Any Interest in a One-Act Play Competition?

beardedlamb · Post by **beardedlamb** » April 11th, 2012, 2:08 am

This is in a highly hypothetical and exploratory phase, but i was wondering if anyone has any interest in doing a UIL-style one-act play competition. I went to a recent high school tournament last week and it was so awesome to see 5 different schools performing a full gamut of modern to classical plays. I was nostalgic for those days of doing it myself and it got me thinking that it might be fun (though labor-intensive) to have an adult version using mostly improvisers. We could all use a little more theatre experience, right? maybe not, but anyway...

It would work a lot like UIL in TX works. Every group gets 40 minutes to do their play. There is a prescribed "unit set" of pilons, platforms, ramps, and flats for every group to use. You get 7 minutes to set it up and 7 minutes to strike it after you're done. Once every group has gone, a judge, or possibly panel of judges, confer about individual acting awards and who the winner of the day is.

I can even see each group pitching a small fee into a pool and the winning group taking home that prize. Just to incentivize it a bit.

Anyway, if this sounds like something people might be interested in, let's start a bigger conversation about it. I think it could be really fun and really healthy for the scene to undertake. We would all become better actors and directors I'm betting.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · April 11th, 2012, 9:04 am

::looks up from polishing All Star Cast awards::

hmm? oh, yeah, sure...that sounds like fun...

::goes back to polishing All Star Cast awards::

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » April 11th, 2012, 10:22 am

This is just a what if: What if they were original plays? I mean, we improvise 400 original pieces every week. It's not like there ain't enough material.

PS I love this idea.

trabka · Post by **trabka** » April 11th, 2012, 1:09 pm

I'd be interested in the idea as originally presented or with Jastroch's what if. The former because my horizons could always use expanding and the latter because I'm the type of guy who needs structure and deadlines to put pen to page (typing to CelTx).

EmilyBee · Post by **EmilyBee** » April 11th, 2012, 1:15 pm

I would love to be in plays! I would love to be in new plays! I would love to help write new plays!

beardedlamb · Post by **beardedlamb** » April 11th, 2012, 3:06 pm

i love the idea of plays being original works. i would think they'd have to be submitted ahead of time but it would be fine (if not preferable) to have some original works and some written by established playwrights.

judging from the response i've gotten on here and on the facebook, i may be moving forward with this. i guess i'd only really need like 4 or 5 directors. that would be the most difficult group of people to find just because of the time commitment. actors might be easier to entice.

thanks for the feedback and keep it coming. i'm gonna need help from a variety of angles to make this a reality. idea generation is one of them.

ClintHarris · Post by **ClintHarris** » April 11th, 2012, 3:46 pm

I want this to happen. Like real bad.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · April 11th, 2012, 4:00 pm

beardedlamb wrote:judging from the response i've gotten on here and on the facebook, i may be moving forward with this. i guess i'd only really need like 4 or 5 directors. that would be the most difficult group of people to find just because of the time commitment. actors might be easier to entice.

damn...now i don't know which i'd rather do...

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » April 11th, 2012, 4:26 pm

I'll direct depending on when it happens. I'm getting pretty booked thru September...

SarahMarie · Post by **SarahMarie** » April 11th, 2012, 5:34 pm

You know, the ONLY thing I didn't understand about the limitations of Texas UIL One Act, was the fact that only one judge was used for each level of competition.

I'm not sure if this is how it was for others, but we had a judges who would advance groups based on their particular opinion of the validity of a particular time period or theatrical style, rather than the merit of the particular work itself in an objective (as objective as one could be) decision and it always ruffled my feathers!

So I would ask that if you were to pursue this, would you please have a PANEL of well informed judges?

Thanks for letting me voice that. Obviously it still ruffles me up!

(and may I be considered to judge pretty please thank you)

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » April 11th, 2012, 5:38 pm

There were panels at the higher levels. Some of the poorer districts (raises hand) couldn't afford a panel, so they would go with one judge. It was very tough as a kid to have one person in a certain mood decide on THAT day that your hard work was poo poo...

beardedlamb · Post by **beardedlamb** » April 12th, 2012, 12:44 am

i'm trying to brainstorm a way for this to be judged by a panel of 3 judges (people who know their stuff) and take place all in one day. I'm thinking an otherwise lazy Sunday in November or December might be good. I kind of have something big to worry about at the end of the summer.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · April 12th, 2012, 8:47 am

android lady wrote:You know, the ONLY thing I didn't understand about the limitations of Texas UIL One Act, was the fact that only one judge was used for each level of competition.

I'm not sure if this is how it was for others, but we had a judges who would advance groups based on their particular opinion of the validity of a particular time period or theatrical style, rather than the merit of the particular work itself in an objective (as objective as one could be) decision and it always ruffled my feathers!

So I would ask that if you were to pursue this, would you please have a PANEL of well informed judges?

Thanks for letting me voice that. Obviously it still ruffles me up!

(and may I be considered to judge pretty please thank you)

amen! i thought this all four years of high school. senior year, we actually managed to go all the way to State with a production of Much Ado About Nothing...and when the teachers met with the judge the first words out of his mouth were "i hate traditional Shakespeare." so we were pretty fucked from the start.

SarahMarie · Post by **SarahMarie** » April 12th, 2012, 10:51 am

I will gladly submit my credentials upon request for consideration to be a judge!

Now with more hat!

Brad Hawkins · Post by **Brad Hawkins** » April 12th, 2012, 10:53 am

I had hoped someone might explain, but so far no one has -- what is UIL?