Our History

SCSTA has been encouraging a passion for excellence in speech and theatre education in South Carolina for over 50 years. The South Carolina Speech & Theatre Association, or SCSTA, was founded in 1958 and was formerly known as the South Carolina Speech Association (SCSA) and later, the South Carolina Speech Communication Association (SCSCA). In 1970, the Association sponsored its first speech festival for high school students. As the festival competitions continued, the members added more and more theatre and acting events. Additionally, the organization added the College division and the Middle School division to create the current organizational setup. Pat Gagliano, Newberry College, served as Administrative Coordinator from 1994-2015. The current executive board is made up of leaders in theatre education from throughout the state.