Speech and Drama

Coronavirus

The WMF committee has very reluctantly decided not to hold a “live” festival this year. Instead, entrants will make recordings of their performances, upload them to cloud storage, share them and send us links which will be forwarded to the adjudicators so that they can comment on and grade the performances.

We regret that this means that the performances will not be publicly available and cups and trophies normally presented during the Festival sessions will not be awarded this year. A decision about whether to hold the Young Musician Competition in February and to award the other major trophies will be taken after the festival.

Please enter as usual by the closing date of 4th October, 2020 and you will receive an e-mail confirming your entry.

You’ll receive a second e-mail a day or two after the closing date with information about your entry that you can use to complete the video submission form. This form must be completed by 7th November.

You should make a video recording of your performance for each class that you have entered. Upload it to a suitable platform, making appropriate privacy settings, and send us the link. Please do not send us the recording itself. Advice on making and submitting recordings is available elsewhere on this site.

These links will be forwarded to the adjudicators who will grade and comment on the performances.

When we receive the mark sheets back, we will send them on to you.

If you have any queries about this process, please get in contact with the Speech & Drama section secretary.

The age of performers is reckoned as on 1st September.
Performers should speak from memory except in ‘reading’ classes.
Any singers using a pre-recorded backing track (to which they have public performing rights) should provide their own playback equipment, which should be a single unit. The track must not include vocals. The time needed to set the equipment up should be included in the overall timing. Microphones may not be used.
Suitability of choice will be taken into account. (See regulation 6.)

Time limits must be adhered to in fairness to all — we do not wish to stop performers so please do not choose pieces that extend beyond the time limit.

Solos – Verse Speaking/Reading

S001: Verse Speaking – under 7yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
Festival Medal

S002: Verse Speaking – 7yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
Festival Medal

S003: Verse Speaking – 8yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
Festival Medal

S004: Verse Speaking – 9yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
The Othon Polak Cup for the best performance of S004 and S005

S005: Verse Speaking – 10-11yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
The Othon Polak Cup for the best performance of S004 and S005

S006: Verse Speaking – 12-13yrs
Own choice, including humorous verse.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
The Bradly Cup for the best performance of S006 to S009

S007: Verse Speaking – 14-15yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 2 minutes
Fee: £6
The Bradly Cup for the best performance of S006 to S009

S008: Verse Speaking – 16-18yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7
The Bradly Cup for the best performance of S006 to S009

S009: Verse Speaking – over 18yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £8
The Bradly Cup for the best performance of S006 to S009

S010: Sonnet – 13-18yrs
Own choice.
Fee: £7

S011: Poetry Reading – 13-17yrs
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7

S012: Poetry Reading – 18yrs and over
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £8

Solos – Reading

S013: Prose Reading – 10-12yrs
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7
The Boroughs Cup

S014: Prose Reading – 13-15yrs
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7

S015: Prose Reading – 16-18yrs
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8

S016: Prose Reading – over 18yrs
Own choice. Excluding drama.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8

S017: Dramatic Reading – 13-18yrs
Own choice excluding Shakespeare. A speech for ONE character only as a dramatic reading. NOT memorised nor acted.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7

S018: Bible Reading – 11-12yrs
Own choice from King James’ or Revised Standard Version or Jerusalem Bible.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7

S019: Bible Reading – 13-14yrs
Own choice from King James’ or Revised Standard Version or Jerusalem Bible.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7

S020: Bible Reading – 15-17yrs
Own choice from King James’ or Revised Standard Version or Jerusalem Bible.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8

S021: Bible Reading – 18yrs and over
Own choice from King James’ or Revised Standard Version or Jerusalem Bible.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8

Solos – Acting

S022: Solo Acting – 7-9yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S023: Solo Acting – 10-11yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 3 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S024: Solo Acting – 12-14yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

S025: Solo Acting – 15-16yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

S026: Solo Acting – 17-18yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

S027: Solo Acting – over 18yrs
Perform a speech from a play (except Shakespeare) or dramatisation from a novel of own choice. Selections must be scripted scenes taken from published works.
Time limit: 4 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

S028: Solo Acting – Shakespeare – under 18yrs
Own choice of speech or scene for one character only.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

S029: Solo Acting – Shakespeare – 18yrs and over
Own choice of speech or scene for one character only.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Woking Cup for best performance in classes S024 to S029

Solos – Speaking

S030: Public Speaking – 9-11yrs
A talk on any subject of own choice. Notes may be used – but not a full script. No visual aids.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £8
Festival medal

S031: Public Speaking – 12-14yrs
A talk on any subject of own choice. Notes may be used – but not a full script. No visual aids.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £8

S032: Public Speaking – 15-16yrs
A talk on any subject of own choice. Notes may be used – but not a full script. No visual aids.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £8

S033: Public Speaking – 17-18yrs
A talk on any subject of own choice. Notes may be used – but not a full script. No visual aids.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10

S034: Public Speaking – 19yrs and over
A talk on any subject of own choice. Notes may be used – but not a full script. No visual aids.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10

Solos – Musical Theatre

Musical theatre classes. Performances should be a musical scene. These should be chosen from a published work of musical theatre and should include a balance between song, movement and dialogue. Please provide a copy of the music / script for the adjudicator. Competitors may use their own accompanist or a backing track, which should not include vocals, to be played on their own machine.

S035: Musical Theatre Solo (before 1970) – under 8yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S036: Musical Theatre Solo (before 1970) – 8-11yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S037: Musical Theatre Solo (before 1970) – 12-17yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S038: Musical Theatre Solo (before 1970) – 18yrs and over
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S039: Musical Theatre Solo (after 1970) – under 8yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S040: Musical Theatre Solo (after 1970) – 8-11yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S041: Musical Theatre Solo (after 1970) – 12-17yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S042: Musical Theatre Solo (after 1970) – 18yrs and over
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

Duos – Acting

S043: Duologues – 8-10yrs
A small table and chairs will be provided. Appropriate costumes may be worn, but only hand props are allowed.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one duologue class where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10
Festival Medal

S044: Duologues – 10-14yrs
A small table and chairs will be provided. Appropriate costumes may be worn, but only hand props are allowed.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one duologue class where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10
The Speech and Drama Duologue Shield for the best performance of S044 to S046

S045: Duologues – 14-17yrs
A small table and chairs will be provided. Appropriate costumes may be worn, but only hand props are allowed.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one duologue class where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10
The Speech and Drama Duologue Shield for the best performance of S044 to S046

S046: Duologues – 18yrs and over
A small table and chairs will be provided. Appropriate costumes may be worn, but only hand props are allowed.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one duologue class where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £10
The Speech and Drama Duologue Shield for the best performance of S044 to S046

Duos – Musical Theatre

S047: Musical Theatre Duet (before 1970) – under 8yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S048: Musical Theatre Duet (before 1970) – 8-11yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S049: Musical Theatre Duet (before 1970) – 12-17yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S050: Musical Theatre Duet (before 1970)- 18yrs and over
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S051: Musical Theatre Duet (after 1970) – under 8yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S052: Musical Theatre Duet (after 1970) – 8-11yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £7
Festival Medal

S053: Musical Theatre Duet (after 1970) – 12-17yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

S054: Musical Theatre Duet (after 1970) – 18yrs and over
Own choice.
Time limit: 6 minutes
Fee: £8
The Jubilee Trophy for best performance in classes S037, S038, S041, S042, S049, S050, S053 and S054

Duos – Improvisation

Improvisation classes. The adjudicator will announce the subject for each class approximately 10 minutes before it begins. The group must be present for this announcement and then they may leave the room to discuss the theme.

S055: Improvisation Duologue – 10-14 yrs
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £10

S056: Improvisation Duologue – 14-17 yrs
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £10

S057: Improvisation Duologue – 17yrs and over
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £10

S058: Improvisation Duologue – any age
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £10

Groups – Acting

S059: Group Drama – 6-9yrs
Own choice including Shakespeare. Selections must be scripted scenes from published works or rehearsed scenes from improvised work devised in class. No scenery, minimum make-up and limited costume and hand props may be used.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group drama class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 12 minutes
Fee: £15
The Mansfield Speech and Drama Cup for the best performance of S059 to S061

S060: Group Drama – 9-14yrs
Own choice including Shakespeare. Selections must be scripted scenes from published works or rehearsed scenes from improvised work devised in class. No scenery, minimum make-up and limited costume and hand props may be used.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group drama class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 12 minutes
Fee: £15
The Mansfield Speech and Drama Cup for the best performance of S059 to S061

S061: Group Drama – 14yrs-18yrs
Own choice including Shakespeare. Selections must be scripted scenes from published works or rehearsed scenes from improvised work devised in class. No scenery, minimum make-up and limited costume and hand props may be used.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group drama class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 12 minutes
Fee: £15
The Mansfield Speech and Drama Cup for the best performance of S059 to S061

Groups – Speaking

S062: Group or Choral Speaking – 6-9yrs
No fewer than four nor more than thirty in the group.
Own choice poetry or prose.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group or choral speaking class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 10 minutes
Fee: £15
The St Teresa Cup for the best performance of S062 to S064

S063: Group or Choral Speaking – 9-14yrs
No fewer than four nor more than thirty in the group.
Own choice poetry or prose.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group or choral speaking class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 10 minutes
Fee: £15
The St Teresa Cup for the best performance of S062 to S064

S064: Group or Choral Speaking – 14-18yrs
No fewer than four nor more than thirty in the group.
Own choice poetry or prose.
NB: A performer may only appear once within any one group or choral speaking class, where age limits overlap.
Time limit: 10 minutes
Fee: £15
The St Teresa Cup for the best performance of S062 to S064

Groups – Musical Theatre

S065: Musical Theatre Group – under 8yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 8 minutes
Fee: £10

S066: Musical Theatre Group – 8-11yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 8 minutes
Fee: £10

S067: Musical Theatre Group – 12-17yrs
Own choice.
Time limit: 12 minutes
Fee: £15

S068: Musical Theatre Group – 18yrs and over
Own choice.
Time limit: 12 minutes
Fee: £15

Groups – Improvisation

S069: Group Improvisation – 10-14yrs
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £15

S070: Group Improvisation – 14-17yrs
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £15

S071: Group Improvisation – 17yrs and over
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £15

S072: Group Improvisation – any age
Time limit: 5 minutes
Fee: £15