The Watford Festival – Speech Regulations (Online Festival)

Speech & Drama

Regulations and General Information - Online Festival

IMPORTANT

The 2021 Festival Speech & Drama Section will conduct classes using Zoom.

Performances in classes in this Section will be live (as opposed to pre-recorded).

Additional Rules and Regulations relating to the Zoom-based Festival may be added over the next few weeks. Please check this page for any updates at the end of February.

These Regulations should be read carefully. It is the responsibility of teachers and/or parents to ensure that all entrants will be presumed to have read and accepted them before their performances.

1.	DATES and VENUES
1.1	Sunday 13^thDecember 2020	Closing dates for entries. N.B. In event of being oversubscribed we reserve the right to reject entries. It is therefore advisable to submit all entries as early as possible to avoid disappointment. See Regulation 2 for details.
1.2	Friday 22^ndJanuary 2021	A Timetable and Competitors’ Schedule will be sent to teachers and private entrants.
1.3	Sunday 24^thJanuary 2021	All "Own Choice" titles and authors must be submitted. All trophies to be returned.
1.4	Friday 19th February 2021	All scripts to be uploaded, for classes which require them.
1.5	Saturday 6^th March – Sunday 14^thMarch 2021	Solo classes will be held via Zoom.
2.	ENTRIES
2.1	Entries must be submitted by Sunday 13^th December 2020. N.B. In event of being oversubscribed we reserve the right to reject entries. It is therefore advisable to submit all entries as early as possible to avoid disappointment. All entries for 2021 must be made online.
2.2	Teachers who have previously entered should use their existing log-in credentials.
2.3	Any new teachers or parents who have not entered online should register their details on the website before submitting entries.
2.4	Payment should be made by credit card, debit card or BACS transfer at the end of the entry process. We are unable to accept cash or cheques due to the administrative overhead involved. The BACS information will be available on screen during the entry process.
2.5	Entry fees cannot be refunded if for any reason a competitor is unable to attend. A refund will be made only if the Festival Committee finds it necessary to cancel any class, or if a technical problem (such as network failure) prevents the class going ahead and being adjudicated as planned.
3.	AGE LIMITS
3.1	Competitors must enter the class which corresponds to the School Year they are attending (or, for home-schooled competitors, the School Year they would be attending).
4.	CHOICE of MATERIAL
4.1	Set poems can be obtained from Katherine Barker (tel. 020 8959 7819). They are not available online.
4.2	In all "Own Choice" classes the verse and prose selected must be by a published writer other than the competitor and not set elsewhere in the syllabus. ONE CLEAN, LEGIBLE COPY) of the piece to be performed must be provided for the Adjudicator. Marks will be deducted for poor scripts. Scripts must be uploaded using the online system which is used to manage entries by the date specified in clause 1.4. Failure to provide a script may result in the entry being graded without a mark.
4.3	The Festival audience is a captive one, and usually includes children. The performance of material that may cause offence is not acceptable in classes other than those which include Year 12 or Year 13 students, which are not group performances; the inclusion of such material may result in marks being withheld, or in disqualification. Please substitute or remove bad language in a script, and mark up the adjudicator's copy to indicate any changes.
4.4	If a piece includes adult language or material that parents and younger children may find inappropriate, please mark this up on your script, so that the Section Leader can warn the audience.
4.5	Copyright - The Watford Festival has entered into an agreement with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and pays a fee that enables authors to receive payment for the live performance of their work. It also means competitors do not have to seek copyright permission for any poetry, prose or solo dramatic items performed up to a time limit of 10 minutes provided they submit details of the title and author to the Festival by the due date (January 24^th 2021).
5.	PERFORMANCE
5.1	Time limits set MUST NOT be exceeded. In all "Own Choice" classes, performances will be timed. If a performance overruns it will be drawn to the attention of the adjudicator and marks will be deducted. If the overrun is excessive the performer will be stopped and ineligible for a mark or place. Announcing the title or giving a brief introduction is not included in the timing.
5.2	Once the timetable has been published, requests for transfers to more convenient times will NOT be granted.
5.3	A competitor must perform in the class in which his/her name appears in the programme. A competitor who has entered the wrong class will receive an adjudication, a certificate and a grade, but not a mark, medal or place.
5.4	Visual aids (VAs) used in Public Speaking S33, S34, S35 – These must be visible to the adjudicator and audience, and so cannot use the same computer which is being used to stream the performer on Zoom.
6.	DRESS and PERSONAL APPEARANCE
6.1	All candidates are expected to maintain a high standard of dress appropriate to a Festival. In the Speech Section (classes S0 – S39) school uniform may be worn but is not compulsory. Entrants must be smartly dressed. Tracksuits, trainers, blue jeans and flip-flops should not be worn. In the Drama Section (classes S40 – S65) detailed requirements are stipulated in the syllabus.
6.2	Entrants who disregard these regulations may be penalized.
7.	RECORDING
7.1	The Festival will record Zoom meetings automatically for administrative reasons. All such recordings will be deleted within two weeks of the end of the Festival.
8.	AWARDS
8.1	Marking System: all competitors receive a remark sheet and certificate. For marks of 75-79 a certificate of Merit is awarded, 80-84 Special Merit, 85-89 Distinction and 90+ Honours. First, Second and Third Places, and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively, are awarded in all classes with a sufficient number of competitors, provided the class is of a suitably high standard. Remark Sheets and Certificates will be posted to parents or teachers at the end of the Festival.
8.2	In any class where entry numbers are small the Adjudicator may choose to award only First place, or First and Second places. Equally, where classes are of a suitably high standard, more than one Second or Third place may be awarded.
8.3	Medals are awarded in classes at the discretion of the Adjudicator when a mark of at least 80 has been achieved. Medals will be posted together with the Certificates and Remark Sheets.
8.4	Trophies will not be awarded.
9.	ORGANISATION
9.2	Competitors, teachers or members of the public may not communicate directly or indirectly with the Adjudicator for the duration of the Festival, unless specifically asked to do so, or to give a simple message of thanks. The Adjudicator’s decision in all cases is final. He/she may stop or disqualify a performance, or withhold an adjudication or award
9.3	The Speech & Drama Committee reserves the right to change class dates/times and adjudicators if necessary and refuse an entry or stop a performance. Classes can be withdrawn, re-arranged or joined together should the number of entries warrant this.
9.4	All complaints should be made in writing to the Section Leader – Katherine Barker, 22 Lyndhurst Avenue, London NW7 2AB.
10.	SAFETY and SECURITY
10.1	A copy of our Child Protection Policy is available to download. It is important that all teachers circulate this to parents and guardians of children entering the Festival. A copy will be on display in the foyer of the theatres.
10.2	Parents and Teachers are reminded that it is their responsibility to maintain supervision of their children and pupils at all times whilst they are performing for the Festival.