Many say theater has a way of reaching kids and changing their lives. This is true for Tabitha Hewitt-Rafferty, a freshman at Mississippi State University and former foster child who found solace in the performing arts.

Mississippi State’s award-winning Theatre MSU debuts its new season this month with performances of from fantasy and fairytale, and nostalgia and murder.

Mississippi State University's Department of Communication Head Dr. Terry Likes interviews Cameron Mayer, a senior with a theatre concentration, talks about all things theatre for the 2022-2023 season. The discussion includes the children’s production The Light Princess, It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play, the spring production of MacBeth and more. Cameron is also reprising his role in “Anne and Emmett,” which TheatreMSU will take on the road and perform in Birmingham in November.

A Mississippi State senior has bested applicants from more than 10 states in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival competition, winning the top prize in technical drafting for his lighting design in MSU’s fall production of “Banner: A Sea Turtle Saga.”

Mississippi State’s Theatre MSU is hosting former student and Shakespearean and commedia clown actor Jarrod Bates on campus April 18-22 for a week of performances, acting lessons and lectures as actor-in-residence.

Vernell L. Allen, a senior communication major with a concentration in theater from Brookhaven, has worked in different areas of theater throughout his college years, but directing All American Boys was a new experience for him.

Tonya Hays presented an improvisation workshop for the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Memphis. The how to workshop assisted participants in creating their own improvisation festival at their universities, high schools or community theatres.