Student Blog: Did You Just Say 'Theatre Competition?'

Prior to joining my current school’s theatre program, I was incredibly unfamiliar with the concept of a theatre competition. It is not nearly as self-explanatory as an athletic competition, where the competitive nature of the activity is a large representation of its very purpose. Theatre is usually designed to be a collaborative art form, but competitions for high-school thespians give us the opportunity to express our suppressed competitive instincts and use the skills we have developed in a “win-or-lose” environment. Of course, the primary goal of a competition is always to learn and grow, not win, but the winning sure does help.

Each competition has its own level of leniency and general style to be expected, but most stem from the highest award a high school thespian can receive, the Thespy Awards, which are awarded at the International Thespian Festival in June each year (which my school hosts quite a few winners of - both current students and alumni). The two that I attend each competition season are the Hamilton Theatre Competition, which is hosted by a high school in my school district and is designed to prepare students for regional competitions, and my regional competition: the Eastern Arizona Festival of Theatre (EAFT). EAFT is the formal competition that feeds into the Thespys, while Hamilton Competition (or HamComp for short), is more of a practice round. At my school, our Junior Company Theatre ensemble is required to go to HamComp each December, as well as Tech Theatre II students who are not registered thespians through the International Thespian Society (ITS). Company Theatre students have the option of going to HamComp to get feedback on their EAFT pieces, and most do. Company Theatre students and Tech II students who are registered thespians through ITS are required to go to EAFT each January. But, once we get there, what do we do? How does one “compete” a subjective art form?

Competitions function similarly to the Olympics, with each thespian choosing to bring a variety of “events.” There are both performing and tech-based events. These events are then further divided into independent events (IEs) and group events (GEs). Performing IEs include Monologues (2 1-minute monologues back to back), Duo Scene (a 2-person scene), Solo Musical (a solo song), Duo Musical (a musical duet), Solo Dance (a solo dance combo), and Duo Dance (a 2-person dance combo). Performing GEs include Group Acting (a 3-16 person scene), Group Musical (a 3-16 person song), and Group Dance (a 3-16 person dance combo). Performing events encompass the three disciplines of theatre and allow a thespian to play to their strengths, since they are also required to choose their own pieces and prepare them to be graded at the competition. For performers and technicians alike, choosing which pieces to perform/design for/present on is a pivotal part of this process. Balancing between aiming to grow and playing to one's strengths is a difficult task. Tech IEs include costume construction, costume design, lighting design, makeup design, playwriting, scenic design, short film production, sound design, stage management, and theatre marketing. For tech IEs, technicians prepare a presentation (the length of which varies from event to event) to give directly to a panel of judges. The only tech GE is Tech Challenges, which is a series of relay-style team games based on technical theatre tasks, such as knot-tying, constructing a platform, folding a tarp, coiling an electrical cable, hanging a stage light, threading a sewing machine, and more.

HamComp and EAFT both grade thespians on the rubrics that they will be graded on at the Thespys (all of which can be viewed here). What number the score is taken out of will vary based on the event, but is always divided into four titles: Fair, Good, Excellent, and the all-coveted Superior. For example, the Musical Theatre Performance (which encompasses Solo, Duo, and Group Musical events) Rubric is taken out of 24, with Fair earning a score of 6-8, Good earning a score of 9-14, Excellent earning a score of 15-20, and Superior earning a score of 21-24. Again, the specifics of these numbers vary by event, but that is the general pattern. Each event is always judged by three judges, the average of whose scores determines overall placement. Judges are usually teachers, alumni, college theatre students, college theatre professors, and community theatre figures. To qualify for the Thespys at a regional competition (EAFT in my case), one must earn an average of a Superior from the three judges. To make that happen, one must earn either all Superiors or 2 Superiors and 1 Excellent. This process works somewhat differently at HamComp for performers (not as much for technicians). At HamComp, after presenting your piece(s), the top however many performers at the compettition progress onto a Semi-Final Round, where they present their pieces again to another panel of judges, and from there on to Finals. Thus, at the end of the day, we are left with a winner in each category, along with 4 runner-ups. The top three receive medals, and fourth and fifth place receive certificates. This is the key difference between EAFT and HamComp: at EAFT (the official competition that qualifies you for the Thespys), you only have to perform each piece once, but at HamComp, you may end up having to do each piece up to three times.  Thus, at EAFT all you walk away with is your scores. HamComp throws in the awards, which have the double result of recognizing the best of the best while also sometimes making the kids who were almost there feel a little less proud of themselves.

HamComp does not have any sort of regulation as to how many/what kinds of pieces that thespians can perform, as long as the troupe provides an adequate amount of judges for the competition and pays the appropriate fees. EAFT, however, only allows thespians to bring a maximum of 3 IEs and 3 GEs for a total maximum of 6 events, without doubling up on any events. So, a thespian could not bring two solo musicals to EAFT, even though that would technically be under the limit of three IEs since they would be bringing two of the same event. For example, I brought the following events to EAFT: Solo Musical (“Time” from Tuck Everlasting), Duo Musical (“Best Kept Secret” from Bare with Austin Duran), Duo Scene (from “Rabbit Hole” with Ray Hare), which was all of the 3 IEs I was allowed to bring, and a Group Musical (“38 Planes (Reprise)/Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere” from Come From Away with Company). There are other rules and general guidelines involved for competitions as well, all of which are stricter at EAFT and the Thespys than at HamComp. Thespians can get disqualified for wearing anything that is not black. The dress code is professional all-black attire, including tights, shoes, shoelaces, hairpieces, any and all parts of any of the main sections of an outfit: everything. In general, a neutral look helps one to play any assortment of characters without changing outfits or providing anyone with the unfair advantage of a high-quality costume. The general aim of all of the rules is to limit any advantages, so set is restricted to tables and chairs that the competition provides, and props are not allowed at all. This also tests the thespian’s ability to pantomime. Technicians, however, can present their project on any variety of digital or physical media that they provide. 

So, for those of you who may be wondering how EAFT went for me, I averaged a Superior on all of my IEs. My partner and I even earned perfect scores from all three judges on our Duo Scene. I plan to bring my Solo Musical to the Thespys at ITF over the summer, and hopefully bring home an award there. Theatre competitions definitely have their pros and cons. While general disorganization can lead to issues, there is also the overarching question of how to quantify a subjective art, as well as the elements of luck and strategy. For example, it is a well-known fact that ballads do not do well at HamComp. For whatever reason, that is just always the case. So, thespians strategize around that. Competitions do provide future opportunities as well as giving students great practice in choosing pieces that suit them well, which will be beneficial in later auditions, in addition to creating a clear space for technicians to be involved and recognized as well. I personally enjoy competition season a great deal, since I get to really analyze, workshop, and dive into characters and hone my skills in a direct manner. What do you think? Would you want to participate in a theatre competition?

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