Bucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival Handbook

Bucks County PlayhouseStudent Theater Festival Handbook

Bucks County PlayhouseStudent Theater Festival HandbookTable of ContentsWelcome. 3About the Day. 4Sample .4Lunch.4About the Performances. 4Teching.4Time Limit.4Content.5Weapon Policy.5Set, Props and Projections.5Sound.5Stage Dimensions.5Feedback.5Awards.5Other. 6Best of Fest.6FAQs.6Contact.62Bucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival

Welcome!The Student Theater Festival at Bucks County Playhouse is in its 51st year!Originally known as Dramafest for one act plays, the Student Theater Festivalhas evolved into a multi–week celebration showcasing talented studentperformers from all over the region. Students perform on the historic stage,take workshops to develop their knowledge and skills in the arts and receivefeedback from theater professionals.When the Playhouse closed in 2010, Newtown Arts Company, located inNewtown, PA, hosted the Festival for the next two years. After a lavish 6million renovation, the Playhouse reopened its doors in 2012 and welcomedthe Student Theater Festival back to its stage along with a partnership withNewtown Arts Company; a relationship that remains a strong component ofthe Festival to this day.Top performances are selected at the end of the Student Theater Festivalto participate in Best of Fest. Best of Fest celebrates outstanding studentperformances in a one night showcase for friends, family and the community.Best of Fest concluded its 4th year in 2018.The network of Bucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival alumni isever expanding and we are so glad to welcome you to the family!Bucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival3

About the DaySample Daily Schedule8:30 am-9:00am-Arrival/Registration9:00 am-9:30 am-Welcome9:30 am-11:45 am-Workshops11:45 am-12:45 pm-Lunch1:00 pm-4:30 pm-Performances/Feedback4:30 pm-5:00 pm-Load-Out/AwardsArrival/RegistrationSchools and groups arrive at thePlayhouse, unload props at the loadingdock and check in at our theater lobby.Welcoming remarks begin at 9:00amand then students are dismissed fortheir morning workshops.Our Parking LotParking in our lot is 3 per hour or 20 for the entire day (CARS & VANSONLY, LIMITED AVAILABILITY).It is a public lot, so it is open to othervisitors to New Hope. Please notebuses CANNOT park in our parkinglot. However, we welcome buses topull into our lot to drop off groupmembers before finding additionalparking.Parking for Motor Coachesand Mini BusesIf you are bringing a bus, you canpark it in the New Hope ShoppingCenter (by Staples/CVS/Cornerstone).You can drop your party off and thenpark the bus. It is approximately a15-minute walk from the ShoppingCenter parking lot down to thePlayhouse.1) Head out of the parking lot towardsMartine’s Restaurant (the yellowriverfront house on your right.)2) Turn left, continue to the stopsign (next to New Hope ApparelCompany.)3) At the stop sign, go straight ontoWest Ferry Street (There will be a4cannon across the street on yourright-hand side.)4) Continue on West Ferry St until itturns into West Bridge Street.5) Continue onto West Bridge Street.After you pass St. Martin of ToursChurch you will see on the rightthe New Hope Shopping Center(Staples/CVS/Cornerstone). Makethe next right into the shoppingcenter’s parking lot.WorkshopsEach student may take two hour-longworkshops in the morning. Thereare three workshops offered whichmay include, but are not limited to:movement, dance, tap/jazz, improv,theater games, Shakespearean acting,audition technique and a variety ofother subjects.Lunch Participants are welcome to bringtheir own lunches and sit in ourspacious courtyard. There areample tables, chairs and benches.There are also many quaintrestaurants in New Hope forparticipants to explore during thelunch break. We are pleased to announcethat Student Theater Festivalparticipants will receive a discountfor purchases made at The FerryMarket. The Ferry Market is acasual fresh food market withindoor and outdoor seating justdown the street from the Playhouse.To receive the STF discount,please show your wristband uponordering.About thePerformancesSchools perform segments of plays ormusicals with casts of varying sizes.Guest Artists provide feedback afterthe 1st session of performances andagain after the 2nd session. Typically,there are 4-5 schools per day with 8-9performances.Teching During the morning whilestudents attend their workshops,a designated person (teachers,advisers, directors and/or studentdirectors) will work with BucksCounty Playhouse productionstaff to prepare the technicalelements of their performances.Each school will program theirlighting and sound with BucksCounty Playhouse production staffincluding reviewing any needs suchas: keyboard, chairs, tables, etc. Shows will be teched in theorder of performances in theafternoon. Each school will receiveapproximately 15 minutes to workwith Bucks County Playhouseproduction staff to tech theirperformance(s). Teachers, advisers and directorsmust tech during their allotted timein the morning. All shows must beteched before the lunch break andbefore performances begin in theafternoon.Time Limit Performance slots are 20 minutes.Performances must be 20 minutesin length or shorter. Performanceswill be timed by Bucks CountyPlayhouse staff. Five minutes are allotted betweeneach performance for change over. If a performance goes over theallotted time, there will be a2-minute warning from the StageManager, followed by a dimmingof the lights and fade out. This isto ensure that all performancesreceive the same amount of timeon stage and to keep the festival onBucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival

schedule. Schools may sign up for a maximumof two times slots per day. Schoolscan perform two 20-minutesegments of their show, for examplean Act 1 and Act 2, but they will notbe performed consecutively.Content Selected material can be frompublished sources and/or studentwritten/ directed. To make the BCP StudentTheater Festival enjoyable for allparticipants, material should besuitable for a public performancebefore a general audience atyour own school. We ask thatselections contain no extreme adultlanguage, nudity, sex, violence orother content that, in the view ofthe festival, could be consideredoffensive.Set, Props and Projections Storage, wing and dressingroom space is extremely limitedbackstage at the Playhouse. Setpieces, backdrops, flats and largefurniture pieces cannot be used.Only handheld props andsmaller furniture pieces can bebrought to the Playhouse. Participating schools will beprovided with a list of furniturethat will be available at thePlayhouse for their use. Thepurpose of this is to limit thequantity of set pieces, furnitureand props being stored backstage. Each participating school will haveaccess to a small table to storeprops, costumes and suppliesbackstage. No liquids are allowed on stage. Use of the projector may beavailable to schools during theFestival. For more informationabout availability of the projectorand for specifications, pleasecontact Joann Bull to discussyour school’s needs.Weapon Policy Safety for all students, teachers,staff and guests participating in theStudent Theater Festival is of theutmost importance. Please read ourweapon policy carefully:* BCP defines a weapon as: “Anyobject used in a staged fight forattack or defense” and “Anyimplements fashioned or used ina threatening manner, whethercapable of inflicting actual bodilyharm or not.” BCP staff must be notified by theteacher, advisor or director of useof any and all weapons used in aperformance upon registering forthe Festival. All weapons must be presentedupon load-in to Playhouse staff onthe day of the Festival. Bucks County Playhouse reservesthe right to deny the use of any andall weapons used on our stage andin our facilities at any time. The following are never allowedat the Festival: real blades or gunsof any kind, guns with blanks,retractable knives or swords,blunted blades of any kind.*In accordance with the Actors’Equity Association Agreement andRules Governing Employment inSmall Professional Theaters StageFighting Policy and the Yale Schoolof Drama Prop Weapon and StageCombat Policy.Sound Schools need to provide a CD, flashdrive or file of their musical tracks. Schools may have no more than 3musicians if using live music.Bucks County Playhouse Student Theater Festival A piano or keyboard will beavailable. Please notify BCPEducation Staff if you require akeyboard.Stage Dimensions The stage depth is 30’ with about 15’of wing space on either side. The proscenium height is 19’3” andwidth 29’9”.Feedback Typically, the teaching artists wholead the morning workshops willgive feedback at the afternoonperformances. This is done so theguest artists have a chance to meetthe students in the morning and toprovide continuity for the studentsthroughout the day. Feedback is positive in nature,designed to enhance theperformance and provide insighton how students and teachers mayimprove future productions.Awards Each day of STF culminates witha short awards ceremony. Dailyawards are given out to schools andindividuals that show excellence intheir performances. Guest Artists deliberate followingthe final performance of theday and award the schools andindividuals that stood out tohighlight their performances. Daily awards are subject to changeand categories vary year to year andday to day during the Festival.Please Note: The festival does notfocus on competition, but ratheron a supportive environment toshare talent, collaborate withtheater students that they wouldnot normally meet and to encouragetheir fellow performers.5