2024 NCTC Middle School Play Festival
March 8-9 (two day Festival): Blumenthal Performing Arts, Booth Playhouse, Charlotte
March 9 (single day Festival): Reidsville High School, Reidsville
About the Festival
Each spring, the NCTC Middle School Play Festival brings together students from across NC to share their talents, receive feedback from industry professionals and celebrate theatrical excellence.
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. At the end of the Festival, numerous awards are presented in an exciting ceremony that celebrates the achievements of all participants.
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. 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 (8.C.1). 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 (8.AE.1). At the NCTC Festival, students use performance to communicate ideas and feelings (8.C.2).
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 (8.CU.2). At the Festival, young artists analyze theatre in terms of the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which it was created (8.CU.1). 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 (8.A.1).
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.
Assistance for New Teachers
The Play Festival can seem complicated and overwhelming at first, but we are here to help. If you are a new participant and have any questions, please contact us and we will help you with the process, and can even connect you with an experienced teacher to serve as your mentor in your first year. Email tiffany@nctc.org.
Teachers participating in the Middle School Play Festival for the first time are eligible for a 50% discount on Play Festival registration!
Statewide Sponsor
This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.