Dramafest 2010 Schedule

Hi Sky I may as well field this one as I was instrumental in the change. "I heard that there is going to be tech rehearsals this year. Out of pure interest, is this the first time tech rehearsals have been run for a One-Act Play fest?" There are tech rehearsals EVERY year, they are actually an important part of the Dramafest process, they provide a chance for the Festival techs to find out what is going to be happening in each play so they are prepared. In the past they have been voluntary, this year we have changed it and made them mandatory! "Can anyone shed some light on why the change?" Quite simply because last year the system was abused by way too many clubs and it needed to be changed. It is simply unfair and not good enough if the Festival techs are running around in the interval trying to get hold of the director of the next play to find out what the sound and lighting requirements are FOR THE NEXT PLAY, and then finding out that they need specials that need to be rigged somehow, because no one involved in the play thought to inform the techs! The tech rehearsals are not actually a rehearsal as such, each play has fifteen minutes to walk the stage and get used to the space and the acoustics, while the director or stage manager lets the techs know what is going on. And to reiterate, no, they are not a new thing, they are actually something that has been there forever, we are just being more stringent this year with a number of the rules. And yes, the rules were sent out with the entry packs, including a covering letter outlining which rules had changed. There is already one play this year that may be deemed ineligible for best play and best director if their script is not already sitting in the mailbox at Lotteries House waiting to be picked up!