Theatre exists because of the continued need for people to have an outlet for creativity and for the desire to participate in the "unreal-real" world of imagination. One goes to the theatre for entertainment or education or, as is often the case with community theatre, to support friends and family members in their acting endeavors.

This need for creativity cause Jan Zeppelin, in 1978, to place a notice in the Starkville Daily News announcing an interest meeting for creating a community theatre.

"I went to the Chamber of Commerce and met with its director," says Zeppelin. "She spoke with their Board, and they agreed Starkville needed a community theatre." Around fifty people attended that initial meeting, and thus Starkville Community Theatre was born!

The first officers of the group were Bob Wolverton (elected president), Larry Jones, Bob Anderson, John Wells, and Zeppelin. A charter was drawn up, by-laws were established, and SCT was all set to begin.

"Because of such initial excitement, we decided we couldn't wait until the fall to put on our first show," Zeppelin remembers, "so we did one that summer."

Directed by Bob Anderson and held at the Ramada Inn, SCT's first production was Bob Randall's 6 Rms Riv Vu featuring the cast of Donna Burch, Roger Culbertson, Frank Rullan, Carolyn Katz, and John Wells. Sets and stage were built and moved in; lights were hung and numerous other details were taken into account.

SCT was definitely ambitious. Following 6 Rms Riv Vu, they produced You Can't Take it With You in the building that formerly housed Fred's Dollar Store. John Graef directed the production, and it featured Chester McKee, Carla Weaver, Charles Thomas, Inez Thomas, Bob Wolverton, and Harriet Mastin. Close on its heels came SCT's third production, the musical Little Mary Sunshine, directed by Bob Anderson and Guy Hargrove and featuring a large cast of newcomers.

"We scrounged in the beginning years, and we put on some good shows…and some not-so-good shows," Zeppelin says. "Lordy, did we make do! But we had a great time."

In the early years, SCT solicited the use of various facilities throughout the Starkville area. They performed, in addition to the Ramada Inn and the old Fred's Dollar Store, at Starkville's Greensboro Center and at Mississippi State University's School of veterinary medicine auditorium and McComas Hall, among others.

In 1995, however, after realizing how practically impossible had become scheduling SCT activities due to no permanent location, the theatre company bought the Katz building at 108 East Main Street. After years of moving from facility to facility, SCT finally had a home of its own. Almost immediately, the loyal volunteers of SCT began renovating their new building by demolishing walls, erecting new ones, installing seats, building a stage, and transforming the formal retail shop into a wonderful space for the Starkville Community Theatre for many years to come.

In 1999, after years of storing materials, props, costumes, furniture, and a spate of other theatre paraphernalia upstairs above the box office, lobby, and theatre, volunteers once again banded together to clean and to renovate this upstairs area in order to better utilize the space. Windows opened. Trash was taken out. Floors were swept and cleaned. Numerous props, dishes, and costumes were sorted, stored, or discarded. (Spiders were spotted and avoided!!)

After the dust settled, a great open space was ready for renovation. Painters and carpenters were hired to craft and install new walls, a kitchenette, a storage closet, and a costume shop. SCT has put the open area that remains to use for banquets, opening-night parties, business meetings, rehearsals, and auditions.

Currently, plans are in the works for an addition onto the rear of the building. This addition will house a shop for set construction, more storage room, and new dressing rooms for the actors.

"Drama expresses our lives," Zeppelin says. "It [takes] the entire community."

Jan Zeppelin's vision and dream for the Starkville Community Theatre lives on at the Playhouse on Main. As SCT's twenty-fifth anniversary season continues, the support, the excitement, and the imagination that is community theatre flourishes still.