Free Admission - Middle School Play Festival
March 17 at Pinecrest High School and Kings Mountain High School
Join us for a fun day of middle school theatre!
Site schedules and addresses can be found on our website.
High School & Middle School Play Festivals
The High School and Middle School Play Festivals are an opportunity for students at NCTC member schools to showcase their work, learn from others, make new theatre friends and celebrate their achievements. Schools present 45 minute shows to adjudicators, who provide knowledgeable and encouraging feedback. In 2010, over 2,000 students from over 120 schools participated in the Play Festivals, which took place at 10 regional sites across the state.
NCTC has offered me many opportunities and experiences. The dedication, time, work and focus required to prepare for the Middle School Play Festival is astounding. These kinds of opportunities are great for middle school kids to be exposed to as they begin to figure out what they really love. One of the most exciting things that I gained during NCTC was relationships. I made so many new friends and met so many new people that I will never forget."
-- Lauren Zitney, Yancey County Middle School
"I love everything about NCTC, the festival, the rehearsals, even the bus ride there and back. Our teacher, Jenny Martin, believes in us and every year she takes a risk with us by choosing plays like “Richard Cory” and “The Diviners” to take to the festival. I want to thank NCTC for giving us the opportunity to show off all the hard work we put into these plays every year."
-- Noah Gavenus, East Yancey Middle School
"Being involved with NCTC has inspired me to introduce theatre to kids that otherwise might not experience it. I always thought theatre education just started in high school; I didn't realize it even existed at a middle school level. At the beginning of the year, I approached the principal at Kings Mountain Middle School and told him I would like to start a "little sister" drama department.
He was on board with my idea, and now every Thursday I go over to the middle school and teach the students theatre games, skills, and concepts. The pilot year has been successful, with 30-35 students participating. I am also directing a play with them that will go up in May.
NCTC is more than just doing a play for the sake of doing it - it is to learn from other schools, meet kids from other schools, and overall grow as a theatre person. I've gained friends from NCTC, I've learned high levels of professionalism, and I've just had FUN."
-- Lizzie Anderson, Kings Mountain High School
Middle School Play Festival Registration is now OPEN!
Saturday, March 19
Charlotte Christian School & Kings Mountain High School
Middle Schools from across the state will present 45 minutes plays and receive valuable feedback from industry professionals. This event gives students the opportunity to showcase their craft, celebrate their achievements and make new theatre friends!
Please help us to spread the word by forwarding this information to any schools that may be interested.
Click here to register!
Hello Fellow Educators,
I hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation. I spent mine studying in the graduate program at UNC-G and working on NCTC projects and events. We had a very successful Producing Theatre Gathering and it was wonderful to have a few K-12 teachers in attendance this year. We also spent the spring and summer working on a new adjudication form for the High School and Middle School Play Festivals and I’d like to take a minute to tell you about that process.
Each year, we gather feedback from festival participants and the board goes back to the drawing board to work to make the festival better; as we continue to provide this opportunity for students to showcase their work, learn from others, make new theatre friends and celebrate their achievements.
We receive the most feedback on the adjudication form and process. In the past few years, the board has asked our executive director to take a very active role in training adjudicators, in order to make our collective values clear. Adjudicators are expected to serve the mission of the festival, by providing a positive experience for all participants. They are charged with recognizing hard work, celebrating achievement, and encouraging further growth. We believe that we have seen positive change in the last three years and we are inspired by this new energy and enthusiasm.
We decided to take a close look at the adjudication form this year and are pleased to present you with an entirely different form that incorporates a rubric and aligns with the vision of the festival. This process started in early 2010 when Angie Hays and I assembled a task force, made up of educators, former participants and experienced adjudicators. That team was:
Adam Faw – Theatre Arts Educator at Pinecrest HS
Mia Self – Professor of Theatre at Lenoir-Rhyne University
Catherine Rodgers – Performing Arts Chair at Meredith College
Maggie Miller – Fine Arts Chair at Cape Fear Academy
Michelle Long – Director of Fine Arts at Charlotte Christian School
Todd Morgan – Actor/Director and Experienced Adjudicator
Shane Hudson – Associate Development Director at PlayMakers Repertory Company
Judy Dove – Director of Theatre Arts at Martin Middle School
Emily Nettnin Earle – Former Arts Educator and Experienced Adjudicator
Judy Osborne – Theatre Arts Educator at Union Pines HS
Ron Law – Executive Director of Theatre Charlotte
In our first meeting, we agreed on some basic concepts for the change in the form – 1. That we did, in fact, want a change. 2. That we felt a rubric needed to be incorporated. 3. That the form should provide more direction for both participants and adjudicators. 4. That we would prefer a form without numbers and with more feedback. I imagine that the last point, #4, will be the most controversial of our decisions. It comes down to this – the numbers were not a good way for adjudicators to make decisions about awards and were not an effective form of feedback for participants. Personal scoring systems often changed over the course of the festival, and we always wanted adjudicators to pick their top shows, even if that meant that their numbers had to be altered. We also found that, in their exhaustion, numbers were not always tallied properly. We have received a lot of questions from teachers about the details of the scoring, and it just isn’t relevant to judging decisions. The festival is about celebrating the art and improving the craft, not about numbers.
The task force met in person, then in small groups, and exchanged many emails. A first draft of the form was put through a trial run at a school in the spring. Many drafts were considered and we presented our final version of the form to the full NCTC Board in late July. We introduce this form to you, with unanimous approval of our task force and the Board of Directors. We acknowledge that it may not be perfect, but we are confident that it is an improvement over last years’ form and we are very excited to use it this year.
We look forward to hearing your feedback after the festival. You can reach me at afaw@ncmcs.org and you can reach Angie at angelahays@nctc.org. Thank you for your continued participation. I look forward to seeing many of you this fall!
Find the new Adjudication Form here.
My students love both hosting and participating in the NCTC Play Festivals because they get to spread their love of theatre in all its forms and levels. They enjoy making the Festival experience great for everyone who performs here, as much as they love the experience when we participate ourselves. Hosting and participating in the Play Festivals inspired my students to take their work to the next level, to match the best that North Carolina high school theatre has to offer."
--Dan Treharne, High School Theatre Arts Educator, Kings Mountain High School
NCTC Board Member Sidney Horton with the Mt. Tabor High School cast of Doubt
I had a really great time at NCTC this year-it was my first festival and I learned a lot about how diverse plays can be. I got to see a historical play, a musical, and a fairy tale; I also got to see a lot of ensembles working together. I met a lot of people who share the same interests as me, and have a love for theatre and acting just like the people in my cast. I can’t wait until next year so I can see what high school NCTC is like. I hope it’s as great of an experience for me as it was this year.
--Hanna Hufham, 8th Grade, Murray Middle School
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