Set up a drama contest to encourage student participation in acting class or debate club.
A drama contest or dramatic competition can have many applications, such as showcasing local talent or motivating students to put effort into their dramatic or forensic studies. You or your organization can host your own dramatic competition. Though the competition is not particularly difficult to set up, you must prepare carefully and allot enough time to do it effectively.
Instructions
1. Find a location and determine a time for the drama contest. This task varies in difficulty depending on where you live. Consider reserving spaces at school auditoriums, local performance halls or community centers. Places already set up for audiences and speakers/performers are ideal.
2. Establish the presentation guidelines. This is important, as it will help performers prepare for the competition and will determine pacing during the contest. Set a realistic goal for how many entrants you expect, and let that help you decide how much time each contestant will receive to present. Also, encourage entrants to show off their dramatic range. Have them prepare a classical monologue and a modern monologue, or a dramatic monologue and a comedic monologue. Encourage contestants to avoid famous, challenging and overdone monologues.
3. Determine judging criteria and select judges. You need standardized criteria for judging each performance. A good method is to judge factors such as volume, diction, emotional dynamics and physical involvement on a scale from one to five. The scores from each judging category can be averaged to give each contestant an overall score. The highest overall score wins. Try to choose judges who will be objective observers. They can be local artists, teachers, journalists or any other upstanding member of the community.
4. Advertise both to seek contestants and to notify your potential audience of the event. Advertisements for contestants should contain information about what they need to prepare, sign-up deadlines and contact information for the host or hosting organization case of questions. Advertisements for the audience should clearly state the name of the event, the place, the date and the time.
