CATEGORIES
Our categories include:
MONOLOGUE // SCENE // DUOLOGUES // DANCE // MUSIC // DESIGN // PHOTOGRAPHY // FILM
MONOLOGUE
TIME LIMIT
1 – 3 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1 ACTOR
SUBMIT
A filmed performance of a soliloquy or monologue from any of Shakespeare’s plays
LANGUAGE
Students must use original Shakespeare language without extra dialogue. They may edit the scene if necessary, in order to adhere to the time limit.
SHOOT
To maintain integrity in this category, students must film their performance as one continuous shot. No cut aways permitted. Please ensure your movement is visible in the recording, ensuring your whole body is visible in the shot.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Character believability
-
Emotional commitment
-
Focus & Energy
-
Staging & blocking
-
Vocal Delivery / use of language
-
Understanding of the text / clarity of ideas
-
Development of character
-
Intro vlog
DUOLOGUE
TIME LIMIT
3– 5 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
2 ACTORS
SUBMIT
A filmed performance of a scene from any of Shakespeare’s plays containing two characters
LANGUAGE
Students must use original Shakespeare language without extra dialogue. They may edit the scene if necessary, in order to adhere to the time limit, or to remove additional characters
SHOOT
To maintain integrity in this category, students must film their performance as one continuous shot. No cut aways permitted. Please ensure your movement is visible in the recording, ensuring your whole body is visible in the shot.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Character believability
-
Emotional commitment
-
Focus & Energy
-
Staging & blocking
-
Vocal Delivery / use of language
-
Understanding of the text / clarity of ideas
-
Development of relationships between characters
-
Intro vlog
SCENE
TIME LIMIT
3– 5 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
2 ACTORS
SUBMIT
A filmed performance of a scene from any of Shakespeare’s plays containing two characters
LANGUAGE
Students must use original Shakespeare language without extra dialogue. They may edit the scene if necessary, in order to adhere to the time limit, or to remove additional characters
SHOOT
To maintain integrity in this category, students must film their performance as one continuous shot. No cut aways permitted. Please ensure your movement is visible in the recording, ensuring your whole body is visible in the shot.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Character believability
-
Emotional commitment
-
Focus & Energy
-
Staging & blocking
-
Vocal Delivery / use of language
-
Understanding of the text / clarity of ideas
-
Development of relationships between characters
-
Intro vlog
SCENE
TIME LIMIT
3 – 6 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
3 – 7 ACTORS
SUBMIT
A filmed performance of a scene from any of Shakespeare’s plays. Choose a scene that is either a turning point for a character or the plot.
LANGUAGE
Students must use original Shakespeare language without extra dialogue. They may edit the scene if necessary, in order to adhere to the time limit.
SHOOT
To maintain integrity in this category, students must film their performance as one continuous shot. No cut always permitted
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Character believability
-
Emotional commitment
-
Focus & Energy
-
Staging & blocking
-
Vocal Delivery / use of language
-
Understanding of the text / clarity of ideas
-
Development of character
-
Intro vlog
DANCE
TIME LIMIT
3– 5 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1 – 10 dancers
SUBMIT
A filmed performance of a dance and/or movement piece inspired by a Shakespeare play.
PERFORMANCE STYLE
The focus of your performance should be on non-verbal storytelling. The performance must be based on the plot, character/s and/or themes of the chosen play. The dance can tell a story/scene/character journey or represent the themes of the chosen play. Shakespearean text from the play may be used.
MUSIC
Your music can play in the background during your filming, or be added to your video after the fact.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Choreography
-
Technique
-
Character believability
-
Emotional commitment
-
Development of relationships/interaction between the characters
-
Focus/energy
-
Understanding of the text
-
Clarity of ideas / storytelling through movement
-
Interpretation from page to dance
-
Intro vlog
SET DESIGN
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1
SUBMIT
4 renderings representing stage design for a production of Shakespeare’s plays.
Consider what staging choices you would need to make for the whole production. You may choose to complete your designs through computer assisted drawing, or upload/scan photos of your hand drawn work. If you prefer to make a physical model of your design/s please include detailed images on the PDF. Your designs must be represented in colour. YOU MUST RENDER YOUR DESIGNS IN COLOUR.
All work must be saved as a single PDF file for ease of viewing.
Provide as much details about your design as possible – materials, functionality, interaction with actors/plot point, lighting looks, integration of AV etc. If you wish, you may include a design statement (no more than 400 words), in your PDF, but please also submit a vlog.
The images should be labelled in the following manner, with only one design per page:
Upper left-hand corner: Name of the play and playwright.
Upper Right-hand corner: Name of the act and scene/location in the show.
Lower Right-hand corner: Student’s name and school.
MORE DETAILS
Designs should be made in context of a full staged production. So, create a design concept for the play. Choose a historical, social or cultural spin. When? Where? Communicate this in your intro vlog. Be creative with the interpretation of the task. You can change the context of your story, the time period, the genre – just ensure the narrative or character interpretation remains loyal to Shakespeare.
STATE SHOWCASE
If your designs are selected for the State Showcase, you are invited to create a model to physically display your stage design of one moment.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their design. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Attention to detail
-
Function
-
Originality and creativity
-
Presentation of renderings/model
-
Suitability of designs within the context of an entire production
-
Understanding of the text
-
Clarity of ideas/justification
-
Interpretation from page to stage
-
Intro Vlog
MUSIC
TIME LIMIT
3– 5 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1 – 5 musicians
SUBMIT
A filmed performance or digital recording of an original music piece either;
A: inspired by a Shakespeare play.
B: for use in a Shakespearean production
PERFORMANCE STYLE
Any musical genre can be submitted, the focus of your performance should be on musical storytelling. The performance must be based on the plot, character/s and/or themes of the chosen play.
Passages from the play may be used but are not a requirement.
FORMAT
Music can either be made electronically and submitted as a wav. or mp3. format or it can be submitted as a filmed performance. If selected to perform at State Showcase, you will need one live element to perform on stage – but you can work that out later!
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
-
Composition as a musical storytelling piece
-
Technique & performance
-
Musical relationship to/development of themes, characters, plot, dramatic point, scene, play etc.
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Suitability of chosen instruments or style
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Originality
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Ability to create mood and atmosphere suitable to the scene/play chosen
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Understanding of the text
-
Clarity of ideas
-
Interpretation from page to music
-
Intro Vlog
-
COSTUME DESIGN
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1
SUBMIT
4 x character renderings for character/s within one of Shakespeare’s plays. Renders must be in colour.
FORMAT
You may choose to complete your designs through computer assisted drawing, or upload/scan photos of your hand drawn work. All work must be saved as a single PDF file for ease of viewing. Please note all artwork used must be the original work of the entrant.
The images should be labelled in the following manner, with only one design per page:
Upper left-hand corner: Name of the play and playwright.
Upper Right-hand corner: Name of the character, act and scene.
Lower Right-hand corner: Student’s name and school.
MORE DETAILS
Renderings may represent different characters and/or may follow a single character through several appropriate changes.
Designs should be made in context of an entire staged production. Therefore, create a design concept for the play. Choose a historical, social or cultural spin. When? Where?
Be creative with the interpretation of the task. You can change the context of your story, the time period, the genre – just ensure the narrative or character interpretation remains loyal to Shakespeare. We will include some helpful examples in our full resources pack, but you are limited only by your creativity!
STATE SHOWCASE – COSTUME CREATION
This year, students who have their work selected for the State Showcase are invited to elevate their work by physically creating one of their designs. At the showcase, this can be modelled by the creator, or a model of their choosing, or displayed. If students wish to create one of their costumes for their initial submission, they are welcome to include photos of the costume in the PDF of their costume designs or include a video of their physical costume in their intro vlogs. At the State Showcase physical costume creation will be adjudicated separately from costume designs.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements:
-
Attention to detail
-
Function
-
Originality and creativity
-
Presentation of renderings
-
Suitability of designs within the context of an entire production
-
Understanding of the text
-
Clarity of ideas/justification
-
Interpretation from page to costume
-
Intro Vlog
PHOTOGRAPHY
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1
SUBMIT
5 – 10 photographs inspired by or telling the story of a Shakespearean play.
FORMAT
Your submission must be uploaded as a single pdf file, for viewing as a collection.
DETAILS
You may choose any of the following categories for your photographic entry:
-
Tell the story of one scene from a Shakespeare play through a photo story
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Tell the story of an entire Shakespeare play through a photo story.
-
capture a theme from one of Shakespeare’s plays through a photo montage
-
Represent different characters, their inner and outer feelings, personalities, likes, dislikes struggles, wants etc. through a photo montage.
Photos may be literal or abstract and may be edited by an editing software before submission.
All photos must be original student work. Students must also have permission from anyone who appears in the final product of their work.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Composition of individual photographs
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Technique (focus, exposure, etc)
-
Representation of story/theme/character through the collection of photographs
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Clarity of story/montage
-
Understanding of the text
-
Use of colour / contrast
-
Clarity of ideas
-
Interpretation from page to photo story/montage
-
Intro Vlog
FILM
TIME LIMIT
UNDER A MINUTE // < 1 min
SHORT FILM // 3– 5 Minutes
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1 – 5 Filmmakers (this doesn’t include actors if necessary)
SUBMIT
A short film inspired by:
A: the narrative of a Shakespeare play
B: A Shakespearean character
C: A scene in a Shakespeare play.
MUSIC
You may add music, but it must be royalty free music, or original music.
FEEDBACK CRITERIA
Students will receive feedback on the following elements of their performance. Selection in the State Showcase will be given for excellence in these fields.
-
Use of film languages (e.g. Shot types, angles, camera movement)
-
Representation of story/theme/character
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Originality & creativity
-
Clarity of story/narrative
-
Understanding of original text
-
Use of conventions of chosen genre
-
Use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound to enhance the film
-
Editing / postproduction
-
Interpretation from page to film
-
Intro Vlog
KEY DATES
COSTS
If you are a registered home school or Distance Education student, please contact us directly.
