2022-2023 #
- Allowance for schools to enter more than one performance with only one production participating in person for any contest level, but limiting actors to participating in one cast, but not limiting crew participation [p. 3, #2.3]. This allows a school to submit second, third, etc., one-act entries virtually, e.g., for class/student-directed works.
- Directors are now required to note any weaponry (not just firearms) they will have in their production. This was added due to risk management concerns, and to proactively ensure safety measures are in place. [p. 3, #4.2]
- An additional registration field for character descriptions has been added (on SpeechWire).
- Slight edits to evaluation sheet to streamline adjudication; made running notes optional for adjudicators [p. 11-12].
2021-2022 #
- Special dispensations for the 2021-22 season:
- Each school may enter only one one-act entry for in-person festivals; any number or all a school’s entries may be submitted virtually. A school can move any performance between virtual and in-person, as long as not more than one show is performing at in-person festivals at any level (District, Section, State).
- For each virtual one-act submission, the school must provide an adjudicator who can evaluate three shows (the same adjudicator may be used for up to three one-acts, or an evaluation commitment of 9 shows). For each adjudicator not provided, a school will be assessed a $100 uncovered adjudicator fee for each festival level.
- For in-person festivals, the festival manager will arrange for adjudicators as has been past practice.
- Set-up/strike must happen within the 40-minute, bare stage to bare stage time limit; directors should take into account public health safety guidelines for social distancing, and adjust their timing, accordingly.
- Directors may continue to opt-in to have adjudicators consider lighting and/or sound choices as part of their evaluation. Since resources vary among participating schools, answering “no” protects schools who do not have sound/light systems, while answering “yes” gives schools who do an opportunity to be evaluated on how those choices enhance the production.
- Adjudicators will no longer give arbitrary recommendations; rather, an average of each set of scores will determine which entries advance to the next contest level and to determine State awards, except for Acting [see Handbook].
- Evaluation: slight revisions to evaluation criteria and addition of criterion for crew as cohesive unit [see Handbook].
2020-2021 #
- Special dispensations for the 2020 virtual season:
- Schools may enter more than one play.
- Each entry may be recorded in-person with students socially distanced and wearing masks.
- Set-up/strike is not part of the 40-minute time limit; set(s) should already be assembled when recording starts.
- Only one adjudicator vote to advance is required to move on to the next festival level.
- District and sectional festivals will be statewide windows of asynchronous evaluation.
- Directors may opt-in to have adjudicators consider lighting and/or sound choices as part of their evaluation. Since resources vary among participating schools, answering “no” protects schools who do not have sound/light systems, while answering “yes” gives schools who do an opportunity to be evaluated on how those choices enhance the production (see Adjudication section, p. 17-21).
2019-2020 #
- Rule #3 pertaining to the use of prop firearms added in “Rules and Policies for Theatre.”
- Evaluation sheet and adjudicator instructions revised with more streamlined criteria and a numerical rubric (see Adjudicator Guidelines to the right).
- Directors may opt-in to have adjudicators consider lighting and sound choices as part of their evaluation and to include adjudicators’ recommendations to advance/stop, as well as awards at the State Festival (p. 9). Since resources vary among participating schools, answering “no” protects schools who do not have sound/light systems, while answering “yes” gives schools who do an opportunity to be evaluated on how those choices enhance the production (see Adjudication section, p. 17-21).
- For the State Festival, Oustanding Acting awards were re-consolidated from the previous season’s bifurcated “lead” and “supporting” designations.
