RULES OF THE WELWYN DRAMA FESTIVAL
(Updated September 2014)

1.  All performers must be amateurs. Doubts about the eligibility of any competitor should be referred to the Secretary of the Welwyn Festival Association as early as possible.
2. The adjudicator will use the following marking scheme, based on the current GoDA marking descriptors: Acting – 40; Production – 35; Stage Presentation – 15; Dramatic Achievement – 10.
   Details of marks awarded will be sent to every competing team.
3. A play may occupy not more than 55 minutes and not less than 20 minutes in performance.  The penalties for not keeping within the allotted performance time are as follows:
   • Up to 1 minute over or under time:              1 mark
     Up to 2 minutes over or under time:            3 marks
     Up to 3 minutes over or under time:            6 marks
     Up to 4 minutes over or under time:            10 marks
     Up to 5 minutes over or under time:            15 marks
     More than 5 minutes over or under time:  disqualification from all awards.
4. When applications are being considered preference will be given to complete plays, but any team which enters an extract from a longer play may, if that entry is accepted, include in the programme a brief explanatory note or summary of earlier or later action.  Selection preference may be given to entries that have not been performed on the Barn Theatre stage within three months of the beginning of the Festival.
5. No application will be considered unless the completed entry form and a printed copy of the script are submitted by the given date.
6. The New Play prize will be awarded to the author of the best play performed at the festival which on the closing date for entry is unpublished, has not been professionally performed, and has not won a new play prize in any other competition.  This prize may be withheld at the discretion of the Association.  A new translation or adaptation of a play already published in a foreign language may, in some circumstances, be accepted as a ‘new play’, but any entry submitted in this category will be considered individually and in conjunction with the Adjudicator as to its eligibility.
7. All teams will be subject to the provisions of the Theatres Act 1968.
8. Teams must provide, or make their own arrangements in advance, for any furniture and properties which they require. It is essential that all items delivered to the theatre at the time of the technical rehearsal on the day of performance be removed immediately after the performance.
9.  A black curtain set and a white painted cyclorama will be available.  No play may take more than 10 minutes to set and 5 minutes to strike. Teams must provide details of staging, lighting, sound and any special effects, including use of naked flames, smoke/haze, smoking, pyrotechnics, etc., to the Stage Director by the date stated on the forms, and his/her decision on admissibility will be final. No additional lighting or special effects may be used without the consent of the Stage Director and any such equipment must be set and tested within the allotted rehearsal time of one hour.
10. Any issue covered or not by these rules will be resolved by the WDF Board, whose decision will be final.