The play opens with discussion of Shelby's wedding day to her fiancé, Jackson, in the fictional northwestern Louisiana parish of Chinquapin at Truvy's in-home beauty parlour where the women regularly gather. It covers events over the next three years with Shelby's Type 1 diabetes and how the women interact at times with conflict but in the end remained friends: Shelby's decision to have a child despite the complication that could result from her condition, Clairee's friendship with the curmudgeon Ouiser; Annelle's transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town to a good-time girl then repentant revival-tent Christian; and Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother M'Lynn, and Shelby's medical battles, the underlying group-friendship among all six women is prominent throughout the drama.

The Department of Theatre is rooted in the liberal arts tradition.

We offer both an Associate of Arts Degree in Acting and an Associate of General Studies in Theatre Technology and Design.

Our program is one of inclusion and noted for its professional atmosphere, its comprehensive nature, and its close faculty/student working relationship. In the department you'll have the benefits of a small, close-knit program within the environment of a comprehensive, urban community college with courses taught by some of the best professional actors, designers, and technicians in the Kansas City area.

Theatre students are most likely to succeed when they understand completely the theoretical, historical, and practical elements of the theatre. 

We have a very active Drama Club that produces a mainstage play in the fall and a One Act festival in the spring.

These productions are fully realized by the members of the drama club and only mentored by the faculty.