The Ohio Community Theatre Association is a statewide service organization whose main purpose is to serve the needs of its member theatres. Membership is open to any community theatre in the state of Ohio or in neighboring states within 50 miles of the Ohio state border.

Each member theatre has a delegate who acts as a liaison and generally meets with other theatre delegates within their region. Each of the five (5) regions in the state has one or more Regional Representative(s) who meet with the delegates in their region at least four (4) times a year. These Regional Representatives serve on the Board of Directors of the organization along with eighteen (18) members elected at large at the Annual Meeting held during the Annual Conference over Labor Day weekend.

The Board of Directors is divided into four areas with each chaired by an officer of the Board. The areas and some of the committees included are:

ADMINISTRATIVE: Nominations, Long Range Planning, Regional Rep Coordinator, Advocacy, Policies, Job Descriptions & History

PROGRAMMING: OCTAfest, Workshops, State Conference, State AACTfest, Mid-Winter Institute, Costume & Set Design Contests.

MARKETING/MEMBERSHIP/PUBLIC RELATIONS: Newsletter, Survey, Publications/Monographs, Guide/ Respondent/Speakers Bureau, Resources, Web site

FINANCE/DEVELOPMENT: Patron Program, Grants, Scholarships, Sales/Logo Items, Silent Auction, Raffle, Endowment

OCTA SERVICES

GUIDE/RESPONDENT	A program to help new and veteran directors with their production or to help directors in selecting an excerpt for a Regional OCTAfest.
OCTA STATE CONFERENCE	Three day conference over Labor day weekend with workshops, excerpts and social activities
OCTA MANUAL	A collection of monographs that pertain to various aspects of community theatre, directing, props, budgeting, etc.
OCTAFEST	Regional excerpt festivals where the winners are selected to showcase at the State Conference.
OCTAFEST Jr.	Statewide excerpt festival for children ages 18 and younger. Awards are presented and the top 2 excerpt winners are invited to showcase their excerpt at the OCTA State Conference on Friday evening.
RESOURCE SERVICES	Theatres can contact the Executive Director for theatre listings, dates, etc if searching for costumes, props, etc. OCTA also has a booklet with items that some of the theatres are willing to loan, rent or sell as well as names of workshop leaders.
SPEAKERS BUREAU	Community theatre individuals that speak to other theatres or the public about the programs of OCTA
WORKSHOPS	Workshops are held in the regions as well as at State Conference and cover all phases of theatre.
LENDING LIBRARY	Over 2000 scripts are available for theatres to borrow for reading purposes to help in selection of theatres production season.
SURVEY	Every 2 or 3 yrs OCTA sends a survey to all member theatres asking questions that the Board has had requests for the information or just to see how some of the OCTA programs are being received.
NEWSLETTER	Five issues printed each year about various activities of OCTA. A sixth issue is printed as the “Call to Conference” which provides members information about the Annual Conference held over Labor Day Weekend.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS	MMPR Division prepares public service announcements periodically for community theatres to use in local area.
RESOURCE DIRECTORY	A listing of individuals willing to conduct workshops and a list of theatres that have various props/costumes for loan or rent.
AACTFEST	OCTA is a member of American Association of Community Theatre. Every odd year OCTA member theatres compete in an excerpt contest with the winner proceeding to Region III AACTfest. Ohio competes with theatres from Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan and the winning excerpt is invited to the National AACTfest to showcase their excerpt and possibly get an invitation to perform the excerpt in another country.
SCHOLARSHIPS	OCTA presents 1 or 2 scholarships per year to students that major in theatre related college courses.
SET DESIGN	Set Design is a contest with pictures or models of a production set that are judged with awards presented at Annual Conference.
COSTUME DESIGN	Costume Design is a 3 part contest with pictures or models of costumes that are judged with awards presented at Annual Conference.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT	Eleanor Smith, 4042 Blendon Point Dr Columbus, OH 43230-7807; Phone: 614-418-9672 and e-mail address: smithec57@wowway.com
Do not hesitate to ask questions about any of the above listed programs via phone or email. OCTA AWARDS RECEIVED FROM NATIONAL AACT The Ohio Community Theatre Association was awarded the Distinguished Merit Award in 2003 from the American Association of Community Theatres. This award is presented to individuals/or organizations in recognition of contributions made to promote and develop the highest standards for community theatre. 2003 was the 50th Anniversary for the Ohio Community Theatre Association. In 2004, Eleanor Smith, Executive Director for OCTA received the David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award from National AACT at their Annual Conference in New York City. This award recognizes members of AACT for significant, valuable, and lasting service to community theatres. In 2005, Jerry Zimmerman, Past President and 2005 Annual Conference Chair received the Distinguished Merit Award from National AACT in June 2005 at the National AACTfest which was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan
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Programs and Services

OCTA SERVICES

OCTA AWARDS RECEIVED FROM NATIONAL AACT