By: Jennifer Ortiz
For the first time ever, Gardner-Webb University will host the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) High School Play Festival on Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Dover Theater.
Thirteen high schools from Hendersonville, Asheville, Kings Mountain, and other nearby areas will gather in the Dover Theater to showcase their talents. There will be 16 performances this weekend, each performance running no longer than 45 minutes.
During the regional competitions there are “more than 3,000 students from 100+ schools, in 128 productions,” according to NCTC’s website. Gardner-Webb is one location among four other regional festivals this weekend.
Two adjudicators—selected by the NCTC staff and board—judge each play based on production design, costuming, setting, diction, acting, and all other aspects that make part of a good play. After each performance, the cast, crew, and director come to the front of the stage to hear the adjudicators’ feedback while audience members observe.
The adjudicators have the responsibility of choosing one outstanding play from the 16 performances. However, two schools have the opportunity to go on to the state competition.
“All the schools get one vote, and at the end of the competition, the school with the most votes from other schools gets the second nomination. Those two nominations go to the state competition,” explained Sue Fair, theater professor and coordinator of this weekend’s event in Dover Theatre.
A crew of Gardner-Webb students will assist the guests this weekend, helping them for the duration of the competition, answering questions, giving them tours of the school, and helping with the timing of each schools set load-in and costume changes.
The sixteen performances this weekend are open and free to the public. For more information, contact Sue Fair at [email protected].