Alabama Community Theatre Festival

The Alabama Conference of Theatre (ACT) will hold a Community Theatre Festival (ACTFest ’14) on October 25, 26 and 27, 2013 at the Wetumpka Depot Theatre, Wetumpka, AL. Productions will be adjudicated and awards given to acknowledge exceptional theatrical work in a variety of areas both on and off stage!

Here are a few details to keep in mind:

All guidelines and rules are set forth by the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). Basically, your set must be be contained in a 10×10 area before and after performance. Your group has up to 10 minutes to set up their sets and props before performance, up to 1 hour to perform, and then up to 10 minutes to strike back to the designated area.
All plays submitted for the festival MUST have a valid performance license dated for the date of competition. Additionally, if you are performing a cutting from a full-length play, you must also have permission from the publisher to cut. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to these rules, and failure to produce either or both of these documents will result in your organization not being allowed to participate in the festival and/or disqualification.
If you would like more detailed criteria, check out the link: http://www.aact.org/aactfest/handbook.html.

The winners of the state festival can advance to regionals at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in March, 2014 in Mobile, AL. A travel stipend will be awarded to the Alabama productions advancing to SETC.

If you would like an application form or wish more information, please contact either the Festival Chair or ACT Executive Director.

Festival Chair Clifton Keen, Jr.	ACT ED Sue Ellen Gerrells
cliffjr31@yahoo.com	actexecdir@yahoo.com
(205) 641-0975	(205) 936-9162

There are lots of great reasons to enter a Festival!

Publicity and Excitement

Theaters that go to festivals typically get enthusiastic support from their community. Promote to your community that you are representing them in a state / regional level event. They love it!
It can be a terrific fund-raising and profile raising opportunity. (Wetumpka –with a lot of hard work–paid for all their festival tours and ended up with thousands of dollars leftover!)
Fire up the imagination and interest of your group – get everyone thinking in new directions.

Great Ideas and Contact

See some of the best theater around. Get great ideas for next season.
Meet terrific people who are doing excellent theater.
Inspire yourself and your group that gets everyone reaching for the next level.
The great work that so many theatres are doing deserves the exposure and honors that Festivals provide.

Bring Home the Bacon and Reap Rewards

It brings prestige, publicity, excitement. The media loves to cover a winner!
Awards from Festivals can help with grants and donations.
Theaters that take honors at festivals get support from their communities and audiences.

Consider joining us for ACTFest ’14!

Cliff Keen, Jr.

AACTFest 14 Chair

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ACTFest ’13: ACT and the Wetumpka Depot Players Host Alabama’s Largest Community Theatre Festival!

After completing two days full days and nights of enlightening workshops, inspiring and entertaining performances, after glow parties, a silent auction, a children’s theatre competition, and a brief divisional meeting, participants at ACTFest ’13, Alabama’s 2012 Community Festival, agreed the event was a smashing success and one of the smoothest festivals ever!

The Wetumpka Depot Players were warm and gracious hosts with their excellent facility Many folks reported that the workshop idea exchanges and performances were highlights of the festival, encouraging them to raise the bar at their own theatres.

AWARDS: Two productions were chosen “Best in Show” and will represent Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Louisville, KY March, 2013 during AACTFest ’13.

“Living Together,” Theatre Downtown, directed by Mary Anne Garrett
“Sylvia,” South City Theatre, directed by Sue Ellen Gerrells

Should one of those two shows not be able to represent, the alternate production will represent Alabama: “William the Bard,” Park Players, directed by Clay Boyce

Best actor: Douglas O’Neill, Jr. — “Living Together”
Best actress: Ashley Richardson — “Sylvia
Best supporting actress: Beth Ashton — “Living Together”
Best supporting actor: David Coker — “William the Bard”
Outstanding Achievement in Direction: Clay Boyce, “William the Bard”
Outstanding Achievement in Set Design: “A Southern Exposure”
Outstanding Achievement in Choreography: Jared Max Wright, “Freckleface Strawberry”
Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble: “Freckleface Strawberry”
Spirit of the Road Award: Red Door Theatre

All Star Cast:

Barbara Davis (Ida Mae) — “A Southern Exposure”
John Collier (Piney) — “A Bad Year for Tomatoes”
Juanita Smith (Leateen Saunders) — “The Passing of Pearl”
Brittain Bright (Jean) — “Dead Man’s Cell Phone”
Hannah Francis (Sarah) — “Living Together”
M. Bates Redwine (Tom) — “Living Together”
Thomas William Shaw (Tom/Leslie) — “Sylvia”
Howard Green (Edmund Malone) — “William the Bard”
Grant Lackey (Jake) — “Freckleface Strawberry”
Baylee Saint (Strawberry) — “Freckleface Strawberry”

Thanks to all who made it possible: our hosts–Kristy Meanor, Carol Heier, and Tom Salter and the Wetumpka Depot Players’ superb volunteers; our backstage crew: Bill Richardson, David Bailor, Karen Black; Festival Chair John Chain and Vice Chair Cliff Keen, Jr.; Silent Auction Coordinator Nell Richardson; Theatre for Youth Chair Kelleybrooke Blackwell; AACT Festival Commissioner Thomas La Foe and our adjudicators: Ginger Heath (North Carolina), Lynn Nelson (Mississippi), and Sam Wallace (Auburn University, Montgomery). A special thank you to the competing companies who brought such entertaining and engaging productions:

Wetumpka Depot Players: “A Southern Exposure”
Millbrook Community Players: “A Bad Year for Tomatoes”
Red Door Theatre (Union Springs): “The Passing of Pearl”
Auburn Area Community Theatre: “Dead Man’s Cell Phone”
Theatre Downtown (Birmingham): “Living Together”
South City Theatre (Columbiana): “Sylvia”
Park Players (Birmingham): “William the Bard”
The Whole Backstage Theatre: “Freckleface Strawberry, the Musical”

Mark your calendars now for October, 2013 and plan to participate in our next community festival! Watch ACT’s website for dates and details.

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ACTFest ’12

The dust has settled; the lights have dimmed, and the reviews are in. Alabama winds up another successful Fall Festival! From workshops to the Silent Auction to the talent competition to productions, this event fostered a learning experience for all involved and created network opportunities for those who participated. Thanks to Kevin and Mary Ann Garrett, John and Susan Chain, Mike Gerrells, Terry Kelley, Bill Richardson, Karen Black, David Bailor, and all the community theatre participants who supported our festival in so many ways.

Four shows competed on October 15 at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL from Wetumpka, Alabaster, Opelika, and Guntersville. Adjudicators April Marshall (North Carolina), Fulton Burns (Mobile, AL), Beth Harvey (Florida) chose the following to advance to Southeastern Theatre Conference in March, 2012: