Subchapter A: ACADEMICS (1033-1036)

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Subchapter A: ACADEMICS (1033-1036)

Section 1033: ONE-ACT PLAY CONTEST

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purposes of the One-Act Play contest are to foster appreciation of good theatre, satisfy the competitive, artistic spirit with friendly rivalry among schools, learn to lose or win graciously, promote interest in theatre during adult life and increase the number of schools which have adopted theatre arts as an academic subject in school curricula. 

(2) Contest Format. Each school performs a short play. The plays are adjudicated and advancing schools are announced and individual awards given. Schools receive an evaluation form and an oral critique.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member high school of the UIL is entitled to enter a play company in the district contest of its appropriate conference.

(2) Participation. Participation shall be defined as a performance of an approved script with a running time of not less than eighteen minutes. A school that fails to participate in the One-Act Play contest after enrolling shall be subject to the full range of penalties, including suspension from the One-Act Play Contest for the following year. 

(3) Faculty Director.

(A) Directors in the high school One-Act Play Contest shall be full-time employees of the school districts the plays represent. Full-time means that the person is under contract to the school board for the whole scholastic or calendar year and the person has enough contractual duties to be considered a full-time employee by the Teacher Retirement System and state law.

(B) Exceptions. A retired teacher or administrator who has 20 or more years of experience may be hired and paid for directing the one-act play. Student teachers, during the semester they are assigned to a member school district to fulfill their student teaching requirements, may volunteer, pro bono, to assist in directing their contest play and may serve as one of the directors allowed. A full-time substitute who has directed one-act play during the school year may be permitted to continue through the state One-Act Play Contest.

(C) Aid in Directing. Directors shall not accept nor solicit aid in the preparation of the play, or in coaching the actors, or in designing props, makeup, costumes, scenery, lighting or in directing the contest play. Violations of this rule may result in the play being deemed ineligible for competition.

(c) CONTEST ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES.

(1) Contest Manager. The one-act play contest manager, appointed by the district director, should not be the 
director of a play entered in the same contest.

(A) Responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the one-act play contest manager to organize and conduct the contest in accordance with UIL rules and the “guide for contest managers,” in the current Handbook for One-Act Play.

(B) Violations. The contest manager is required to declare ineligible a play that violates any of the following: uses an ineligible student, exceeds the number allowed in the performing company, uses additional unit set, or violates Sections 1033 (c)(4), (c)(6) or (c)(7). Violations of any other rules shall be reported to the appropriate executive committee.

(2) Enrollment. Schools shall enroll, register their title and enter contestants by following the procedures found in the current Handbook for One-Act Play. The deadlines can be found in the current official calendar.

(3) Play Selection. All plays on the approved lists of long or short plays may be used in UIL contests.

(A) Plays Not on the Approved List and Scenic Additions. All requests for permission to produce plays not on the approved lists, together with any requests to use scenic elements not permissible under contest rules, shall follow the procedures outlined in the current Handbook for One-Act Play. 

(B) Standards. Directors shall eliminate or reject profane references to a deity and obscene language, actions or scenes from the approved production. The administration of the producing school shall assure that the director complies with these requirements and that the play does not offend the moral standards of the community. When a script and the staged production are examined and approved by the administration of the producing school, the production is eligible for presentation at any contest site. The Standards Compliance Form serves to certify that the play and production have been carefully examined and approved for presentation. The UIL’s Play Appraisal Committee may eliminate language, actions or scenes as a condition for approval of plays not on the approved lists.

(4) Time Limits. No play shall exceed 40 minutes performance time. No play shall use more than seven minutes to set and seven minutes to strike. No more than 60 seconds shall elapse between the set time and the beginning of performance. 

(5) Scenery. Scenic items may be used as specified in the current Handbook for One-Act Play.

(6) Firearms or Explosives. No starter pistol, real gun, rifle, pellet gun, air gun or pistol shall be used in any way, regardless of whether or not the firing pin is removed. Toy, wooden or model firearms may be used. Discharge of a firearm, cap pistol, starter pistol or any type of explosive or the use of combustible materials in connection with a contest play shall not be permitted.

(7) The Director During the Contest Performance. Directors shall not be permitted in the light booth, backstage or offstage areas during the contest performance of their play, but directors are permitted in these areas during the set and strike periods. Directors shall not make contact or communicate with crew and cast members working in said areas during performance.

(8) Awards. Three unranked advancing plays and an alternate shall be selected at zone, district, bi-district and area levels. Two unranked advancing plays and an alternate shall be selected at the regional level. 

(A) Plays at state shall be ranked through sixth place. A+ contests shall be ranked through third place.

(B) Individual awards shall include the two best performers, all-star cast and honorable mention all-star cast. An honorable mention all-star cast, not to exceed the size of the all-star cast, may be selected at the discretion of the judge or judges.

(C) Medals and points given to individual students for competition in the One-Act Play Contest stay with the students even if the school is disqualified. However, if the disqualification of the school is the result of an ineligible student, the student shall return awards and points for that student is deducted.

(9) Judges.

(A) Selection of Judges. Only judges selected from the current UIL’s list of accredited critic judges, unless the UIL approves an exception for valid reasons, shall adjudicate all One-Act Play Contests.

(B) Judges and Critiques. Judging shall be by an odd number of judges or by a single critic judge. A critique of each play shall be presented orally to all entries and interested audience members after the contest manager has announced results of the contest.  At the area, regional and state levels, critiques will be presented as determined by the UIL state theatre director.

(C) Responsibility For Selection Of Judges. Judges for zone, district and bi-district contests shall be selected by the District Executive Committee(s). Judges for the area, regional and state contest shall be selected and assigned by the State Theatre Director. A judge should not be selected that would result in any entry being evaluated by the same judge twice in the same year.

(D) Decision Of The Critic Judge Or Judges. The decision of the critic judge or judges is final. 

Section 1034: ONE-ACT PLAY CONTEST ETHICS CODE

One mission of the UIL One-Act Play Contest is to promote a spirit of cooperation among all involved directors, students, administrators, parents and audience members to promote growth in the realm of educational theatre. The One-Act Play Contest Ethics Code shall carry the force of rule. Member school districts, member schools and/or covered school district personnel who violate any of the provisions of this code shall be subject to penalty.

(a) ONE-ACT PLAY CONTEST CODE. Section 901, the Academic Meet Code requires participants to:

(1) Participate in the OAP contest with the spirit of fairness and sportsmanship, observing all rules both in letter and intent.

(2) Direct and sponsor companies and individuals without resorting to tactics which attempt to skirt the rules or distract from sound educational principles.

(3) Accept decisions of the adjudicator(s) and contest manager(s) graciously without questioning their honesty or integrity unless concrete evidence of impropriety can be brought forward. Extend courtesy to contest officials and site crews from the company members, school officials and audience. Conduct that berates, intimidates or threatens competitors, based on gender or ethnic origin, has no place in interscholastic activities.

(4) Receive the adjudicator’s point of view with an open mind. Negative reaction during the critique shall be deemed inappropriate.

(5) Provide information or evidence regarding eligibility of any contestant or school to the local school administration, then to the proper District Executive Committee. To withhold information is considered dishonorable and contrary to good sportsmanship. Schools guilty of violating this section are subject to penalty.

(b) CODE FOR ONE-ACT PLAY CONTEST DIRECTORS AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS. The Code for one-act play directors and school officials includes the principles described above and the purposes listed in Section 1033 (a-c) and the “Guide For One-Act Play Contest Directors” in the Handbook for One-Act Play. The Code requires:

(1) Awareness, understanding and observance of all rules governing the competition for which the director is responsible.

(2) Treatment of company members based on sound educational precepts and the general welfare and health of the student.

(3) Professional courtesy to other directors, contest manager(s), adjudicator(s) and participants.

(A) Directors shall communicate the aims and rules of the One-Act Play Contest to all company members in the early stages of the rehearsal process.

(B) Directors shall model professional behavior during the planning, the production rehearsal and throughout the duration of the contest.

(C) Directors shall be responsible for making company members, school officials, parents and patrons aware of the objective criteria described in the Handbook for One-Act Play and the subjectivity involved in the process of adjudication; i.e. evaluating, selecting and critiquing any work of art, including a one-act play.

(D) Directors and company members shall model professional decorum during all phases of the contest. For example, directors and company members, as representatives of their schools and communities, shall refrain from disruptive behavior, slanderous or overt actions of disrespect, or any other displays of negative behavior.

(4) Adherence to the One-Act Play Contest calendar and pre-contest planning procedures.

(5) Avoidance of any practice that would endanger the welfare or safety of any company member, including actual contact strikes to the performer. Only choreographed stage combat, creating the illusion of physical contact shall be used in the contest. 

(6) Emphasis on the academic progress of all participants through a check of their academic standing.

(7) Protests and reports of violations forwarded to the appropriate District Executive Committee at the zone and district levels and the State Executive Committee at the area, regional and state levels.

(c) PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. Directors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity for professional growth through affiliations with professional associations and publications.

Section 1035: THEATRICAL DESIGN CONTEST

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purposes of the Theatrical Design Contest are to foster appreciation of good theatrical design, to increase the number of schools which have adapted technical theatre as an academic subject in school curricula, to learn to lose or win graciously, accepting with good sportsmanship the decision and critique with a view to improve future projects and to satisfy the competitive, artistic spirit with friendly rivalry among schools.

(2) Contest Format. Each school submits designs to the UIL office as directed in the current Theatrical Design Guide. The designs are adjudicated and rated and advancing schools are announced. Schools receive a critique. Qualifiers at state are ranked first through sixth.

(b) ENTRIES

(1) Representation. Each member school shall be allowed to enter two individual entries in each of the design areas and one group entry as defined in the current Theatrical Design Guide.

(2) Deadlines. Entry deadlines can be found in the current Official Calendar and the current Theatrical Design Guide. See the UIL website for official changes.

(3) Faculty Sponsors.

(A) Sponsors in the Theatrical Design Contest shall be full-time employees of the school districts of the schools that the entries represent.

(B) Full-time means that the person is under contract to the school board of the school that the designs represent for the whole scholastic or calendar year and the person has enough contractual duties to be considered a full-time employee by the Teacher Retirement System and state law.

(C) A retired teacher/administrator who has 20 or more years of experience may be hired and paid for sponsoring the Theatrical Design Contest. Student teachers, during the semester they are assigned to a member school to fulfill their student teaching requirements, may volunteer to assist for that school. Schools shall not pay student teachers for assisting.

(D) Sponsors may only provide guidance to the group or individuals. They shall not produce any of the materials contained in the submission.

(E) Sponsors shall not accept nor solicit aid in the preparation of the entries or in coaching the students. This provision is not intended to prevent sponsors from taking their students to the several theatre conferences and workshops conducted by the UIL and by numerous high schools, colleges and universities.

(c) CONTEST ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES.

(1) Selection of Title. The title used for the Theatrical Design Contest shall be the same as that used by the UIL Literary Criticism Contest, unless it is deemed inappropriate for the aims and purpose of this contest and another title, genre or playwright shall be announced. All designs submitted shall be for that title, genre or playwright.

(2) Prompt. A “directorial prompt” shall be provided each year. In it, students will be given certain 
conceptual parameters from which they will develop a design concept. The prompt can be found on the UIL website and in the current Theatrical Design Guide.

(3) Submission. Packaging and Labeling. Schools shall submit all items required for groups and individuals by following the requirements as published in the current Theatrical Design Guide.

(4) Evaluation. Each entry shall be submitted to the UIL and evaluated by qualified theatre and marketing professionals. Each entry shall be evaluated and awarded an Award of Merit, Award of Honor, Award of Achievement or Award of Distinguished Merit.

(5) Advancement. Those entries designated as Exemplary shall advance to the state contest. State entries will be ranked through sixth place. A plaque and individual medals shall be presented to the top six groups. Medals shall be presented to the first through sixth place individual winners.

Section 1036: FILM

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of the Young Filmmakers Festival is to provide students with the opportunity to explore the art of cinematic storytelling.

(2) Contest Format. The films shall focus on storytelling using the techniques and tools found in the cinematic arts.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member school shall be allowed to submit three entries in each category as defined in the current Young Filmmakers Guide.

(2) Deadlines. Entry deadlines can be found in the current Official Calendar and the current Young Filmmakers Guide. See the UIL website for official changes.

(3) Faculty Sponsors

(A) Sponsors in the UIL Young Filmmakers Festival shall be full-time employees of the school districts the entries represent.

(B) Adult involvement in the project is limited to on-screen talent and/or behind the scenes in a faculty advisor capacity.

(c) CONTEST ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES.

(1) Eligible Material. Only those films produced during the current school year or spring and summer months immediately preceding the competition will be considered for submission into the festival. 

(A) Submitted films must be original works and are required to have clearances for music or other copyrighted material used in the project. Films containing copyrighted material used without permission will not be eligible for screening.

(B) The administration of the producing school shall assure that the production does not offend the moral standards of the community. When the final edited product is examined and approved by the administration of the producing school, the production is eligible for presentation at any contest site. A “community standards and copyright compliance form” included in the entry form serves to certify that the production has been carefully examined and approved for presentation.

(2) Entry Procedures. The entry procedures, deadlines and categories shall be posted on the UIL website.

(3) Evaluation. Films submitted to the festival shall be previewed and scored by adjudicators. The top entries in each category will be screened and awarded at the state festival.