2024 Secondary Schools Division

Middle School Theatre Festival (MSTF)

Official Handbook

Section 1: The Basics…

Our Why…

We believe in giving all middle school theatre programs a place to showcase, share and celebrate the work going on in their schools by allowing for a middle school theatre festival where all programs can come together from around the state. We believe in authentic and meaningful performance opportunities that help our students and directors grow and challenge themselves to new heights that help to promote and stimulate growth in all theatre programs across the state.

We at the Virginia Theatre Association allow our students to not only showcase their own work, but to also work with others and have opportunities to learn and build connections from across the state.

What is the Middle School Theatre Festival?

The Middle School Theatre Festival is a portion of offerings at the Virginia Theatre Association’s annual conference in October. Each Middle School may apply to be a part of the festival and bring a 45 minute show to be adjudicated and performed for everyone at VTA.

What is the VTA Conference?

The VTA conference is an annual conference celebrating the work of Virginia Theatre that occurs the last week of October. There are many offerings including workshops, the high school and middle school theatre festivals, live performances, college auditions and more. You can make the festival work for you and your students whether you can only come for one day or three!

Important Deadlines:

September 12:: Deadline for Intent To Perform

October 6: Deadline for Declaration Form

October 15: All VTA Conference Payments are due; Please contact hotels and transportation for those deadline details as VTA does not control those.

A Weekend at VTA

All Middle School Performances take place on Saturday starting around 9am and continuing until all schools have performed, there are workshops and performances and other fun events Saturday all day. Middle School awards are a part of our conference wide awards banquet on Saturday evening. Middle School monologues and MT song competition takes place on Friday and Saturday. (But if you are coming on Thursday, that’s great you can participate in monologues and MT song competitions then.)

There is VTA programming from Thursday morning through Sunday midday. With that in mind:

Some middle schools attend for just a day on Saturday. Yes…you can get lots of VTA in this one day!
Some middle schools arrive on Friday, spend Friday night, perform Saturday morning, and stay through the All Conference Awards Banquet on Saturday evening, then go home Saturday night.
Some middle schools arrive on Saturday and spend Saturday night, staying to watch some of the High School Festival Finals on Sunday.
Some middle schools attend the entire conference, particularly when paired up with a high school close to home.

Section 2: Rules and Regulations for the Middle School Theatre Festival (MSTF)

The Basic Rules

Your show selection must fit within the 45-minute time frame which includes your set up, your performance, and your strike. Anything outside of 45 minutes will be cause for disqualification by the MSTF Directors.
You will have a pre-set time of 2 minutes to bring equipment from the holding room hallway/or entrance hallway into the performance room, but not on stage. This is not part of your 45 minute time. You will use this two minutes to put your set pieces in the pre-set area. The pre-set area is the equivalent of the stage wings; however, portions of the pre-set area are in full view of the audience. The students operating the sound board, the light board, or the follow spot may advance to and enter those areas during pre-set. For the strike following your show, every person, prop, set item, or leftover residue must be off the stage and back inside the pre-set area (the wings) before your 45 minutes expires.

Middle School Directors/Teachers may assist their cast and crew as the stage is set and during the strike. The director should remain offstage, leaving the students to begin their work, but middle school teachers/directors only may assist and trouble shoot from the wings or front of stage. The director/teacher may sit at the tech booth or spotlight booth, and may run these technical elements during the show. There should be only 1 adult filling this role and this adult should be the official teacher/director/sponsor.

You must secure rights for your show and submit it to the festival (see checklist below for how to do that), unless it is an original show. If you are using a cutting from a longer show, you must also present proof of permission to cut. Failure to submit your license will result in disqualification. You will need to let us know what show you are performing and provide proof that you have acquired the rights to perform and/or cut the show if it is not an original show. Show Declaration Form
You may only use students who are currently enrolled at your school.
You must have a director employed by your school with your school.
You must bring your own technical crew of students to run all technical aspects of your show. Students may serve dual roles as actors and technicians. The designated adult director is allowed at the light board, sound board, and/or spotlight for the middle school festival only.
Technical Equipment:

The only technical equipment provided by VTA will be a light board with a channel for a warm wash, and a channel for a cool wash (both may be used simultaneously if needed), follow spot and a sound board with aux cord connection for sound.
The control panels for all equipment is in the house behind the last row of the audience. There are no controls backstage.
*It is important to note that the house lights will be controlled by the Conference stage manager for your performance space.
You may not access the VTA technical equipment at any time other than your technical walk through and performance time. Failure to follow this rule may result in disqualification as determined by the High School or Middle School Festival Director.
You may bring additional technology, but you are responsible for connecting your equipment and must provide extension cords.You may plug these in during your two minute pre-set time but may not put them on stage until your 45 minute time begins.

No recording of performances is allowed
Any weapons used on stage (even if they are clearly fake) must be approved by VTA through submission on registration forms. No fire or actual firearms are permitted on stage. Failure to fully comply with this rule will result in disqualification by the MSTF Directors. Weapons Form
No rehearsal time will be given in the stage space before the show.
Staging:

You may not access the stage outside of your 5 minute technical walk through slot as scheduled by the festival.
You may not extend the stage (with platforms, rehearsal blocks, etc.)
Schools may not move the masking, speakers, or stage platforms.
Failure to follow these regulations may result in disqualification as determined by the High School Theatre Festival Director and Middle School Theatre Festival Directors.

12. Storage & Set pieces:

Your set pieces must fit into a 10’ X 10’ space that will be taped on the holding room floor. Set pieces in the 10’X10’ box must not exceed 8 feet in height.
You must put all pieces in the box and have the box checked by the festival staff in the holding room, even if you are bringing your items straight in and planning to go right to the stage.
Individual set pieces should be moveable by one or two students. Nothing excessively heavy should be used. This is a safety issue and helps keep the festival on time.
Failure to follow these regulations may result in disqualification as determined by the High School Theatre Festival Director or Middle School Festival Directors.

13. Disqualification Policy

It is the desire of the VTA Board and Secondary Division that every school desiring to perform and be adjudicated have that opportunity. We will strive to work with schools in the following manner:

Notify schools in advance of licensing and cutting questions, so they can be clarified,
Allow schools an opportunity to correct holding room concerns,
Notify directors if they have gone over time as recorded by two members of the staff,
Keep an open line of communication.

We hope we don’t have to use the Disqualification Policy, but it can be found by clicking on the link.
If you believe you cannot perform within the rules as set forth, but would still like to perform at the conference, please reach out to a VTA Board member or member of the Secondary Team. We may be able to provide an opportunity for you to be showcased without being adjudicated.
It is not the role of teachers, directors, students, chaperones, etc to look for issues in other school performances. Please allow the VTA Staff to enforce its own policies. We ask that you enjoy the shows!

Timeline for Preparation (A Checklist)

August- September:

Submit your registration form to participate in the MSTF found at virginiatheatre.org

Choose your show and secure licensing and request permission for any cuts

Secure your hotels, if needed- links to festival hotels found at virginiatheatre.org

Cast your show and submit your student and director registration forms (Group Registration Form)

Rehearse your show (check out our Best practice document for Rehearsals below)

Secure your transportation to conference

October:

Make sure your invoices are paid and forms are turned in

Double check with your hotels and assign hotel rooms, if needed

Check with transportation for any last-minute changes

Plan a packing list for items to come with you to conference (props, costumes, set pieces, etc)

Competition Point of View (What does it look like during competition)

Director Virtual Sessions	Directors will be given a choice of 2 times before the competition to attend a virtual Director’s Meeting that will address major questions and clarify rules.
Earlier in the day (Schedule set by conference)--Walkthrough	All schools competing will be given a walk-through that consists of 5 minutes. During this time, we recommend the following… --Have your techs check all their lighting and sound cues at the booth --If you are plugging in any additional equipment, please check for outlets and locations --Have your cast walk through their blocking (we recommend assigning a student to run this so you can focus everywhere) --Have your cast and crew discuss set placement (please note: You may not bring your set during walkthrough) --Ask any questions to the Festival Stage Manager during this time. --Check projection levels –Directors may walk on the stage, go to the soundbooth, go to the spotlight, etc. during the walkthrough – Groups will meet outside the holding room five minutes before their scheduled time. –The Holding Room staff will guide school groups to the performance space. –The Performance Room Stage Managers will keep the official time for walkthroughs and will provide a countdown of how much time remains in the walk through -When the 5 minute time elapses all performers and directors must exit the performance space. In other words, you may keep working until 5 minutes is called.
2 Hours before Performance	--Students should get ready while directors prep items for the stage and tech crew.
1-1.5 Hours Before Performance	--Students and Director can move to warm up room. This will be their room to return to after the performance as well.
15 minutes before performance	--Students and Director should line up quietly outside of the holding room and wait for the Holding Room Manager to tell them to enter the holding room. Upon entry, the Holding Room Manager will give directions on what to do. Students should stay quiet as performances are still taking place in theaters adjacent to the holding rooms. --Students will enter the holding zone with their set pieces and wait for the stage manager to give instructions.
Performance Time	--The Stage Manager will say “Middle School, Your Pre-Set Time begins now” --Students and Director will enter into the room and Pre-Set. During Pre-Set, students and directors may position set pieces, and may enter the booth but may not set any items on stage. --Director or student leader should indicate that they have finished if they do not need the entire pre-set time. – The festival staff will leave the stage lights at a 20% level or predetermined level of safety. --Stage Manager will say “Middle School, Your performance time begins now.” –Students can go on stage at this time. --Middle School directors may support students but may not go on stage. --Set up can begin and students are fully in charge of work on the stage. Students or teacher/director are fully in charge at the tech table, and the spotlight area. –At the cue “Middle School Your performance time begins now,” the house lights will be taken out to zero by a member of the festival staff. At that cue the student or teacher from your school can change the lighting levels as needed with a focus on the safety of your team as set up continues. -When your company is ready to begin, your lighting tech can bring the level down to 0% (blackout) as a means of starting the performance. We recommend this blackout following set up to help set your audience up for the performance. --Performance of Show --Immediately following the show, students should remove all items off the stage and into the preset area offstage. As you strike the festival staff will bring the house lights up and the audience will remain seated. Time will not end until all students and equipment has been taken off the stage. Once time is called, set pieces will be moved back into the holding room. Once the set pieces, actors, and technicians have cleared the room, the Stage Manager will ask the audience to leave the performance space (even if they plan to immediately re-enter for the next production.) **Should you wish to perform with the house lights on or wish for the house lights to remain on during your set up, you must communicate this via your Play Declaration Form. The Middle School Theatre Festival Director will contact you in advance to discuss the feasibility of your request. Safety is a priority regarding the houselights, blackouts, and set up. Please note: This time including stage set-up, performance and strike, can only be 45 minutes. No additional time will be given.
Following Performance	--Students and director will return to the holding room and drop off their set --Students and director may attend an optional post-mortem session back in their warm up room.
Post Mortem (Optional Opt In)	--Students and Director will have the option to receive feedback from a fellow theatre artist who watched the show.
Following Post-Mortem	--Students and Director will resume their VTA day

What is provided by VTA MSTF?

Please review this list and ensure that you bring all necessary supplies with you
·Asking for things we don’t have does not disqualify a school or impact scoring, but it does add stress to an already high stress situation and may put students and teachers in a situation where they cannot perform to the best of their ability.

Provided by the Middle School Theatre Festival	NOT provided, but people have asked.
The festival stage measures 30’ wide by 24’ deep by 36” tall. (see diagram on last page of Handbook)	Additional stage platforms
Black Masking/black pipe and drape to frame the stage, which must remain where it is for all school performances
4 sets of steps to access the stage (These steps are not able to be moved. They are typically placed- one at each side of downstage and two at midstage) A diagram of the stage will be provided.	Chairs and tables Hand props
Audience Seating and Aisles will be set up in the same manner for each room and each performance day
Please make sure you indicate that you need an access ramp to the stage for wheelchair use on your show declaration form if you have a student in a wheelchair or a character in your script that requires a wheelchair. If an emergency occurs after you have submitted your show declaration form, email: vtasecondary@gmail.com. The ramp is for student access to the stage, and it is not for moving props and set pieces. The stage will not have a ramp if we do not have any requests.
Standard door access for all people, props, and set pieces.	Access to a loading dock or special access to another door.
Access to simple outlet power. A diagram of the stage and where power outlets are available will be provided.	Extension Cords Access to excessive power outlets.
Lighting: Warm and Cold Wash with an ability to fade up and down. 1 Spotlight per performance space	Colored lights Light operators Additional spotlights
10 X 10 Storage during your performance block(1.5-2 hours before your show and immediately after)	Overnight or all-day storage. Please don’t ask for extra storage space, it just isn’t possible or equitable.
Sound: 1/8” aux cord plugged into the sound board and amplification system	Microphones, CD Players, Laptops, Tablets, QueLab, etc. Piano, Keyboard, Musical Instruments Soundboard operators
A Warmup Room: You will have this room from around an hour before your show time until around half an hour after your show time.	Dressing Rooms**There are restrooms located at the end of the hall where the warm up rooms will be.
2 Minutes of preset time—this is time to preset to the wings, walk to tech booth, move steps, but NOT step onto the stage	Additional preset time
45 Minutes to set, perform, and strike (including moving steps to original position)	Additional performance, set, or strike time.
Walkthrough Time: Each performing school will have a 5-minute walk through in their performance space. The HSTF or MSTF Director will email a schedule for these walkthroughs and this schedule must be followed. During this time students and directors can use the stage, house, technical equipment, check electricity, check projection levels, etc. Schools cannot bring props or set pieces into the room during the walkthrough.	We cannot provide additional walkthrough time.

Section 3: Competition Best Practices for Preparation for MSTF

Make sure you are following along on the Director's Checklist for tasks that should be completed leading up to the festival.

We recommend the following in your rehearsal process.

--Tape out the dimensions of the Stage before your first rehearsal (All VTA stages have the following dimensions: 30’ wide by 24’ deep by 36” tall.

--Carefully design and choose set pieces that work on this stage size and with your actors.

--Rehearse like it was a competition day. Have your students practice their 2 minute pre-set without touching the stage. Then have them practice setting their set pieces and moving into performance and then into strike. This will help to quell a lot of show day anxiety and potential issues.

--Time the run through of your play to make sure you are consistently within time.

--Assign Set Pieces to students to make sure that all items are placed exactly where they need to be.

--Set up your lighting with a warm and cool wash to have students practice with the offerings. If your school doesn’t have access to technical elements, it’s best to just encourage students to make sure actors can be seen the entire time they are performing on stage.

– Discuss the judging rubric with students so they understand what judges are looking for and have them discuss what they think they can work on in their play to make it the best it can be for festival day.

Section 4: Adjudication and Awards

Adjudication

--Every show that performs in the same performance space will be adjudicated by the same set of judges.

-For 2025 adjudicators will use an electronic form to record feedback and scores.

– There is a primary focus on acting, direction and ensemble, but there is a domain on the MSTF rubric for elements that add to the overall production (costumes, set/props,sound cues, etc). The intent is not to put a school that might not have access to technical equipment at a disadvantage in scoring.

--Judges are required to fill in the VTA Adjudication Form while they are viewing individual performances. They will also take a few minutes after the performance is done to finish any comments and scoring. Judges will also keep account of, in their opinions, outstanding performances by individuals. Judges will keep record of these individuals, in the order they believe them to have excelled. Judges will keep their score sheets until all schools have performed.

A sample performance adjudication form is included on the next page.

Awards

Awards will be given at the All Conference Awards Banquet on Saturday evening of the Virginia Theatre Association conference. These awards include, but are not limited to:

Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze award designations for all participating schools.

As a general rule the following point totals will be used to determine award designation by adding judges scores together.

140-150 Points = Platinum
125-139 Points = Gold
110-124 Points = Silver
78-109 Points = Bronze

There is not a mandate or guarantee that all score designations are used.
If needed, the judges, MSTF Director, and HSTF Director will discuss the point spread after scores are turned in to ensure that the Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze designations are representative of the overall festival.

Best Acting Performance Awards (6-8 awards are typically given)
Special recognition of the top scoring performances. There is no 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place, but the top scoring schools will be announced in no particular order.
All-Star Cast (Honorable Mention)

Generally, about 10-20 are awarded (these may be from any cast and schools are not guaranteed recognition for a cast member from their production.)

VTA MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE FESTIVAL ADJUDICATION FORM

SHOW TITLE: SCHOOL NAME: ADJUDICATOR'S NAME:

ACTING	EXCELLENT (4 PTS)	GOOD (3 PTS)	FAIR (2 PTS)	NEEDS WORK (1 PT)
Character Development
Consistency/Believability/Focus
Physicality/Movement
Overall Energy
Articulation/Diction
Projection
Tempo
TOTALS
FINAL TOTAL - Possible max 28

DIRECTION	EXCELLENT (4 PTS)	GOOD (3 PTS)	FAIR (2 PTS)	NEEDS WORK (1 PT)
Blocking/Choreography/Use of Space
Tempo/Pacing
Casting/Use of Actor Strengths
Conceptual Clarity/Interpretation
TOTALS
FINAL TOTAL - Possible max 16
TECHNICAL ELEMENTS Use of costuming, set and props, sound cues, etc. to enhance overall production	EXCELLENT (6 PTS)	GOOD (5 Points	FAIR (4 PTS)	NEEDS WORK (3 PTS)
FINAL TOTAL - Possible max 6

Total Points: _________________________(up to 50 per judge)

Judge’s Signature:____________________________________

Comments on back

VTA Middle School Festival: Acting Awards

Acting Awards: Each judge will nominate up to four actors in a performance as outstanding. Any performer nominated by two out of three judges will be recognized as an All Star Cast Member. Any performer nominated by all three judges will be recognized as top of conference awards. Judges will discuss this at the end of competition as part of the award selection process.

Technical Awards:

Best Technical: Each judge, without consultation with other judges will rank their top 3 schools using the technical rubric as a guide.

Scoring: Each judge’s top scorer will be awarded a score of “3 points” second place will receive “2 points” and 3rd place will receive “1 point.” There can be no ties on a judges Best Technical ballot.

Any school, regardless of room, receiving a first place technical rating from all of the judges in that room will be awarded “Best Technical.” There could potentially be a “Best Technical” from all three rooms.

Should no play in any room receive all 1st place technical ratings, the ordinal scores will be used to award a winner and two honorable mentions. Should there be an ordinal tie, judges will confer and will decide on a winner or decide to give a Best Technical for each room.

**Should the festival have more or fewer participants than projected, the number of awards may change.

Appendix I: Required Forms and Direct Links

VTA Website: VirginiaTheatre.org

Director’s Checklist (2025): Click here!

Intent to Perform Form and registration for festival (One Acts): Click here!

Show Declaration Form (Due October 3): Click here!

Weapons and Unusual Props Form: Click Here

VTA Registration: Click Here

All students and directors must be registered for conference

The MSTF Director and Conference Manager will contact directors/teachers who are missing information. You will not be surprised by missing forms, documents, etc. when you arrive.

Appendix II: Explanation of Key Staff and Events

VTA High School and Middle School Theatre Festival Staff

VTA Secondary Chairs: Members of the VTA Board. The Secondary Chairs “onboard” the VTA High School Theatre Festival Director. Until the High School Theatre Festival Director is on staff the co-chairs manage communication with schools, advertise the festival, advise the board on the hiring of festival staff, and monitor registration for the festival. Onsite at the conference the VTA Secondary Chair(s) assist the HSTF Director as needed, and support other conference activities. The VTA Secondary Chairs affirm that they can remain impartial and will remove themselves from making decisions if they feel they have a conflict of interest.

High School Theatre Festival Director: The HSTF Director is the leader and administrator of the festival. The Festival Director communicates with directors in advance of the conference and ensures that all paperwork and intent to perform is complete and/or directors know what they are missing in advance. The Festival Director supervises the competition room stage managers. The Festival Director ensures that judges understand and use the rubric. The Festival Director is the initial arbiter of issues that arise at the festival. The VTA Board, Secondary Chairs, and/or Conference manager should not be contacted about festival issues before the High School Theatre Festival Director is contacted. Should an issue arise that cannot be resolved by the HSTF Director the Secondary Division chairs and/or VTA President, President Elect, or Vice President will help resolve the issue. Any issue regarding disqualification will follow the Disqualification Policy. Directors will have an opportunity to meet the HSTF Director at the morning directors meeting. The HSTF Director will keep the Secondary Chairs and conference staff abreast of any issues that arise, but again, the HSTF Director is the administrator of the festival.

**A protocol for specific issues will be shared with directors/teachers at the MSTF director’s meeting. Examples: Under what circumstance could a performance need to be restarted? What happens if there is a power failure during a performance?

Festival Stage Managers: Each performance room and the holding room will have a stage manager that reports to the HSTF or MSTF Director.

Festival Staff: There will be additional festival staff/interns who report to the Festival Stage Managers.

Conference Manager: There is a separate Conference Manager for conference related issues and communication. The conference manager is the point of contact for workshops, hotels, registration, parking, etc.

Updated August 2024