Harvard Community Theatre members are dreaming about bringing home a huge silver trophy engraved with “Best of Festival” as they prepare to present The Mistress Cycle at the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters (EMACT) Annual Theater Festival. The festival runs from June 13 to 15 at the Groton School’s Marion D. Campbell Performing Arts Center in Groton.

The annual Community Theatre Drama Festival is one of the highlights of the area theatre season. The popular weekend-long event, which will feature 13 participating member companies this year, entertains as well as educates. It’s an opportunity for theater-goers to see a wide variety of theatre and learn from professionals who adjudicate each production presented.

How and why did Harvard choose this piece for the festival? Artistic Director Michael McGarty explains: “The composer Jenny Giering was one of the founding members of the Harvard Community Theatre and even though she is now a professional composer in New York City, she continues to provide the group with new work to explore. Given the fact that The Mistress Cycle is a shorter musical and uses a cast of five women, it seemed the perfect piece to bring to the festival.”

He said the Harvard group participates because “It gives the group a chance to present its work in front of a greater audience and provides an opportunity for critique by trained adjudicators.”

Harvard Community Theatre has been extremely successful at the festival in past years, taking home many awards and earning a chance to go on to the regional level more than once.

The Mistress Cycle opens the Saturday evening session of the competition June 14 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the festival are available now online at www.emact.org. A full festival pass buys all four sessions for $60 online or $85 at the door. Three-show sessions are available online for $22 or $30 at the door; the four-show Sunday session is $29 in advance and $40 at the door. For more information, visit emact.org or email Festival@emact.org.