Despite the slow economy and high travel costs, a group of local theaters will gather at the Muncie Civic Theatre on Saturday for the annual Indiana Community Theatre League competition.
Marty Grubbs, executive director of the theater, said due to nation's current financial problems, this year's competition will feature less participants than usual.
The ICTL showcases a collection of abridged plays from various theatres in Indiana. Since Muncie has a convenient central location in Indiana, Grubbs said it should be easier for theater productions to travel to Muncie cheaply from other cities.
The theater held the event last year with nine theaters participating. The number of sessions this year, however, is considerably lower than usual.
"Usually we have between nine and 12 theatres involved," Grubbs said, "but this year we only have four."
He said if the ICTL had not happened in Muncie this year, the local Civic Theatre probably would not have attended either.
Even though the show is limited this year, Grubbs said the ICTL is a "wonderful festival." He said last year's event attracted more than 250 people.
"It's not really about the competition, it's about the theater community," he said. "It's important to see what other theatres are doing and what the community wants to see."
The cities featured in this weekend's competition are the Elkhart Civic Theatre, South Bend Civic Theatre, Kokomo Civic Theatre and the Muncie Civic. Each theatre entered a play that is less than an hour long.
Awards for first, second and third place will be given out Sunday at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts.
Grubbs said the ICTL is part of a biennial national competition hosted by the American Association of Community Theatre.
Ball State University musical theatre major Matt Glasner, who will be performing in the Muncie Civic's entry of "Pippin," said he enjoys seeing the hard work of local theaters rewarded.
"You don't typically get recognition like you do with this competition," he said. "It's nice to know if you've done a great job, and people appreciate what you've done."
Todd Sandman, director of "Pippin," looks forward to giving the Muncie community another opportunity to see the show which ran at the end of February.
"‘Pippin' had a sold-out run," he said. "A lot of people wanted to see the show, so now those who didn't get a chance. It's an exciting event."
The ICTL begins Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Tickets for a weekend package - including all four shows and an after-party - are $25 and can be purchased at the door. Tickets for single sessions are $6.
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