General Rules and Guidelines

These Rules are specific to DISTRICT XI Festival. For the STATE rules please see the state website at www.floridathespians.com

1. Entries may come from published plays, original works, or cuttings from full length plays. Both musicals and non musicals are acceptable. Readers’ theatre or chamber theatre pieces are not allowed.
2. Each Troupe is permitted to submit only one entry.
3. There is a one year performance moratorium on plays presented at the State Festival. Please see the list in the link above.
4. Proof of the payment of royalties must accompany registration. Written permission for cuttings and/or original work must be included if applicable.
5. The playwright must be included on the registration form.
6. For a one act play to perform at the State Festival it must be performed at and receive a Superior rating at the district level, and be chosen by the judges as a state selected play.
7. All schools must be currently affiliated with the International Thespian Society to perform at Districts.
8. The number of Superior rated plays permitted to showcase at the State Festival will be determined by the following formula:
• 1-6 plays performed at District— 1 play sent to State.
• 7- 12 plays performed at District— 2 plays sent to State.
• 13-18 plays performed at District— 3 plays sent to State.
• 19-24 plays performed at Districts— 4 plays sent to State.
• 25 or more plays performed at Districts— 5 plays sent to State.
9. State selected plays are chosen as follows:
• One show will be selected as Critic's Choice by the judges. This show must have earned a Superior of any score and will automatically be eligible for state.
• The remaining state selected shows based on the number in the formula above will be selected by overall numerical score.
• One runner-up will be selected based on overall score in case one of the selected shows cannot attend State. This has to be decided by the state mail in date for registration.

At the discretion of the District Chair, violation of any One Act rule at the District Festival will prevent a Troupe’s selection for One Act performance at the State Festival, and may prevent that troupe from performing for a period of one year.

1. All students involved with the one act must be currently enrolled students attending classes at the same school as the Troupe presenting the one act. Home schooled students may be included in a troupe’s production if those students reside within the boundaries of that school. An exception will be made for any Troupe Director who runs the lights or sound for the production.
2. A written critique of each participating Troupe’s one act performance will be given to the Troupe Director.
3. The cast of the play being performed at the State Festival must be the same as the one performed at the District Festival. The State Director must be informed of any changes due to extreme circumstances. Permission to make such a change is at the discretion of the State Director.
4. The performance appearing at the State Festival should be presented as closely as possible as it was performed at the District Festival which should be performed as closely as possible to the one approved by the school’s principal. If the production does not meet community standards at the troupe’s school, it will not meet them anywhere else.
5. One Act Plays must be asterisked if needed in the registration system.
6. One act plays must be directed by the Troupe Director as listed on official Troupe documents, a full time school employee or a currently enrolled student under the Director's supervision.
7. Five programs for each presented play should be provided by the Troupe. These programs will be collected at the Stage Manager/Directors’ meeting. Additional programs may be made available to the audience at the Troupe’s discretion.
8. No advertising may appear in programs distributed during the festival.
9. Prior to a performance, no chewing gum, drinks, food, or smoking is permitted on stage, backstage, or in the loading dock.
10. All remnants of any food or drink consumed in the dressing rooms must be removed before the room is vacated. Dressing rooms must be left at least as clean as they were when each troupe occupied them.

Load In/Out and Pre-Show

1. A working cell phone number must be supplied by each participating troupe’s Troupe Director. The Troupe Director must remain available for communication during the entire section of time between load-in and load-out including performance.
2. All Troupes must adhere to the published load-in load-out schedule.
3. Once a truck has unloaded or is loaded it must be moved out of the dock area as quickly as possible to make room for another truck.
4. Each Troupe will be allotted a storage area in the scene shop. This area will be a clearly defined 6’ x 9’ rectangle.
5. No item in the 6’ x 9’ storage area may be placed on top of another item to create a stack in excess of 6’ total height.
6. Each Troupe will be given a thirty minute make-up and costume period in a dressing room.
7. No costumes or stage make-up may be worn before entering the dressing room at each performing troupe’s assigned time on the day of the Troupe’s performance.
8. Do not put costumes or makeup in the set box, you will be unable to retrieve it before you go into the dressing room.
9. A Troupe requiring more time to execute elaborate make-up, hair-dos, or other business must indicate this request from the District Chair via email. This request should include an estimate of how much additional time will be needed and a description of why it will be needed. Permission will be granted based on this information.
10. The director and stage manager of each one act are required to attend a meeting at a scheduled time after load-in and prior to the beginning of that section of one acts. Each participating Troupe will be informed in advance as to the location and time of this meeting. This is a very important meeting; attendance is mandatory.
11. All those involved in loading in/out should dress as stage hands. No overly baggy clothing, skirts, or long hair hanging loose.
12. Everyone working on the loading dock must wear appropriate shoes. This includes students, directors, Troupe Directors, technicians, helpers, parents, chaperones, and board members. Appropriate footwear includes closed toe, closed heel, low heel shoes such as tennis shoes or work boots. Examples of unacceptable shoes include sandals, flip-flops, slippers, clogs, high heels, sling backs, etc.
13. All sets must be ready for production prior to loading in. Only basic, normal reassembly of set pieces will be permitted. Unusually complicated construction, sawing, painting, etc. in the opinion of the District Chairr will not be permitted in any area of the venue.
14. The venue will not supply tools to any Troupe for set construction or assembly.
15. Running is forbidden anywhere in any venue.
16. Once a Troupe has loaded in its set and props, all those in that block may walk the stage until the technical meeting.
17. The stage wings, loading area, or dressing room hallways may not be used as a rehearsal space.
18. Do not loiter or assemble on the loading dock, in the hallways or back stage at any time.
19. All Troupe items, including but not limited to props, set pieces, costumes, make-up, backpacks, etc, must be removed at the scheduled load-out. Any item left after the scheduled load-out will be discarded.
20. All personal items must be removed from the dressing rooms. All items left in the dressing rooms will be discarded before the next Troupe’s time in the room begins.

Performance

1. No video or audio recording is permitted during any one act performance.
2. Prior to performances all performers and technicians must remain in assigned dressing rooms until given permission to leave.
3. Each troupe will be given Five (5) minutes to take their set from the box in the scene shop to the wings.
4. Each troupe will be allotted FORTY (40) minutes to move their set from the designated offstage WING area to the stage, perform their one act and return everything to the offstage BOX. The adult in charge of one-acts has the discretion to move your one act to the wing at a more appropriate time to ensure a safe orderly turnover. The troupe is well served in choosing a one act that has 30 minutes or less of actual performance time.
5. Troupes that exceed the time limit at District Festival will not be selected for the State Festival. Plays may be stopped if the District Chair determines a show going over time will delay the schedule of the next play.
6. Technicians working sound or lights, and stage managers may move to their locations five minutes prior to the beginning of his/her Troupe’s performance time.
7. Time begins immediately after the student state representative informs the Troupe stage manager to begin.
8. Time ends when the stage manager informs the District Chair that everything is “Clear”, the stage is inspected, and the District Chair agrees with the Troupe’s stage manager. To facilitate this, the District Chair should closely monitor the entire action. Time does not end until the District Chair has certified every thing is truly clear, the stage is cleaned of all debris, and everything is safely stored in box offstage.
9. The official time will be kept by the District Chair or an adult appointed by them who may at their discretion appoint other timekeepers to help verify their times. The District Chair is responsible for recording the official time.
10. No cues or actions are permitted before or after these two calls of “Go” and “Clear” by the stage manager except as required by the District Chair, backstage technical judge or House Manager/Coordinator.
11. All music and/or sound effects must be contained within the forty minute time limit.
12. No Troupe Director is allowed backstage during his/her Troupe’s allotted time. Backstage is defined as any area involved with the production of the one act that is not seen by the audience.
13. Troupe Directors may run lighting or sound from the booth for their show. Troupe Directors requesting this exception must submit this desire in writing with their registration.
14. Troupe Directors or any other adult may not assist students in any way during the allotted time except as specified above.
15. Only registered members of the performing school’s cast and crew, venue technicians, adjudicators, and those granted permission by the District Chair are permitted backstage during any performance.
16. Headsets and technician communication during a performance will be provided by each venue. The use of any other method of electronic communication is not allowed.
17. The use of a follow spot is not permitted.
18. Fly systems are not available at districts.
19. Curtains may be pre-set before the performance starts. Curtains will be run by the venue technicians and must be cued as part of the stage manager's job.
20. The use of any aerosol products (including but not limited to hairspray, hair color, cleaning products, etc.) must be completely contained. None of the product can escape to the floor or curtains in any venue. Spray paint is not allowed anywhere in the venue.
21. No food or drink may be used on stage without the prior written approval of the District Chair. Include the need to consume food or beverages on stage with your registration.
22. The use of smoke, fire, candles, matches, butane lighters, haze, fog, pyrotechnical effects or any other form of an open flame is strictly forbidden.
23. Prop Guns: A prop gun may be used if essential to the scene as long as it meets the following criteria:
1. The gun prop may have no moving parts.
2. The gun prop must have a solid filled barrel.
3. Students may not carry or transport the prop gun to or from the performance site.
4. Prop guns must be presented to the District Chair before the performance for inspection.
24. After the performance has ended and the District Chair has called "CLEAR", the troupe will move their set from the box onstage all the way to the loading dock outside. Some of the judges will meet them there to give their oral critique. After the critique, the performers can go back to the dressing room and the crew can start removing their set to the parking lot.
25. The spraying, throwing, sprinkling, spilling, dropping, or scattering of any liquid, powder, cleaning product, or any substance that can not be removed completely by a broom as a part of the strike is strictly forbidden. Special care should be taken if any form of glitter, powder, or confetti is used as a part of a production, costume or make-up. All remnants must be removed from the floor before each troupe’s allotted time expires.
26. Since brooms may not be available at all venues, each participating Troupe should supply its own. The lack of a broom will not be an excuse for not cleaning the stage within the allotted time.
27. Do not jump off or on to the stage from the apron before, after, or during a performance.
28. Please be aware of the area microphones on the floor of the apron. They are not “Thespian Speed Bumps.” Plan your blocking so that all members of your Troupe’s cast and crew remains in the designated acting area.
29. If you need to plug in anything to a power outlet, let a member of the house crew know before your performance time starts so they can direct you to the closest outlet.
30. Refrain from handling or touching any curtains or masking material. Even touching a curtain with the cleanest hand can reduce the life of material.
31. Do not use masking, duct, Scotch, or any other tape on the stage floor. If you need to spike the stage, secure approval from the venue staff.
32. Do not touch or use anything that does not belong to you or your Troupe. This includes, but is not limited to, ladders, stage weights, chairs, etc.
33. The initial set up and strike for every one act play must be done in full view of the audience.

One Act Technical Information

We use a standard lighting plot for our festival that is similar to what you will encounter at state. Click the link below to download it for your referance and design.

One Act Lighting Plot

Use this layout as a reference for your students to familiarize themselves with the console at the venue. All lighting will be set up on faders both individually and in full and half stage groups. There is no programming allowed.

One Act Lighting Board Layout

One Act Technical Suggestions

There are normally 2 technical judges for One Acts. One will sit with the performance judges to judge tech from the audience perspective, one will sit backstage.

The judges do not judge for QUANTITY of tech, they judge QUALITY. Just because you do a hundred cues does not mean you will get a superior from them, nor does only having a lights up and down cue mean you will get a low score. They are judging based off of design AND execution.

The backstage judge will be looking for how smoothly your crew operates both before the 40 minute time and during. How well did they get into the wings? How did they move the set on to stage? How organized were they when they brought it back to the box. They will also be judging your stage manager. How was the prompt book set up? How well did they call the cues? How did they handle something going wrong? Was the crew acting professionally when they had nothing to do backstage? Is everyone acting in a safe manor?

The front of house judge will be looking for other, more design based choices. How smoothly did the scene change go? Did you have dead space where maybe you could have put some music? How did the lighting concept work? Could you have done more than just a wash on stage to make things more effective? Was the set effective and useful for the production, or was it overly complicated? How well did the costumes fit the idea of the show? How did the make up work for the show? Were details overlooked by the director?

Remember, the judges are judging the directing choices as much as the performers. Because these judges are judging two very different aspects of a show, it is good to remember that their ratings could be very different.

If we we have an issue with a judge not showing up, the single tech judge would be responsible for running back and forth and judging all of these aspects.