Schedule

Following the closing of submissions , schools will be notified of their technical rehearsal timeslot by Friday 2 August (Term 3 Week 2).

Schedule of day

Technical rehearsals will take place during the day at:

• Tech rehearsal timeslot 1: 9:00 am to 10:30 am

• Tech rehearsal timeslot 2: 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

• Rebus Theatre: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

• Tech rehearsal timeslot 3: 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm

• Evening show: 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm

Schools are encouraged to watch some or all of the other technical rehearsals on the day.

Staffing

Students will, at all times, be under the duty of care of their teacher/s throughout the festival.   

A maximum of 2 parent volunteers (if required) per school will be allowed backstage and must be named on the student and staff roll submitted.  Parent volunteers cannot be swapped throughout the day.

Principals will be required to sign off on all staff, aides and parent volunteers attending the festival to ensure they meet Department guidelines for WWCC and mandatory training.

Risk management plans

RMP documentation has been provided for use by schools when preparing their excursion RMPs for the festival. 

Style of drama

Item/s can be drawn from any genre: circus, comedy, commedia dell’ arte, puppetry, scripted drama, play-built piece, movement, mime, documentary drama, musical theatre, mask theatre etc.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups exploring First Nation stories are actively encouraged to participate.

Content

Drama pieces must be devised with the guidelines of the festival in mind. 

All items must be appropriate for young audience members to view.

Successful items are those items that contain a strong theme and are appropriate to the age and ability of your students. 

When creating your work, it is important to identify the intended concept/intent or theme. Spend time reflecting on what you are trying to communicate to the audience and how you are going to communicate it.

Sensitivity should be displayed in the treatment of themes such as romantic relationships, depression, suicide, racism, sexism, drug and alcohol abuse etc. If these themes are explored, they should be treated in a more abstract context rather than representational. 

Performances that have disturbing, violent or culturally inappropriate content or costuming are not suitable for a public schools drama festival.

As there is no audition process, all performances must be viewed in full by the school principal prior to the festival and have their endorsement of the content.

Number of items

Each school may nominate a maximum of 3 items for the festival.  All items submitted will be included in the festival. Should you have more than 3 items that you wish to submit please contact Sue Dawson.  These items will only be considered if there is available space in the program. 

Number of students

Each item should have a minimum of 8 performers and a maximum of 30 performers. An exception will be made for small schools and SSP schools where numbers may need to be adapted to suit the needs and/or numbers of their students. 

Length of items

• Primary - recommended time of 5 to 6 minutes with a maximum of 10 minutes.

• Secondary - recommended time of 7 to 8 minutes with a maximum of 10 minutes. Items should not be HSC major works. 

Short, dynamic performance items are encouraged for all schools!

Performance time must include set and strike time of the item.

Inclusivity

We encourage the inclusion of students with a disability and will work with the school to ensure any modifications or special provisions required are met.

Bay Pavilions is fully accessible and there is direct access to the stage for wheelchair users.

Comperes

The FSCDrF is looking for confident and enthusiastic public speaking students from Years 5 to 12 to act as comperes at the festival.  

Students taking up a position as compere should not be a performer in the festival and must have publicity consent.

Comperes' will be required to attend the festival during the day to rehearse prior to the evening show.

Comperes will be required to wear their school uniform for the show.

If you have a student you would like to nominate please include their nomination on the STDrF 2024 - School participation form.

Backstage crew

An opportunity is available for interested students in Years 9 to 12 students to work as backstage crew at the festival. 

Backstage crew will assist with set, prop and cast movement throughout the show.  

Backstage crew will be required to wear black pants and black t-shirt/jumper during the show.

Please email Sue Dawson - susan.i.dawson@det.nsw.edu.au if you have students you wish to nominate to be part of the crew. 

Costumes

Drama items can be performed in 'drama blacks' (black pants/shorts and black t-shirt) or costume appropriate to your performance.  

Costumes should:

• support your item concept and complement the movement intention.

• be appropriate to the performer’s age, gender and a range of body shapes. The dignity of students should be respected at all times.

Props

If using props, they should appear as an integral part of the item, complementing, not dominating it.  

Please consider:

• there is a Work Safe limit of 25 kgs on all props

• they should be able to be safely carried by a maximum of 2 students 

• free-standing props must be secure and weighted at the bottom if necessary

• props on wheels must have safety locks

• coordinating teachers and choreographers will be directed by the stage management team on the safest most logical way that props are set and removed from the stage

• keep in mind there is limited time to set up props and often limited light.

Lighting

Schools will be supported during their rehearsal by the GPAC lighting technician to design a lighting plan for your item/s.

Please download the  lighting design plan/s proforma to use and place the completed plan nto the STDrF 2024 teacher drive - lighting plan folder  

Lighting background

All schools can use:

• black curtain - helps to create vivid lighting effects, or a darker, more concentrated atmosphere.  The black curtain is the preferred option for video and photography. 

• white cyclorama - this creates brighter and more colourful lighting states

• white cyc with projection images - for those schools wishing to add projection to their items.