, Cleveland Gatlinburg
1977 Richard Boyd, Murfreesboro Nashville
1978 Jean K. Prince, Columbia Jackson
1979 Terry Holcomb, Morristown Knoxville
1980 Lorayne W. Lester, Knoxville Nashville
1981 Jackie Nichols, Memphis Memphis
1982 Harold Frank, Johnson City Johnson City
1983 I. Joe Filippo, Clarksville Clarksville
1984 Joe Lowry, Madisonville Murfreesboro
1985 Brenda Poteet, Jackson Jackson
1986 Richard A. Northcutt, Woodbury Gallatin
1987 Rodney Van Valkenburg, Chattanooga Chattanooga
1988 Gary Harris, Nashville Nashville
1989 Tommy Scott, Jackson Jackson
1990 Bill Black, Knoxville Nashville
1991 Don Thomas, Knoxville Oak Ridge
1992 Rick Seay, Nashville Nashville
1993 Dale McGilliard, Murfreesboro Memphis
1994 Ron McIntyre-Fender, Oak Ridge Murfreesboro
1995 Mary Louis Smith, Nashville Oak Ridge
1996-97 Mark Creter, Cookeville Cookeville, Clarksville
1998-99 Tom Parkhill, Knoxville Cookeville, Knoxville
2000-01 Scott Boyd, Nashville Cookeville, Jackson
2002-03 Jeffrey Brown, Chattanooga Chattanooga, Clarksville
2004-05 Les Beaver, Knoxville Jackson, Cookeville
2006-07 Leni Dyer, Clarksville Johnson City, Jackson
2008-09 Chad McDonald, Cookeville Dixson, Cookeville
2010-11 Melissa Shafer, Johnson City Dickson, Maryville


B.   TTA Publication Services

The Tennessee Theatre Association publishes FOCUS, the official organization newsletter, and the TTA DIRECTORY, both of which are provided without charge to TTA members. Additionally, TTA maintains the TENNESSEE THEATRE REGISTRY that includes the names and addresses of professional, community, secondary school, college and university, and children's theatre groups in Tennessee. TTA members may order the Registry at $7.00 per copy to cover duplication and mailing costs, or may download a PDF-format copy from our web site. Non-TTA members may purchase copies at $20.00 each.

TENNESSEE THEATRE REGISTRY

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Prices of pre-printed mailing labels for TTA individual and organizational members and Registry are available on request.


C.   State, Regional, and National Theatre Support Organizations

The Tennessee Arts Commission
The Tennessee Arts Commission is a program of state government which distributes state arts funding as well as funds given by the National Endowment for the Arts. The TAC has provided grants not only for TTA but for many member organizations as well. For information, write Tennessee Arts Commission, 401 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN, 37243-8559, or call 615-741-1701, or visit www.arts.state.tn.us.

Humanities Tennessee
Humanities Tennessee is the indepented state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which supports the study and research in the literature of theatre, especially dramatic theory, criticism and theatre history. For information, write Humanities Tennessee, 1003 18th Avenue S, Nashville, TN 37212-2104, call (615) 320-7001 or visit www.tn-humanities.org.

The Southeastern Theatre Conference
SETC is the largest regional theatre association in the United States, with an annual gathering that attracts more than 3,000 people per year. TTA represents Tennessee in the conference along with state theatre organizations from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. For information, write to Betsey Baun, Executive Director, The Southeastern Theatre Conference, P. O. Box 9868, Greensboro, NC, call 336-272-3645 or visit www.SETC.org.

The American Association of Community Theatres
AACT was formed when the American Theatre Association was dissolved in 1985. The members of the ATA community theatre division formed a national organization. AACT sponsors the national AACTFEST competition. For information, write: Julie Angelo, Executive Director, The American Association of Community Theatres, 8402 Briarwood Circle, Lago Vista, TX, 78645, call (866) 687-2228 or visit www.aact.org.


D.   Citations and Honors
The Tennessee Theatre Association regularly recognizes and commends those persons or organizations that make outstanding contributions to theatre in Tennessee. The Distinguished Service Award honors not only dedicated long-term support of theatre in the state but also conspicuous service to the Tennessee Theatre Association. The Distinguished Achievement Award is a commendation for an outstanding achievement in theatre during the previous year.

Distinguished Service Award
1974 Elizabeth Rike and Ann S. Hill
(Governor’s Award Winners)
1975 Freda Kenner (Governor’s Award Winner)
1976 Fred Fields
1977 Dorothy Hackett Ward
1978 Dorethe Tucker
1979 Thomas P. Cooke
1980 Sherwood Lohrey
1981 Dicki Farrar
1982 Lorayne W. Lester
1983 Jean K. Prince
1984 Richard Boyd
1985 Freda Kenner
1986 Robert Mashburn
1987 Joe Filippo
1988 Daryl Frank
1989 Elizabeth Rike
1991 Paul Ebert
1993 Sherwood Lohrey
1994 Tom Naylor
1995 Wanda Wilson
1996 Doug Mason
1997 Sally Welch
1998 Mary Hargrove
1999 Bud Frank
2000 Judy Duke
2001 Pat Alford
2003 Elizabeth Rike
2009 Cecilia Chilton
2010 Chad McDonald
Distinguished Achievement Award
1980 Warren K. Sumners
1981 Jackie Nichols
1983 James G. Walls, Jr.
1984 Mac Pirkle
1985 Harold Frank
1986 Clara Hieronymus
1987 Paul Ebert
1988 Pulaski National Bank
1989 Bea Miller
1991 Some Magazine - Jeff Ellis
1993 Theatre Memphis
1994 MTSU Governor’s School
1995 Patricia Neal
1997 Nashville Children's Theatre
1998 Cumberland County Playhouse
1999 Carpetbag Theatre
2001 Jessie Byrum
2003 Chattanooga Theatre Centre
2005 Dennis Haskins
2006 Daryl Frank
2009 David Keith
2010 Carol Mayo Jenkins
2011 Adriane Lenox


E.   Community Theatre Division Festival
       American Association of Community Theatres Festival

The Tennessee Theatre Association has sponsored the biennial state competition for the American Association of Community Theatres Festival, AACT-FEST (formerly called FACT, Festival of American Community Theatres) since its beginning in 1972. In 1994, the Community Theatre Division of TTA decided to send the second place winner in a festival year to SETC in the years that a state festival was not held. In 1997, the Division decided to hold a annual state community theatre festival. Winners of the state festivals who have represented Tennessee at the Southeastern Theatre Conference regional festival are:

1972 Theatre Memphis Gnadiges Fraulein SETC Winner
1974 Theatre Memphis Schubert’s Last Serenade SETC Winner *
1976 Theatre Memphis Ravenswood SETC Winner
1978 Circuit Playhouse (Memphis) Baby Dave SETC Winner
1980 Theatre Memphis Medea  
1982 Theatre Memphis Sister Mary Ignatius
Explains It All for You
SETC Winner
1984 Premier Playhouse (Bells) Home Free  
1986 Circle Players (Nashville) A...My Name is Alice SETC Winner
1988 Little Theatre of Chattanooga Pump Boys and Dinnettes SETC Winner †
1990 Theatre Memphis The Frog Prince  
1992 Theatre Memphis Suddenly Last Summer  
1994 Oak Ridge Community Playhouse Falsettoland SETC Winner ‡
1995 Germantown Community Theatre Cardigans  
1996 Theatre Memphis Pterodactyls  
1997 Germantown Community Theatre Cardigans  
1998 Murfreesboro Little Theatre The Complete Works of
Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged)
 
1999 Cookeville Drama Center The Harry and Sam Dialogues
 
2000 Theatre Memphis The Beauty Queen of Leenane
 
2001 Playwright's Forum of Memphis Marriage to an Older Woman
 
2002 Cookeville Drama Center Of Mice and Men
 
2003 Downtown Players (Jackson) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
2004 Cookeville Drama Center Stones in His Pockets
 
2005 Wesley Arena Theatre Driving Miss Daisy
 
2006 Cookeville Drama Center Escanaba in Da Moonlight
SETC Winner
2007 Chattanooga Theatre Centre Claire de Lune
 
2008 Cookeville Drama Center Escanaba in Love
 
2009 Backstage Series at Cookeville Performing Arts Center Suicide in Bb
 
2010 Backstage Series at Cookeville Performing Arts Center Dead Man's Cell Phone
 
2011 Cookeville Performing Arts Center The Last Flapper
 

* National Winner - United States Representative to International Theatre Olympiad, Detroit.
† National Winner – United States Representative to International Theatre Festival, Aruba
‡ National Winner - United States Representative to International Festival diTeatro, Aruba


F.   Secondary School Division One-Act Play Festival

The Tennessee Theatre Association annually sponsors the winner of the state high school play competition as Tennessee’s representative to the SETC Festival. State festival winners are:

1976 West High School, Knoxville  
1977 West High School, Knoxville  
1978 Shelbyville High School, Shelbyville  
1979 Heritage High School, Maryville  
1980 Clarksville High School, Clarksville  
1981 Germantown High School, Germantown  
1982 Heritage High School, Maryville  
1983 St. Andrews High School, St. Andrews  
1984 University School, Nashville The Still Alarm
1985 West High School, Knoxville  
1986 Memphis University School, Memphis  
1987
1988
1989
1990 Father Ryan, Nashville  
1991 Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Impromptu
1992
1993 Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge The Elephant Man
1994 Morristown-West High School, Morristown The Boys Next Door
1995 Morristown-West High School, Morristown Joined at the Head
1996 Farragut High School, Farragut The Diviners
1997 Morristown-West High School, Morristown 21A
1998 Hillwood High School, Nashville A Midsummer’s Night Dream
1999 Science Hill High School All in the Timing
2000 Morristown West High School, Morristown The Boys Next Door
2001 Jackson Central Merry High School, Jackson Drive-In
2002 Jackson Central Merry High School, Jackson Heart in the Ground
2003 Bearden High School, Knoxville La Dispute
2004 Cordova High School, Cordova Driving Miss Daisy
2005 Montgomery Bell Academy, Nashville Oh What a Lovely War
2006 Bearden High School, Knoxville The Owl & the Pussycat
2007 Morristown West High School Almost, Maine
2008 Montgomery Bell Academy/Harpeth Hall Insanity of Mary Girard
2009 Cordova High School Doubt, a parable
2010 Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts The Complete Work of William Shakespeare (abridged)
2011 Cordova High School How I Became A Pirate


The Tennessee Theatre Association formerly sponsored the state festival of the KC/ACTF annual competition. Schools representing Tennessee at Region IV ACTF events (and on to the National Festival in Washington D. C. where noted) were:

2000East Tennessee State University, Johnson City (National) 
2001Lambuth University, Jackson and University of Memphis 
2002(none) 
2003Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Knoxville
 
2006Milligan College, Johnson City
Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Knoxville
King College, Bristol
 

 
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