Festival Guidelines and Procedures

Secondary Theatre Festival Guidelines & Procedures

1. The festival exists to promote growth for student actors/designers and will provide workshops, mentoring opportunities, exposure to college and university theatre representatives, peer artist relationship building, and performance opportunities with feedback and adjudication in order to promote a well-rounded experience.

   ·     All pieces chosen for performance by contestants must be appropriate for viewing by a grade 6-12 audience. 

   ·    Please avoid obscene language, graphic content or questionable situations in your material. We want to provide a high-quality theatre experience in a family-friendly environment. 

   ·    Scores for a contestant or group will be reduced for unsuitable material. 

   ·    Please contact us if you have any questions.

   2. The registration deadline is January 4, 2020. 

   ·     Late registration will be accepted with a $50 late fee. 

   ·     Please note that there will be no refunds if you cancel after the deadline. 

   ·     Payment must be received by credit card with the online registration 

   3. Festival Eligibility: To compete in the CITA Secondary Theatre Festival, full-time students of public and private schools, as well as  full-time homeschool students, must meet the following criteria: middle school competitors must be in 7th or 8th grade or aged 12 by January 1 of the competition year, high school students must be in grades 9-12 and must not be over the age of 19 at the time of competition.  Students must not have participated in a high school graduation ceremony prior to the competition.  Competing students must be members of CITA, either as individuals, families, or organizations. If you are unsure if your school or church is affiliated with CITA, please contact your organization directly.

   4.  Our fee schedule has changed this year.CITA now offers exclusive member affiliation with many benefits. Please see our website at cita.org for affiliation requirements and fees.

   5. All meals and lodging are your responsibility; our college/university facilities offer lunch and dinner at a reduced rate.

   6. Register early to reserve spaces in your preferred events. Space in each event is limited and will be reserved for groups as they register online. Students may participate in multiple events. CITA reserves the right to close any event that reaches maximum registration. Wait lists will be created if events fill, and directors will be notified.

   7. Detailed schedules will be created once registration is closed and a schedule of performances will be available at the event.

   8. Check-in will open at 3 pm on the Thursday of the event for students not participating in the college auditions. Please do not arrive early. Auditioning students will be notified of the time at which they should arrive. Not every festival offers college auditions, so check the website for information.

   9. Warm-up rooms may be available for your use, depending on our host venues. You may use them for 15-minute non-consecutive time slots. Space is limited, so please be considerate of other contestants.

   10. Adjudicators will follow the criteria provided in the Festival Ballots. The top performers, chosen at the discretion of the adjudicators in each round, will perform in a final event at the end of the Festival. All decisions of the judges are final once the awards ceremony has begun. Any compliance issues must be reported as soon as possible to compliance staff at the event.

   11. Please note the time limits and rules for each event. Performances which do not adhere to these criteria will not be considered for inclusion in the final event.

   12. Once a contestant has begun her/his performance, the room will be closed and there will be no admittance or departure allowed until the performance has concluded.

   13. Student behavior – onstage, backstage, and in the audience – must be courteous at all times. Any disruptive behavior may result in disqualification and/or dismissal from the grounds.