Information Packet Tuesday,Nov. 1, 2016
Questions & Answers What are School Days at the Texas Renaissance Festival? School Days is a two day event when the Texas Renaissance Festival opens its gates exclusively to school groups grades K-12. The 55-acre New Market Village, an authentic recreation of a 16th century township, comes alive with interactive characters, live demonstrations, performers and stage shows appropriate for school age children. This year, School Days will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 1 st and 2nd, with the Theatre Arts Festival held on Tuesday, November 1st. What is the Theatre Arts Festival at School Days? Our Theatre Arts Festival is an adjudicated competition which offers students from secondary grade levels the chance to perform works of classical theater in an authentic Renaissance setting. Students in grades 6 th - 12 th are invited to compete in one act play, or as individuals or groups in Monologues, Duet Scenes, and Group Acting Scenes. All performances will be adjudicated by experiences and credentialed theater professionals. How Much Does It Cost to Enter the Theatre Arts Festival? There is no fee to register your students for the competition. The only purchase necessary is your admission to School Days. Admission tickets are $9 for students, teachers and chaperones. Bus drivers enter free by showing their CDL at the gate. Tickets must be purchased in advance to secure the performance time slot. What are the specifics on Time Limits and Piece Selections? All competitions have their own time limits. International Thespian Society competition time limits inform TRF s time limits. One Act (Short) Plays are limited to 30 minutes, with a five minute allotment for both set up and strike (total time is 40 minutes) Group scenes have an 8 minute time limit. Duet scenes have a 5 minute time limit. Monologues have a 3 minute limit. Each group scene, duet, or monologue should have a slate (introduction), which must be done at the beginning and must include only the entrants name(s), school, title of selection, and the name(s) of the playwright(s). Time will begin once the entrant speaks after conclusion of the introduction. Piece selections should reflect the theme of the festival. Selections must be chosen from works of early classical theater (Greek, Renaissance, Elizabethan/Jacobean or Restoration era) or contemporary works set in those periods. Selections may be of either dramatic or comedic nature. Selections from films are not permitted. Pieces for the One Act Play can consist of a complete one act play or scenes from a longer work cut down to fit within the prescribed time limits. What is Provided for Use? Scenic provisions: one act play- three wooden benches, all other categories- one wooden bench. Schools may bring any scenery, including UIL set pieces, but they must be stored on your vehicle and be able to be carried through the front gate to your venue, and loaded in and out within your time. As we are an outdoor venue no lighting equipment is needed or provided. Each One Act stage also has nearby bathrooms in which students may change into costumes but no formal dressing rooms are provided.
We apologize but we do not have space for costume or prop storage throughout the day. One Acts are welcome to bring a portable battery operated stereo but microphones and other such sound equipment is not permitted. Please note that not all performance spaces are equipped with power. Are There Any Type of Awards Given at the Theatre Arts Festival? Yes. At the end of the day a special Royal Awards Ceremony will be held at which the top scoring students in each age group and category will receive awards. Winners who are not present for the ceremony will receive their awards in the mail. The first place One Acts may also be invited to return and perform their show during one of our regular Texas Renaissance Festival weekends. Who is Allowed to Enter the Theatre Arts Festival? Registration is open to all secondary Public, Private, and Home School groups who wish to perform. What if my students are multiple grade levels in the same scene? Any entry with students in multiple grade levels must register the entry under the level of the oldest student s grade level. How Do I Register for the Theatre Arts Festival? Register at the following web link: Important: You do not have to have your ticket order and payment ready at the time you register. In the past, we have had schools wait until ticket orders were ready and they were too late! Tickets orders must be received by 10/21. The deadline to be scheduled for all events is Friday, October 7, 2016. Due to time and space constraints, all competitions have a limited number of spots and entries are accepted on a first come first serve basis. Performance schedules will not be made until after this date. School Days opens at 8:30 and first entries into the competition start soon after. The last group will perform prior to 3:30 Awards Ceremony. If you have known conflicts on performance times due to travel, please declare it on the registration forms. Registration is available online at tehttp://texrenfestinfo.com/school-days-early-music-festival.
Official Information Purpose: To encourage students to explore the varied forms of classical theatre and to discover the joy of performance. Festival Date: November 1s5, 2016 Competition Categories: One Act Play (limit one entry per school): All slots have a 40 minute time limit which includes set and strike. Ground Plans for the performance stages are available upon request. Complete registration includes registration form and ticket order. Group Scenes (limit four entries per school): Groups are defined as 3-8 students. All performances have an 8 minute time limit. One bench will be available at the performance space for use. Duet Scenes (limit five entries per school): Two students per entry. All performances have a 5 minute time limit. One bench will be available at the performance space for use. Monologues (limit six entries per school): All performances have a 3 minute time limit. One bench will be available at the performance space for use. Adjudication: Theatre Arts Festival performances will be adjudicated by experienced and accredited theatre professionals. Awards Ceremony: Awards will be presented at 3:30. Middle school awards are at the Odeon Stage, High School at the Globe Stage. Winners who are not present will receive their awards in the mail. Competition Guidelines: Piece selections should reflect the theme of the festival. Selections must be chosen from works of early classical theatre (Greek, Renaissance, Elizabethan/Jacobean or Restoration era) or contemporary works set in those periods. Selections may be of either dramatic or comedic nature. Selections from film are not permissible. Students who slate a film title will not be permitted to perform their pieces. Selections for the One Act Play can consist of a complete one act play or scenes from a longer work cut down to fit within the prescribed time limit. Students may enter as many competition categories they so choose but only one entry per student per category is permitted. Important change for 2016: Only 1 one act play, 4 group scenes, 5 duet scenes, and 6 monologues may be entered per school. A teacher may enter more, but the first ones entered will be scheduled, those that go beyond the allotted number will be put on the wait list. Any entries received after October 7 will be put on the waiting list and scheduled one event at a time as slots open up. Directors in the One Act competition must provide a copy of their final cut script and a copy of permission to perform by Friday, September 30 (mail to the TRF office, 21778 FM 1774, Todd Mission, TX, 77363, attn.: School Days). These scripts will be mailed to the adjudicators so that they can prepare. Photo copies are NOT acceptable. Time limits will be strictly adhered to. Performances extending past the time limit will be stopped but still scored. There are no minimum time limits in any category. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Bathrooms may be used to change into costumes but there are no formal dressing rooms. Bathrooms are open to the public and clothing/costumes should not be left unattended inside them. Props are allowed in all contests but no storage space will be provided throughout the day.
Adjudicators will judge performances based on prescribed guidelines and use an official adjudication form. Copies of the adjudication forms will be made available to sponsors upon request. Directors will receive a copy of the judges final adjudication forms through the mail following the Performance Festival event. Registration: Directors should complete registration online at http://texrenfestinfo.com/school-days-earlymusic-festival. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE YOUR TICKET ORDER READY TO GO AHEAD AND REGISTER! Registration deadline to be scheduled for all events is Friday, October 7, 2016. One registration form per entry is required. Student names are required for registration. If piece selections are unknown at the time of entry, TBA is a permissible substitution. Titles must be submitted to TRF by October 21 to be vetted. Please submit changes to registration via email at schooldays@texrenfest.com. Changes may be substitution of students only in group scene or duet categories. In monologues, only drops are accepted. If a student is being cross entered in multiple categories, TRF will make every reasonable effort to ensure they have time between each. Please make indication under Special Needs section. Registration Form in the Theatre Arts Festival does not include admission to School Days. School Days tickets must be ordered separately. A ticket order form may be obtained through the Texas Renaissance Festival Website (www.texrenfest.com) or calling the TRF office at (800) 458-3435. Entries will not be complete or scheduled until a ticket order is made. Deadline for ticket orders (including payment) is October 21st. Please contact the School Days Coordinator at schooldays@texrenfest.com or 281-356-2178 if you have ticket issues. Judging Criteria: Students will be scored on a point scale system in each of the following areas: Interpretation: The students performance presents a distinct style, pace and a clear understanding of the emotional intent of the selection. Staging: Blocking is natural and appropriate to the scene. Vocalization: The students performance includes clear enunciation and projection. Dialects, if present, are accurately performed and understandable. Characterization: The students present distinct, well-defined characters. Actors respond truthfully and remain present throughout the performance. Ensemble: The students work as a team, supporting each other, responding to each other. Focus is shared appropriately. **Not included in the Monologue Competition. Memorization: The students performance is a thoroughly memorized piece. Overall Presentation: Assessment of the overall performance of the selection. Bonus: Judges may award bonus points to any performance score for costumes, difficulty of the piece, overcoming difficult situations, at judge s discretion. These points are only used in case of a tie. Please notify the festival office of changes to your entries up until 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 28. At that time, no more changes will be entered. You may, if needed, notify your stage manager or
adjudicator if a change has been made that TRF didn t update properly on the adjudication form.