Winchester’s Leeds Center for the Arts will host the 2020 National Society of Arts and Letters Musical Theater Competition’s state division.

The closed auditions will take place at the theater on Main Street from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28.

The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago for the national competition and an opportunity to participate in workshops and make important contacts with people in the profession. The winner there will receive $15,000.

The competition, for young adults, ages 18-26, includes voice, monologue and dance components.

Last year, a Winchester woman, Tessa Miller, was Kentucky’s top winner, for drama, when the Lexington Public Library’s downtown theater hosted the state contest.

“We’re thrilled to be able to host it,” Tracey Miller, executive director of the Leeds, said.

“Our goal is to give them the opportunity to grow and learn,” she said.

Miller said the Leeds was hoping to have 30 to 40 contestants.

Those who want to enter the competition may register on the local theater’s website, leedscenter.org, and bring the other required paperwork the day of the audition, Miller said. They should also bring a birth certificate or driver’s license to prove their age. They must not have reached their 26th birthday by May 22.

Competition rules and performance requirements are also available on the website under events.