The 2013 High School Play Festival program begins with 8 regional festivals, November 1-2 and November 8-9.
The two Distinguished Plays from each regional site will advance to the State Festival, November 21-22 at Greensboro College.
Festival Overview
The 2012 NCTC High School Play Festival showcased the work of approximately 3,000 students from 87 schools, in 118 productions. At the NCTC Festival, schools from all across the state come together to share their talents and celebrate their collective achievements.
The basic premise of the Festival is that schools load-in their set into a backstage area that is approximately 10′x10′, before taking the stage to perform their play. Students have 45 minutes to tell their story and leave the stage completely clear. Following their performance, students receive verbal and written feedback from industry experts. When not performing, students watch performances from other schools, learn from their peers and make new theatre friends. You can read more about festival preparation and rules here.
At the end of the two-day festival, numerous awards are presented in an exciting ceremony that celebrates the achievements of all participants. You can read more about awards and adjudication here.
Festival Eligibility
Registration for the Play Festival is limited to NCTC member schools. A list of NCTC current member schools can be found here. If you have additional questions about your membership status, please contact amanda@nctc.org. Individual teacher membership is appreciated, but schools must pay organization membership dues in order to be eligible for the Festival. Teachers may not combine groups of students from different schools. All students participating must be enrolled in the registered school and must be in grades 9-12.
North Carolina public schools, private schools, magnet schools and charter schools are eligible to register for the High School Play Festival, if they are members of NCTC. All other groups will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must contact NCTC to seek permission to register. Request permission by emailing angelahays@nctc.org prior to August 15; no special cases will be considered after this date.
2013 Registration Fees and Procedures
Play Festival registration fills up very quickly with many sites filling up during the early registration period. Each Festival site will host a maximum of 16 performances. All Festival registration will be complete online, schools can pay with a check or credit card. When registering, teachers rank their top three choices of location and may submit a special request for day or time (these requests are not guaranteed and are handled in the order received). We encourage all schools to attend the entire two-day Festival. Each school may bring an unlimited number of students to the Festival.
Each school may register up to two productions, but the school must register both shows together. Schools must select one teacher, school representative or adult to serve as the contact person for their production(s). The designated contact is the only person who should contact NCTC or the host site regarding questions or concerns. Nothing in this paragraph should be construed to mean that guest artists cannot be involved with the rehearsal and production process.
Early Registration – Opens at 10:00am on August 21 – $335/show
All NCTC organizational memberships run from July 1-June 30 and schools who have paid their NCTC organizational membership dues on time (by August 15) are permitted to register at a reduced rate and during the early registration period.
Late Registration – Opens at 10:00am on August 26 – $365/show
Play Festival registration fills up very quickly. It is possible all slots could be taken during the early registration period. If any Festival slots remain after early registration, late registration will be open to schools that were not eligible for early registration, and for those who did not take advantage of the opportunity. Schools will pay their organizational membership dues when registering in this period.
2013 Play Festival Locations
November 1-2 Regional Festivals:
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
Kings Mountain High School (Kings Mountain)
Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory)
Washington High School (Washington)
November 8-9 Regional Festivals:
Mt. Tabor High School (Winston-Salem)
Rocky River High School (Mint Hill)
Union Pines High School (Cameron)
Watauga High School (Boone)
State Festival: November 21-22 at Greensboro College
How Festival Participation Aligns with the NC Essential Standards for Theatre Arts Education
Though the NCTC Play Festival is somewhat competitive, our goals are to showcase theatre programs and give students a nurturing environment to improve their work. More importantly though, the Festival platform allows teachers to fulfill the NC Essential Standards for Theatre Arts, through an exciting, hands-on learning experience.
In the Play Festival rehearsal process, students use movement, voice, and writing to communicate ideas and feelings. Students are taught to understand how to design technical theatre components, such as costumes, sets, props, makeup, lighting, and sound, when they design and construct the production design elements for their Festival show. At the NCTC Festival, students use performance to communicate ideas and feelings.
By watching performances from other schools, students develop critical thinking skills and learn to understand the traditions, roles, and conventions of theatre as an art form. At the Festival, young artists analyze theatre in terms of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which it was created. The opportunity to vote on one of the winning shows encourages students to thoughtfully study and analyze literary texts and performances of their fellow theatre artists.
In addition to these essential lessons, students receive valuable feedback from industry experts which helps to improve the quality of theatre programs in schools across the state and encourages students to strive for excellence.
New Participants – The Play Festival can seem complicated and overwhelming at first, but we are here to help. If you are a new participant this year and have any questions, please contact us and we will talk you through the process and can even connect you with an experienced participant to help you in your first year. Email Executive Director Angie Hays at angelahays@nctc.org.
Questions?
If you have questions about your membership status, contact NCTC General Manager Amanda Clark at amanda@nctc.org.
If you have questions about festival rules and procedures, contact NCTC Executive Director Angie Hays at angelahays@nctc.org.
2013 High School Play Festival Sponsors
