Selection procedures
There is nothing like the rush of presenting a show in front of hundreds of Thespians and their troupe directors. They are there for you and they can’t wait to see what you’ve got, because they know you’re one of the best. Festival Main Stage—consider it for your show.

We’re looking for diversity—comedy, mystery, musical, farce, period, avant-garde, tragedy. We want it all.

If you’re doing quality work, and your theatre program has the financial and human resources that it takes to mount a production far from home, we encourage you to consider having your show screened for the Thespian Festival Main Stage.

Main Stage invitations are issued on the basis of screenings, which can be arranged at your school or at a state/chapter Thespian conference.

Screenings of school presentations
Authorized representative(s) selected by the Festival director will observe the performances of Thespian-affiliated schools that want to be screened for a possible performance on the Festival Main Stage providing:

1. The troupe director completes in full and submits the Thespian Festival Main Stage bid sheet at least sixty days in advance of the performance and no later than March 1, 2010.
2. The troupe director submits with the bid sheet a check, made payable to Thespian Festival, LLC for $1,050 to cover all of the expenses (transportation, lodging, meals, etc.) of the representative(s) to attend and screen the performance.
   • Every attempt will be made to send two adjudicators; however, some situations (weather, airline difficulties) may prevent both adjudicators from attending the performance. In these cases only one adjudicator will view your show.
3. If possible, the troupe director will submit two copies of the script for review by the adjudicators.
4. The troupe director understands that this production may not be screened more than once per school year.
5. The troupe director makes reservations at a hotel near the site of the performance for the representative(s) screening the performance.
6. The troupe director provides in writing with the bid sheet explicit directions to the site of the performance. If requested by the Festival director, the troupe will attempt to provide local transportation for the representative(s).
7. The troupe director indicates on the bid sheet that the production to be screened will include the same script, cast, costumes, and set to be presented, if selected, at the Festival, unless changes are advised by the Festival director based on the recommendations of the screening team and the theatre’s technical staff.
8. The troupe director schedules the performance to be screened on a Saturday evening between October 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010. The performance should not conflict with the dates of the chapter Thespian conference.

The home office will return the bid sheet, along with the $1,050 check, to the troupe director within thirty days of receiving it if:

1. Any of the requirements outlined above are not met.
2. The choice of play is not appropriate in the judgment of the Festival director. Every attempt will be made to schedule productions on the Festival Main Stage that are of literary and dramatic value and that contribute to the variety and balance of the program.
3. There are no authorized representatives available to attend the performance.
4. A show with the same title has already been selected for the Main Stage schedule.
5. The Festival Main Stage schedule is complete.

If up to one week prior to the performance the troupe director finds the performance is not Main Stage quality, the troupe director is encouraged to contact the Festival director to cancel. If the troupe director should cancel after the bid sheet and the $1,050 has been accepted and arrangements have been made for the representative(s) to attend the performance, the school will receive a refund minus $100 (for processing) and any airline cancellation fees incurred by the representative(s).

No written or oral critique will be provided at the time of the performance by the representative(s), nor should the troupe director expect a decision regarding a Main Stage invitation to be rendered at that time. The troupe director will receive a written evaluation, as submitted to the Festival director by the representative(s), no more than thirty days following the performance.

The Festival director will also contact the troupe director within thirty days after the performance with a report on the prospects of a Main Stage invitation for the production. This communication may indicate one of the following possibilities:

1. The production is being seriously considered for Main Stage. In that event, shows that are screened in the fall of 2009 will be notified if a Main Stage invitation is forthcoming by January 31, 2010; shows that are screened after December 1, 2009, will be notified by April 1, 2010. Or:
2. The production is not under consideration for a Main Stage invitation. (It may be considered for an invitation to perform in the Early Show or the Freestyle Theatre.) Or:
3. Two or more schools have submitted the same play title to be screened. If the first presentation is selected, then the second production will not be screened and the fee will be refunded.

Screenings at chapter Thespian conferences
Authorized representative(s), as selected by the Festival director, will screen productions at Thespian conferences for possible Main Stage invitations providing:

1. The Thespian conference form has been submitted to the home office at least sixty days in advance of the conference date.
2. The chapter Thespian director has attached to the conference form a check to cover the expenses of the representative(s). The fees are as follows:
   • $1,050 for two screeners to arrive on Saturday.
   • $1,210 for two screeners to arrive on Friday.
   • $1,360 for two screeners to arrive on Thursday.
3. The chapter director has provided the Festival director with information about the play titles, authors, publishers, directors, producing schools of the productions to be screened, and performance date and time. A maximum of three plays (full-lengths or one-acts) may be screened.

The representative(s) will screen productions that have fulfilled the criteria outlined in the section on screenings of school presentations above and will inform the Festival director, immediately following the conference, of their recommendations. The representative(s) are not permitted to discuss their recommendations with the troupe director before reporting to the Festival director. The final decision on all Main Stage invitations rests with the Festival director.

Cuttings
Directors who want a screening of a cutting from a play or a one-act drawn from a full-length script must secure written permission from the play publisher to present the cutting or one-act version. This written permission must be submitted to the home office with the bid sheet.

Guidelines
General information
All production participants must be officially registered delegates for the entire week of Thespian Festival 2010. All directors of Main Stage productions must register for early arrival (Monday, June 21). All Main Stage producing groups must have a stage crew to mount and strike the set. Note of advice: Build your set to travel. A number of riser units can be provided by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for use as scenic pieces. All other scenery, props, costumes, makeup, etc., must be supplied by the performing groups and will not be provided by the University of Nebraska or Thespian Festival. All Main Stage producing groups must provide 2,300 printed programs for delegates. If the first Main Stage sells out, there will be a second Main Stage added to the schedule.

The Festival is open to high school students and their teachers and chaperones. Middle school students and their teachers and chaperones may also attend the Festival, provided the students are at least twelve years of age.

Production allocation
The Thespian Festival will reimburse Main Stage performing groups for a portion of production expenses for one performance only. The funds from Festival may be used for costumes, makeup, properties, scenery, programs, and other costs directly associated with producing the show at the Festival.

Production expense allocations are made according to the following schedule:

• Full-length musicals, up to $2,500.
• Full-length drama/comedy, up to $1,500.
• One-hour comedy/drama/musical, up to $750.

Transportation allocation
In addition to production expense allocations, each producing school will receive transportation expense allocations from Festival to assist with the costs of transporting scenery, costumes, etc., to UNL. This allocation does not include reimbursement for student transportation.

Transportation expense allocations are made according to the following schedule:

• Alaska and Hawaii schools, up to $2,500.
• All overseas schools, up to $3,000.
• Schools 0 to 500 miles from Lincoln, up to $500.
• Schools 501 to 1,000 miles from Lincoln, up to $1,000.
• Schools 1,001 to 1,500 miles from Lincoln, up to $1,500.

Transportation expense allocations will be established on the basis of AAA mileage charts.

Full-length productions
Full-length productions in the Lied Center and the Kimball Theatre must not exceed two-and-one-half hours in length and may be scheduled in the morning or the evening Main Stage slots, Tuesday through Saturday of Festival week. Evening full-length productions will be allowed a maximum of five hours technical set-up time, and morning full-length shows will be allowed a maximum of one-and-a-half hours.

One-hour productions
One-hour productions on Main Stage must not exceed a playing time of sixty minutes and will be scheduled during the morning or the evening Main Stage slots, Tuesday through Saturday of Festival week. One-hour productions will be allowed forty-five minutes technical set-up time, which will only allow for cast and crew members to become familiar with the facilities and will not permit mounting elaborate scenery or technical effects. These productions should emphasize acting, and less focus should be placed on technical elements. No special lighting or sound effects will be permitted for one-hour Main Stage productions.

The Lied Stage
Full-length Lied Center productions will be performed on a playing area on the stage (38 feet deep by 48 feet wide), or on the orchestra pit (level with the stage, 13 feet deep by 62 feet wide), depending on the size of the set. Directors of one-hour productions must specify which playing area—the stage or the orchestra pit deck—they prefer. Additional set-up and prep time may be allowed in the Lied shop with advance approval.

What we see is what we get
Be sure that the production you present for the screening representatives is the same production you will present—if invited—at Thespian Festival 2010.

Do not plan to present a full-length production for screening if you are interested in a one-hour slot, and vice versa. If your production is screened and accepted, do not plan to substitute cast members or make major changes in your scenery, costumes, technical effects, etc., for your presentation at Thespian Festival 2010 without consulting with the Festival director, or unless so advised by the Festival director based on recommendations made by the screening team and the UNL theatre’s technical staff.

For more information, contact:
Nancy Brown, Thespian Festival, 2343 Auburn Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45219-2815 or e-mail nbrownedta.org.

Download the Main Stage Bid Sheet from the link below, print out a copy, complete it, and send the application materials to the address listed above. Keep a copy of the Bid Sheet for your records.

Main Stage Bid Sheet