The Cultural Arts Center
Fall Choral &Theatre Festival 2013
The Cultural Arts Center of Dothan, Alabama is pleased to bring you an all new expanded
festival. The Fall Choral and Theatre Festival is being brought to you by The Cultural Arts
Center, The Southeast Alabama Community Theatre and Southeastern Performance
Apparel to spotlight the talents of your best and brightest students. Our center offers you
excellent performance and practice halls and is centrally located in the downtown area, a
short drive away from the National Peanut Festival fairgrounds. The Cultural Arts Center
Fall Choral and Theatre Festival guarantees to offer your students an outstanding
performing arts experience. By hosting this competition during the National Peanut
Festival week, we will also be able to offer your students reduced fees for entry into the fair,
should you choose to participate.
The Cultural Arts Center is the home to five arts related organizations in the Wiregrass.
Housed in the old Southside Elementary School, these organizations share a wonderful
300 seat acoustically sound auditorium and a smaller one hundred seat banquet hall as its
performance venues. Our building has undergone a facelift this year. We have rehearsal
pianos, a Kawai Grand Piano in the performance hall and a full sound system should you
require taped music. We also have dressing rooms, waiting areas and a green room for
theatre students. The Cultural Arts Center and Southeast Alabama Community Theatre
are non-profit organizations that are proud to offer a Fall Choral/Theatre Festival and
promise to insure a positive learning experience for all in attendance. The Cultural Arts
Center and Southeast Alabama Community Theatre will be handling all fees and securing
quality adjudicators for this competition. First place plaques will be awarded to division
winners, Best of Festival, and Spirit of Festival for choral and theatre competitions.
Second and third place ribbons in each division will also be awarded.
The goal of the Fall Choral & Theatre Festival is to spark that extra drive and
determination needed at the beginning of the school year, and to provide valuable
experience in preparing for district, regional, and state competition, while offering a
professionally delivered festival. We are encouraging high standards of excellence and strive
to provide quality adjudication services.
Please note the postmark deadline for registration is Friday, October 11. We will date
and time entries as we receive them and the schedule will be created according to the
order we receive entries. Please return registration forms, payment, information sheet
and adjudication forms by October 11. There will be a $50.00 late fee assessed to all
schools sending in registration forms after the due date. YOU MAY FAX FORMS TO
334-699-2816. We must have payment before the festival begins.
The fee schedule will be as follows:
FOR CHORAL COMPETITION
1. There will be a registration fee of $40 for each performing choir from your school OR
homeschool. (Ex.ample- if you bring a mixed choir, a show choir, and a men’s choir, you
would owe the festival $120).
2. A participation fee of $7.00 per student covers the cost of adjudication, certificate fees,
and entry into the National Peanut Festival fairgrounds. Chaperones attending the
fairgrounds with students will also be required to pay a $6.00 fee to cover their fair
admission.) The festival opens each afternoon at 4pm Monday- Friday and noon on the
weekend. The Peanut Festival runs November 2-11. Please visit
nationalpeanutfestival.com for a listing of fair events and general information.
3. Soloists must pay an additional $15 fee to cover additional costs.
4. If your students will not be attending the Peanut Festival Fair, there will only be a $3.50
charge per student to cover adjudication and certificate fees.
5. There will be a $2.00 admission charge at the door for those wishing to watch the
competition (per day). Choral students will not be charged. Directors must collect the fee
from your chaperones ahead of time and send
it with your registration. The chaperone fee is $1.00 per person. You will receive armbands
for your chaperones and yourself at the registration table. You will need to purchase a
separate armband to observe the drama festival.
For Choral Students and Show Choirs;
You must provide 3 original copies of each piece of music with measures numbered and
the school name clearly labeled when you arrive the day of the festival. If your music is
copied, please provide permission from the publisher to use said music. If your choir is
performing to taped music, you must present your C.D. at the registration table upon
arrival so that our sound engineer may test your music ahead of your performance time.
Choirs may perform 2 songs of your choice. Our choral risers will accommodate 100
students. A Kawai grand piano is available at floor level. We will also have a piano at stage
level for those directors who must also accompany their students.
Show choirs may perform a program of your choice no longer than 15 minutes. The
stage is 32 feet wide and 27 feet deep. Wing space is available on both sides of the stage.
We will close the grand to allow your students to get in place. Please designate on the cd
cover the directions for opening the curtain and starting music. (Example: do your
students come on stage before or after the music starts? )
For Soloists:
Please be advised that this year, the soloists will compete in a room with one judge rather
than on the large performance stage. We hope this encourages more students to compete.
This format will also allow students to talk to the judge and get immediate feedback on
his/her performance. The student may have an accompanist or use taped music. One
piece of sheet music must be turned in at registration for the soloist.
FOR THEATRE COMPETITION:
1. There will be a registration fee of $40 for each performance group from your school
OR homeschool. (Example- if you bring a drama club and a drama class, you would owe
the festival $80).
2. A participation fee of $7.00 per student covers the cost of adjudication, certificate fees,
and entry into the National Peanut Festival fairgrounds. Chaperones attending the
fairgrounds with students will also be required to pay a $6.00 fee to cover their fair
admission.) The festival opens each afternoon at 4pm Monday- Friday and noon on the
weekend. The Peanut Festival runs November 2-11. Please visit
nationalpeanutfestival.com for a listing of fair events and general information.
3. Students presenting Monologues and Duets must pay an additional $15 fee to cover
additional costs.
4. If your students will not be attending the Peanut Festival Fair, there will only be a $3.50
charge per student to cover adjudication and certificate fees.
5. There will be a $2.00 admission charge at the door for those wishing to watch the
competition (per day). Drama students will not be charged. Directors must collect the fee
from your chaperones ahead of time and send it with your registration. The chaperone fee
is $1.00 per person. You will receive armbands for your chaperones and yourself at the
registration table. You will need to purchase a separate armband to observe the choral
festival.
For Drama Students and Dramatic Performance Groups;
PROOF OF PRODUCTION RIGHTS. You must provide a copy of your Royalty
Agreement and/or Permission to Cut for any published piece presented. We must have
this information with your registration before your piece can be performed for
competition. The Cultural Arts Center Choral & Theatre Festival accepts student-written
work. If a play is student written, a signed statement from the teacher must be attached to a
typed copy of the work indicating it is the product of that particular student.
SELECTION OF PLAYS. Any 10-minute, 5-minute, or 3-minute cutting (published,
original, or student written) from a longer play will be accepted. If piece is student written
a signed statement from the teacher must be attached to a typed copy of the work
indicating it is the product of that particular student. The selection of plays should include
the following characteristics:
1.Suitable for middle or high school cast, school and its community.
2.In good taste with regard to language and subject matter.
3.An example of good literature.
4.Emphasis on direction, characterization, and simplicity of production.
It is the participating school's responsibility to know limitations of Host's Stage and
production capabilities. You must provide 3 original copies of each dramatic presentation
for the judges.
TIME LIMITS. Each participating Group or Student should be ready to perform at the
scheduled time. Monologues shall be allowed 3 minutes. Duets shall be allowed 5 minutes.
Scenes shall be allowed 10 minutes. Any presentation breaking this rule will be eliminated
from consideration for a Superior rating.
SET REQUIREMENT. No sets are permitted at the Cultural Arts Center Fall Choral &
Theatre Festival. A 2’ x 4’ table and two chairs are provided on stage for optional use
during a dramatic presentation. Groups or Students are allowed limited properties to
enhance the presentation, but all materials are to be kept and maintained with the school
or performance group and must move with the student or group. There is no designated
area for materials to be “left” during observation of other schools or performances. We
encourage students and groups to embrace the suspension of disbelief with imagined props
and set. Instructors need to communicate concerns to the Festival Theatre Director prior
to the Festival event. The stage itself is approximately 24’ wide x 16’ deep.
We look forward to having you join us this year. Please feel free to e-mail or phone us if we
may be of any service to you.
Sincerely,
Ann Cotton
Executive Director
334.699.2787 phone
334.699.2816 fax
ann@theculturalartscenter.org
Susan Brolund
Festival Coordinator
334.618.1766 phone
334.699.2816 fax
susanatcac@yahoo.com
Jennifer Love Doherty
Theatre Coordinator
334.794.0800 phone
334.699.2816 fax
seact@seact.com