From October 25th to the 29th, mainstage will attend the Virginia Theater Association (VTA) conference at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  

VTA is a non-profit organization that hosts this conference annually for students in middle school, high school, and college, as well as teachers/directors. There are many different parts to this conference.

“Part of the conference is a theatre festival that runs for two days,” theater teacher Jelita Perry said. “Schools from all over the state perform one-act plays for judges and for conference audiences.”

Along with performing a one-act play, students will participate in workshops that are best suited to their interests.

“There are numerous different workshops that are held throughout the day, with focuses such as acting, singing, dancing, stage combat, theater tech, and audition prep,” junior Kelsey Lagon said.

After they perform their one-act, the students will receive constructive criticism from the judges as well as their scores based on a rubric.

“We hope to use this feedback to continue to improve and create a better show for our weekend of community performances in November and our VHSL festival in February,” Lagon said. 

This conference helps with future competitions, and it can help seniors with their future in theater.

“Seniors are able to audition for various college theater programs, as many colleges send representatives and scouts to VTA,” Lagon said.

Last year, this conference helped the theater produce the spring musical, “Mean Girls” and Perry believes the conference will have a similar effect this year.

“Attending this conference will strengthen our theatre department by providing students with incredible opportunities to grow as artists,” Perry said. 

With its opportunities for students to experience a variety of workshops and perform a one-act play, the Virginia Theater Association Conference has sparked a lot of excitement.

“I’m just super happy that we get to share our production with other people who have the same passion for theatre that we do,” junior Lily Hubler said.