Festival FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about the EMACT Festival

What is it?
A wonderful opportunity for community theatre groups to mount a production of a play in a fully equipped “professional” theatre facility, and to show off their work to other groups and the broader community.  It provides the audience member a way to see a sampling of the best work of multiple groups, all in one weekend.

What else is it?
A competition.  Awards are given for Best Production, Director, Ensemble, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Stage Manager, Set Design, Lighting Design, Sound Execution, Costume Design, and Makeup Design.  Nominees for each award are honored.  Also a few special awards are given. 

And what else?
A learning experience.  Three adjudicators watch all the shows, and together they provide constructive feedback to every group.  The feedback sessions are open to all, so you learn something about your own show as well as others’.  The adjudicators are experienced directors, working in professional theater or academia.  The adjudicators select the nominees and winners of the awards.

When is it?
The 56th EMACT Theatre Festival will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11-12-13 June 2010.

Where is it?
At the Campbell Performing Arts Center, at the Groton School, in Groton, Massachusetts.  The facility is nearly new, situated at a private school in a small town about 45 miles northwest of Boston.

Who participates?
Theatre companies belonging to the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres.  Groups may join the association when they sign up to participate in the festival.  Participation is also open to groups from central and western Massachusetts.  A group must have been in business at least one year, and must have produced at least two shows.  (In other words, you cannot form a group solely for the purpose of competing in the festival.)  A group must be governed by a board from the community; it cannot simply be an enterprise of a school or college drama department.

What kind of play can be presented?
Any kind, as long as the performance is no more than 60 minutes long.  (A half-dozen shows are presented each day.)  A one-act play is a common choice, but a show can also be one of the acts of a multi-act play, selected scenes from a full-length play, or a cutting or edited version of an entire play.  It can be a musical, a musical revue, a drama, or a comedy; ancient or modern.

Are there limits or guidelines on what can be presented?
There is no censorship, but a group should warn the hosts if they are presenting what some might find unacceptable (mature language or subject matter).  The audience is sophisticated, so sometimes groups take advantage of the opportunity to tackle a work that is more serious or edgy than what might appeal to their local audiences.  Typically, however, groups present a portion of a production they presented earlier in their regular season.  (An earlier public performance of a show can be a good strategy, so you get an audience’s reaction before going to festival.)  Each group is responsible for securing the performance rights from the author or their agent for the specific portion or cutting they will be performing, and paying any required royalty. 

Are there technical parameters?
To level the competition between groups, there are limits on the scenery that can be brought.  All the set pieces, props and anything set in the wings for performance (i.e. musical instruments, costumes) must fit into a designated storage area that is ten feet by ten feet, or an equivalent 100 sq foot area.  (There is no height limit within the square other than the ceiling, but the pieces have to fit through the loading doors to get into the facility.  Only limited construction is allowed on-site.)  Time limits are set for each phase of a group’s participation: 
            Technical rehearsal:                         60 minutes
            Set up prior to performance:            10 minutes
            Performance:                                     60 minutes
            Strike following performance:          10 minutes

Exceeding any of these time limits will disqualify the group from only the Best Production award.

What about the other technical aspects?
All participating groups are provided a technical package: a stage manager’s handbook that spells out all the EMACT Festival rules and is in compliance with the standards of the American Association of Community Theater, and lighting and sound handbooks that fully describe the technical capabilities of the performance space.  All groups are offered the same number of specials / practicals.  Groups are encouraged to take full advantage of all of the technical capabilities of the facility.  A full rail system is available to fly scenery.  Given the time limitations careful planning and organization is an advantage, as is plenty of stage crew help.

Sounds daunting.  How will we know how to do this?
Ask our crack team of festival stage managers.  They are here to help you mount your show, and can explain all about the technical aspects.  They are available to run the lights and sound if you choose, or you can have your own technicians run the equipment.  Each company must provide light cues based on the rep plot outlined in the lighting handbook.  A recording of your sound cues must also be provided. The lighting and sound handbooks are comprehensive and designed to fully support your designers.  The festival stage managers are also available to answer any questions and assist you as needed. Also, there is a Tech Workshop at the facility prior to the festival, at which you can test out a few of your lighting cues to see what they’ll look like and you can hear the sound system.  You can also walk the stage to make any final decisions about your set placement.

What happens if we win an award?
You take home a trophy!  We will engrave it for you.  Names of nominees and winners are listed on the EMACT website. 

What happens after the festival?
The group with the Best Production award is invited to go on to the New England Regional Festival.  (If enough groups participate in the EMACT festival, the runner-up group also advances to the regional.)  There they perform the same show in competition with the winners of other state festivals in Region One; New England.  The winner of the regional festival advances with their show to the national festival, sponsored by the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT), to be held during June 2011 in Rochester, New York.  The national festival features the winners of ten regions.  (The regional and national festivals only occur in odd-numbered years, so every other year there is advancement beyond the annual EMACT festival.  2010 is a “regional” year for us.) 

How do we ensure fairness?
Our adjudicators are carefully selected and not affiliated with any of the participating companies, and most often are from out of state.  Additionally, EMACT does not allow anyone to influence or distract the adjudicators, and ensures that each group performs under the same conditions.  The auditorium is “sealed” at the beginning of each performance and no one is allowed to enter or exit (except in extreme conditions) until the performance has ended.  Cell phones and all electronic devices must be turned off while in the auditorium and any backstage area.

What about children’s theatre groups?
Normally in community theatre you have actors of the right age playing each role:  older actors playing older characters, and child actors playing children.  If a group has child actors playing all adult roles, some adjudicators may see them as having an artistic disadvantage in comparison to age-appropriate actors, depending on the level of realism they feel a play requires.  With this in mind, children’s groups are welcome to participate.  Children can be competitive with adult actors; for example, a girl playing Anne Frank was a winner in 2002.  Children’s groups can also be competitive with adults in the non-acting awards.

How does the adjudication work?
Each group gets the same amount of verbal feedback.  Usually this is five minutes from each of the three adjudicators, for a total of fifteen minutes.  This is strictly controlled by our time keeper.  The order in which the adjudicators speak is rotated for each show.  For our last state festival and the regional festival in 2008, EMACT employed “panel” adjudications, in which each of the three listens to the others, thus minimizing repetition and allowing them to elaborate on each other’s comments.  Formerly we followed the practice of other festivals, in which they do not hear each other, and are thus not influenced by each other.

How are the awards determined?
The adjudicators are not allowed to speak to each other about the shows until they have seen all of them and cast a first ballot.  Following the final adjudication, they have a private conference to determine the award nominees and winners, in accordance with AACT protocols.  An AACT representative is present throughout festival and the balloting process to certify the festival complies with all AACT standards.  After the awards are determined, the adjudicators may hold a talk-back session for directors and stage mangers of participating shows in which they give further feedback.  The adjudicators determine all award nominees and winners with the exception of the Best Stage Manager award which is determined by the festival stage managers.

What happens backstage?
There are very nice dressing rooms and a green room for the performing groups.  There is an careful schedule for getting each group in and out of the facility, and a rulebook to follow.  All is explained in the technical manuals, at the Open House for participating groups, and by the festival stage managers.

When do we perform during the festival?
When all the applications are received, and we know how many groups are presenting, we can finalize the schedule of tech rehearsals and performance sessions.  There are typically two or three performance slots in each session, and four sessions during the weekend.  At the Open House, groups draw lots in the order their application was received to randomly assign a number to each group.  In order of the numbers drawn, each group selects its performance slot.  Thus the first groups have the most choices, and the later ones take what’s remaining.  Each group must send a representative to the Open House; otherwise they will have no say in their slot assignment.

When is our technical rehearsal?
Earlier in the day, prior to the start of your performance session.  Tech rehearsals are scheduled in the reverse order of performance slots.  The group in the last performance slot rehearses first.  The group in the first slot rehearses last, and then performs shortly thereafter, without having to move their set out of the way. 

How do we get our scenery to the facility?
Typically, groups will rent or borrow a truck or van for a day.  Your set is loaded into the building earlier in the day before your rehearsal.  A group that rehearses very early in the morning may arrange to load-in their set the night before with the festival stage managers.

What happens after our performance?
Immediately following your performance, you will have your 10 minute strike back to your storage area. You may then be asked to remove your scenery from the building, and load it into your truck.  You will clear out of the dressing rooms.  You may choose to watch shows in the performance slots after yours.  Special discounted tickets may be purchased by cast and backstage crew for other shows within their session.  At the end of the session, you will be seated with your cast and crew to listen to the adjudication of the shows in the session.

How much does it cost to play?
The festival entry fee for each group is $150.  The EMACT membership fee for a group is $50, if not already paid for the year, September 2009 thru August 2010.

How much does it cost to watch?
Tickets for a session with three shows will be $22 when purchased in advance, or $30 when purchased at the door.  (If a session has two or four shows, tickets will be priced proportionately less or more.)  We expect that there will be four sessions, on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon.  There will also be a Full-Festival ticket available at an additional discount, which gets you into all the sessions; it will be priced depending on how many shows we have. 

How do we apply?
The application form is available on the website.  It must be completed and sent in with payment of the entry fee by the deadline on March 15, 2010.  There is an upper limit on the number of performance slots, given the schedule.  If we do not have room for all applicants, they will be accepted in the order in which the applications were received.  (Fees will be returned to those groups we cannot accommodate.)  Typically we have room for all applicants.

Can we perform at the festival without competing?
Yes, you have the option of not competing for the awards.  You can still choose to hear the adjudicator’s comments about your show.  If we have to limit the number of participating groups, however, non-competitive groups would be cut first.

What else do we need to submit?
You need to send us three copies of your script.  These are given to the adjudicators to read.  They should be familiar with your play beforehand, because they are evaluating your presentation and interpretation of the play, not the play itself. 

What else will we be asked for?
There are various forms in the technical package that you will submit to the festival stage managers, informing them about your specific needs for flying scenery, practical electrics, lighting, sound and certifying that all performers are non-professionals and that all rights have been secured.  The deadline for these is some weeks before the festival.  Your lighting design cue sheet is due several days prior to the festival.  You bring your sound cue recording with you to the tech rehearsal.

When can we look at the venue?
The Open House for all participating groups is on Saturday May 15, 2010 at 10:00 AM.  A representative of the group must attend to pick your performance slot.  All cast and crew are welcome to tour the facility.  The Lighting Workshop is on Saturday June 5, 2010 at 3:00 PM.  Lighting and sound designers should attend, as all the equipment will be demonstrated and designers will be given the opportunity to see some of their own cues.

What else happens at the festival?
The awards ceremony is on Sunday evening.  This is quite a pageant, well worth attending, and there is no charge.  There may also be educational workshops presented, typically on Saturday or Sunday morning; there may be a nominal fee for these.

What happens between shows?
The host group will have refreshments for sale in the lobby.  You are invited and encouraged to watch the strike of the previous show, and the setup of the next show; these are often an elaborate stage-hand ballet. 

What happens the year after?
The winners of each award are invited to be presenters at the awards ceremony the following year.  The group winning the Best Production award serves as the Host group at the next festival.  This means they earn money selling refreshments, provide the ushers, and collect the Host Group award. 

Can we take pictures or video of a performance?
No, this would be distracting and/or violate copyrights. The festival has an official photographer who takes dozens of shots of each show without using a flash.  The photos are available for download from the web site after the festival.

Is there a program?
We provide a program book for the audience.  Each participating group gets a page describing their show and listing the cast and crew.  They may also provide information about the group and its past and current seasons.

Is this a publicity opportunity?
Yes.  The lobby is crowded with displays, brochures, flyers, and other materials.  These may be brought by theatre groups or vendors, without any fees.  Advertisements in the festival program are for sale, at $75 for a half page, or $125 for a full page.  Each award is sponsored by a group or vendor, for a donation of $60.  The names of award sponsors are printed on the trophy, in the program, and on the website.  We are looking for a major festival sponsor, who would donate a few thousand dollars to get the naming rights to the festival. 

Do you need help?
Yes.  The festival is managed and run by many volunteers.  There are many jobs to choose from, some requiring only a few hours of your time, and some requiring bigger commitments. 

Who do I contact?
To purchase ads or sponsorships, volunteer to help, or for more info, contact:  festival@emact.org

Isn’t Groton a long way from Boston?
It can take an hour to drive there from downtown, the North Shore, or the South Shore.  You may not want to commute back and forth if you plan to attend the whole festival, or if your group performs on Friday or Saturday and you want to come back for the awards ceremony on Sunday.  Many people choose to stay over nearby.  We have secured hotel rooms at a discounted rate for attendees.  We will have info on our website about local restaurants.

How did this festival originate?
It started in 1954, and has been held every year since (except in 2009).  It has been run by a couple of different organizations, and by EMACT since the early 1990s.  For nearly 40 years it was held on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.  Our festival is the oldest in the nation, and served as the model for the national festival and other regional festivals.

What happened last year?
In 2009, not enough groups signed up to make a viable festival, so it was called off.  We think, perhaps, because of the general economic slowdown.  We expect there is plenty of demand for a festival in 2010.