The 2013 Middle School Play Festival was held on March 16 at Kings Mountain High School (Kings Mtn.) and Pinecrest High School (Southern Pines).
Festival Overview
At the NCTC Middle School Play 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. Performers have 45 minutes to tell their story and leave the stage completely clear. Following their performance, participants 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 festival, numerous awards are presented at an exciting ceremony that celebrates the achievements of all participants. You can read more about awards and adjudication here.
Registration for the Play Festival is limited to NCTC member schools. Detailed registration information can be found here.
The goals of the NCTC Play Festival are to showcase theatre arts 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.
How Festival Participation Aligns with the NC Essential Standards for Theatre Arts Education
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 literary texts and performances and also analyze theatre in terms of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which it was created.
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 Middle School Play Festival Sponsors
