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By Chloe Abernathy

NATCHEZ—A long-time Natchez Little Theatre volunteer will direct her first production this weekend.

Katie Borum, 21, and Shrek the Musical Jr. will premier Thursday and continue through Sunday at the theater on Linton Avenue.

As Mississippi’s oldest community theater, the Natchez Little Theatre has always been volunteer-based and focused on entertaining the community by bringing quality productions to the Natchez area.

Borum, a Natchez resident whose family has been involved with the theater for generations, is a great example of the community-centered environment of this theater.

“This is where I started theater,” Borum said. “My first show, I was eight years old. My grandfather used to do plays here as well as my family. I always grew up with theater around.”

After getting the “the theater bug,” as Borum called it, she got into assistant directing and eventually directing. When given the opportunity to present Shrek The Musical Jr., Borum could not pass up the opportunity to help out her hometown theater.

As children rehearsed Tuesday afternoon, Borum said a lot of work and dedication has gone into this production by her cast and crew.

“The directors would stay after hours sometimes until 9 or 10 at night,” Borum said. “And I’m just in awe with how much effort the kids have put in on and off the stage.”

Time was of the essence with this production. Borum and the crew had just under a month to rehearse the play before its opening night, which meant rehearsing for many hours multiple nights a week.

Scarlett Leake, 17, who stars in the production as Fiona, said it is with this hard work and dedication that her experience working in this production has been an unforgettable one.

“It’s been really fun being in this show so far,” she said. “I’ve loved every minute of the practices and rehearsals and I’m so excited for opening night now!”

Joseph Simmons, 15, who leads in the production as Shrek, is hoping the many rehearsals pay off on opening night so family and friends can enjoy the show.

“Hopefully, everyone will hear their cues, get there on time and remember their lines,” he said.

Shrek The Musical Jr. will open Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Shows will also be performed on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday as well. Tickets are available online at the natchezlittletheatre.com or at the box office for $20 per person.

Proceeds from the tickets will help to keep the Natchez Little Theatre open by funding electricity and other bills for shows in the upcoming season. For more information on upcoming shows as well as how to donate to The Natchez Little Theatre please visit their website natchezlittletheatre.com.