How do we enter?

1. Entry into the National Festival must be via a Preliminary Festival, either a local festival organised by the AETF or an independent local festival affiliated to the AETF.

2. Any company:

2/1. Who desires to enter the AETF competition must declare this on the Preliminary Round entry form.

2/2. Companies must provide a completed AETF Declaration immediately following their selection.

3. A company may:

3/1. Enter and opt with any number of plays in a Preliminary Festival. Multiple entries from a single entering company are accepted depending on the overall number of entries.

Please contact the Festival Director if you wish to enter multiple entries.

3/2. Enter as many festivals as they like, but can only opt from one, preferably their local Preliminary (First Round) Festival.

3/3. Enter more than one Festival with different plays and opt.

4. By entering the AETF Festival companies commit themselves to performance at each level if selected and are expected to appear.

The following points also apply

5. Dramatic Schools for the training of professional actors are not eligible.

6. Any copyright recorded speech or projection of film or TV material can be used as long as proof of permission is produced.

7. Curtain calls are not permitted.

The following are accepted by the ‘British Final of One-Act Plays’ governing body the United Kingdom Community Drama Federation (UKCDFF) and must be adhered to by all competing teams in the UK at all levels of the competition.

Who can enter?

8. Any bona fide adult amateur Society, or recognised Youth Theatre, the accepted definition of a bona fide society is ‘a constituted group’.

9. All players must be amateur. Amateur status depends on entering companies complying with the following:

• No member of your acting, directing or technical crew is paid for your production.
• No member of your acting, directing or technical crew has been paid for their services within the previous six months.
• Your cast and crew’s main income must not come from acting or directing.
• Your Theatre Company and members of your team must not advertise or promote themselves as ‘professional’ or offering ‘professional theatre services’.
• No member of your cast or any of your production team must feature on professional websites or publications such as Spotlight, or engage the services of professional theatre agents.
• Entry packs will include a declaration form for entering companies to complete and sign, confirming their group complies with the above requirements.
• Should any issues arise regarding the festival rules and entry requirements, the decision of the hj1act Festival Director is final and binding.

What can we enter?

10. All performances are subject to the Theatres Act 1968 and must comply with its provisions regarding plays, which might be considered obscene, seditious, or libellous, or likely to incite racial hatred or a breach of the peace.

11. The entry will be a One-Act Play or an extract from a longer play.

The accepted definition of a one-act entry is ‘a coherent piece of mainly spoken drama’.

12. No play in copyright may be performed without production of its performance licence and written permission must be provided for any cuts or alterations.

13. The performance must be performed as per the script provided for the adjudicator, which must be with the adjudicator at least one month before the performance.

New writing: entering companies must submit their most up to date draft at least one month before the performance for submission to the adjudicator. Final performance versions must then be submitted on Tech Sunday.

Performances must then be performed as per this final performance script.

14. Only hard copies of scripts are accepted. Photocopies are only acceptable with the written permission of the publishers.

15. Each entry must have a minimum of two speaking characters appearing on stage at the same time.

Monologues are not accepted.

What are the time constraints?

16. The length of performance of the entry shall be not less than 20 minutes and not more than 55 minutes, including any time spent in changing a scene in the course of a performance or time used to set the mood by the cast or music before the tabs open.

17. Each team will be allowed 10 minutes for setting and 5 minutes for striking their set.

18. Penalties for not keeping within times for performance, setting and striking are:

What are the staging constraints?

19. Any set or scenery must be free standing within the provided ‘black box’ acting area.

20. Societies have a duty to co-operate with the Festival Stage Director in adhering to the theatre’s safety rules and attending all safety briefings as required, please be aware that there may be different requirements in each venue.

21. Societies must give advance notice to the Festival Stage Director of any additional equipment, which must comply with the theatre’s requirements.

And any effects such as naked lights or smoking, fire arms or pistol shots, knives or swords, strobes etc which the theatre will need to be made aware of.

22. The use of any kind of microphone will not be allowed to enhance an actor’s vocal projection. Microphones may still be used as a sound effect.

How will we be judged?

23. The adjudicator will give a public adjudication of each entry and at the end of the Festival give the organisers a copy of the marks awarded.

24. The adjudicator will use the following marking system:

25. The adjudicator’s decision is final.