One-act play to take judge's test

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 57, 18 July 1974, Page 7

One-act play to take judge's test

Taupo's entry in the New Zealand Theatre Federation's one-act play festival — Black Comedy — will be performed before the adjudicators at Reporoa on Saturday. If the Taupo players are successful, they will then compete at Hamilton in the divisional finals for a place in the final to be held at Balclutha on September 6 and 7. The Taupo branch secretary of the federation, Mrs Y. L. West, said yesterday there would also be a workshop by the adjudicator at Reporoa between 9.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. on Sunday. It would be open to those who had taken part in the area festival and anyone interested in theatre. "The aims .of the federation are to serve the cause of theatre by using every opportunity and method to raise the standards of acting, production, design and stage mechanics," she said. "We also aim to encourage the community to acknowledge and. assume its responsibility to theatre."

This was achieved by organising youth and adult residential theatre schools and regional theatre schools in all aspects of theatre, play festivals of one-act and full-length plays and play-writing competitions. These activities were organised on a national or regional level through 21 areas throughout the country. Adjudicators appointed by the federation were

people who, because of their vast experience in all fields of theatre, could judge a play fairly and at the same time offer construetive, helpful and at times stringent criticism to competing teams with diplomacy and'tact. Sometimes these comments could be as entertaining as the plays themselves, hence the emphasis on the festival nature of these annual events and not only on the competitive side, said Mrs West. ^ — - - - ~ — -3