High School Festival: Speech & Drama
If you have a flair for the dramatic, love the idea of performing for an audience or want to stretch your creative writing skills, here’s your chance. Compete in playwriting, group or solo performance categories and receive feedback from our respected and award-winning theatre faculty.
Competitions
Performance (Solo)
4–6 minutes
Solo performers should deliver a memorized dramatic or humorous cutting from a published novel or short story. Include an introduction. Preference will be given to classic stories and authors. While no props or technical effects are allowed, movement appropriate to the story is encouraged.
Acting (Group)
2+ Students | 6–8 minutes
Scene excerpted from published play by reputable author; brief introduction needed for each scene; quality of literature will be part of the evaluation. No Readers Theatre, lighting, makeup or sound effects.
Small table, two chairs and one stool provided; costumes, props and other set pieces left to discretion of performers. Students must be able to perform their scene in an acting space of approximately 20'x12'.
Original Oratory (Solo)
5–7 minutes
Original speech to stimulate, convince, inform or move to action. May not deal with doctrinal interpretation or religious controversy. Must be delivered without notes or presentation aids (including PowerPoint).
24-Hour Playwriting (Solo)
Students may participate as playwrights or as actors
24-Hour Playwriting Guidelines
7–10 minutes
Playwrights will have 24 hours to write a short play based on specific prompts. The three most promising plays will be rehearsed on Wednesday and presented to an audience on Wednesday evening. Participants who wish to write a play must arrive on Monday, Nov. 3, by 1 p.m. to receive instructions and prompts. Actors who wish to participate in the event will audition on Monday, Nov. 3, from 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Awards will be presented for best plays as well as best presentation by student actors. Up to 3 winners will be chosen for Best Plays and receive a trophy and a full scholarship to attend EDUcamp next summer!
Printable Guidelines for all categories
- Students may enter a maximum of 3 contests.
- Students may win first place more than once in successive years with different pieces.
- Any student who does not fulfill all of the contest requirements will forfeit their right to win but will receive judges’ written critiques.
1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Solo Performance Winners
- Plaque
- BJU EDUcamp Scholarship
Acting (Group) Winners
- Plaque
- BJU EDUcamp Scholarship
Playwriting Winners
- Plaque
- BJU EDUcamp Scholarship
These experiences are available for any High School Festival competitors and sponsors, whether or not they are competing in the Speech & Drama categories!
- The BJU Theatre Department will perform a production exclusively for High School Festival attendees on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7:45 p.m. in Performance Hall.
- The Division of Communication will host a tour of classroom and learning spaces used by Theatre, Media, and Communication programs on Thursday at 3 p.m. See the Festival Booklet you receive at check-in for location.
- Video Competition entries will be shown on Thursday.
- Classes in the Theatre, Media, and Communication programs will be available to visit! The Festival Booklet you receive at check-in will have more information.
