The Tennessee Theatre Association was founded in 1968 with the aid of a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Two hundred and thirty-five people from every part of Tennessee met in Crossville on September 7 and 8 for the first conference, and the late Paul Crabtree was elected the first president.

Over the years the purpose of the organization has remained the same: the promotion of the highest standards of theatre throughout the State of Tennessee. To accomplish that purpose, the Association serves as a vehicle for communication through its newsletters and through its annual convention.

It provides members with workshops, programs and seminars and with the opportunity to meet, work with and learn from each other as well as from invited theatre professionals from other states. TTA also serves as a liaison between Tennessee, regional, and national theatre organizations.

TTA and Theatre News Sailor Costumes Needed (5/01/12) TTA Member Foothills Community Players in Maryville, TN is needing identical white sailor costumes for its production of "Anyhting Goes" in July. If your theatre or costume supply house has these costumes available, or you know someone who does, please contact Karen Topor at karentopor@msn.com. Tennessee Productions Win Awards At SETC (3/12/12) The 2011 Community Theatre Festival winner, "The Last Flapper" (Cookeville Performing Arts Center) competed this past week at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) festival and came away with some impressive honors. Ms. Kimberly Balsley Frick-Welker took home the Best Actress Award for her role as Zelda Fitzgerald in the one-woman drama, and Matt Wilson won Best Lighting Design. Congratulations to everyone who worked on this great production! Costumes Auction March 10 & 11, 2012 (2/20/12) After 48 years in business, the Costume Bazaar of Milford, CT, has decided to join forces with Premiere Props and Hollywood Live Auctions of Los Angeles, CA, and close its brick and mortar location. Premiere Props, the world's largest entertainment memorabilia store and auction house is combining its own costumes and resources with us and another huge costume shop in the Boston area and will auction off over 85,000 rental costumes. March 10 & 11: LIVE AUCTION -- ONLINE @ www.HollywoodLiveAuctions.com. For more info or to pre-register, you can call 1-888-761-PROP(7767) or go to www.premiereprops.com or email at info@hollywoodliveauctions.com. TTA Fall Conference 2012 to be held at Clayton Center in Maryville, TN (2/6/12) The annual fall conference for the Tennessee Theatre Association will be held at the beautiful Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, TN, October 25-28, 2012. Set against the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains, this year's conference marks the first visit to East Tennessee since 2006 in Johnson City. The Clayton Center boasts three state-of-the-art performance venues: The Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall is a 252-seat venue designed with acoustical perfection as the goal; The Haslam Family Flex Theatre, housed in the Center’s main building, is a flexible black box venue; and The Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre is a spacious proscenium theatre with a maximum seating capacity of 1,196. This year's conference will feature AACTFest 2013 for state community theatres, as well as the High School Theatre Festival, a Theatre for Youth Festival, 24-Hour Play Competition, state level professional Auditions for SETC, workshops, networking, and an exciting guest speaker. Hotel details will be announced soon, as well as a complete schedule of activities. Please join us in Maryville, TN in October! 2nd Annual Clayton Center Community Theatre Festival (1/30/12) The Clayton Center for the Arts, currently in its second full season as a presenter of national and regional performances, will host The Second Annual Community Theatre Festival, Friday, July 27-Sunday, July 29, 2012 in Maryville, TN. The festival features six of East Tennessee's most successful and long-running community theatres. All five of the groups who participated in the first festival in 2011 are returning, and the highly respected WordPlayers of Knoxville will join the line-up. (Read More) 2011 Fall Newsletter, "Focus", is now online (9/26/11) Our quarterly newsletter, "Focus" is now available to be downloaded in PDF format. Download it here. Read the Archives