Anansi Playlet Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A ten-minute team playlet in the Dramatic Literature part of the Folk Presentations section of a Trinidad and Tobago village competition, built around the Anansi trickster tales and scored out of 100.

The Anansi Playlet is a short staged play in which a village group tells an Anansi story: the spider trickster of West African and Caribbean folk tradition, who wins what he wants by wit, bargaining and sometimes deceit, and who is often caught out in the end. It is one of four playlets in the Dramatic Literature part of the Folk Presentations section of a national village competition in Trinidad and Tobago, alongside the Carnival Character, Ceremonies and Customs and Folk Characters playlets.

In the source rules each playlet runs for up to ten minutes and is performed by a cast of six to 15 actors, and the item is open to village groups that are not entered in the Folk Theatre category. eTalenter records it as one open team group, mixed gender, any language, with a ten-minute maximum and a total of 100 marks. The platform does not count the cast, so an organiser checks the six-to-15 rule at registration.

A finished entry is a complete miniature drama, not a recitation: a clear story with a beginning, a turning point and an ending, played by actors who stay in character, staged so the whole space is used, and dressed simply but deliberately. Because the marking table gives the largest single share to the use of folk tradition, the story is expected to draw on the genuine Anansi tales rather than borrow the name for an unrelated sketch.

Organisers run it because it keeps an oral storytelling tradition alive in front of an audience that spans every age, and because it lets a village with strong storytellers and actors compete without needing a band or a dance team. The same mark sheet applies to all four playlets, which makes the results easy to compare.

Where Anansi Playlet is run

In eTalenter’s data this item appears in one template: the Dramatic Literature part of the Folk Presentations section of a national village competition in Trinidad and Tobago, listed as the first of the four playlets after Village Chat. This page makes no claim that it is judged the same way anywhere else.

• Trinidad and Tobago

Key facts

• Team entry by a village or community group; the source rules describe a cast of six to 15 actors.
• Marked out of 100: Plot and Story 20, Acting 15, Direction 20, Content (use of folk traditions) 30, Technical 5, Overall Impact 10.
• Maximum time in the template and in the source rules is ten minutes.
• Open to groups that are not entered in the Folk Theatre category; confirm eligibility with the organiser.
• Idea starters, not rules: how Anansi tricks a larger animal out of its food, how he tries to hoard all the wisdom in one pot, how a trick turns back on him, or how a village proverb is acted out through one of his tales.

On eTalenter, Anansi Playlet is filed under Drama and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Anansi Playlet is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Anansi Playlet

What a Anansi Playlet panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Content, use of folk traditions (30): thematic interrogation, creative use and traditional folk content. The largest head, so a story that is recognisably an Anansi tale and says something with it beats a generic skit; a piece that only borrows the name loses marks here.
• Plot and Story (20): story arc, climax, clarity and suitability of plot. A clear beginning, a turning point the audience can see coming and a satisfying end score; a story that wanders or has no climax loses them.
• Direction (20): composition and picturization, use of space, rhythm and pacing. Stage pictures that change, a cast that uses the whole space and a pace that does not sag earn marks; bunched actors and long static scenes cost them.
• Acting (15): diction and articulation, embodiment of character, projection. Voices that carry, and an Anansi who is believably sly rather than simply loud, are rewarded; mumbled lines and actors who drop character lose marks.
• Overall Impact (10): communication of the drama and holding the audience’s interest. A strong opening and a clear closing moral or twist decide this head.
• Technical (5): costume, set and make-up. Only five marks, so simple, purposeful choices are enough; do not spend rehearsal time on an elaborate set at the cost of the story.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Anansi Playlet under Scoring Setup, or start from how judge scoring and tabulation software works.

How to prepare for Anansi Playlet

How entrants and their teachers usually get Anansi Playlet right on the day:

• Ask the organiser for the cast limits, the time frame and whether the playlet may be in dialect or must use standard speech before you choose the tale.
• Choose a real Anansi tale and decide what it is about, such as greed, cleverness or the cost of a trick, so the folk content is a deliberate choice and not decoration.
• Write the story as five or six beats: setup, Anansi’s plan, the trick, the complication, the climax and the ending. Cut anything that does not move one of those beats.
• Cast for voice first. Anansi needs an actor who can hold the stage and change tone between charm and scheming; give every other actor a distinct character, even in a small role.
• Block the playlet for a wide stage: plan entrances, exits and at least three different stage pictures, and keep actors from standing in a line facing the judges.
• Rehearse speech for projection and pace, with someone at the back of the hall checking every line is heard, especially when the cast speaks together.
• Time full run-throughs inside the ten-minute limit with a short spare margin, since going over is a risk you can remove by rehearsing.
• Keep costume and set simple: one clear identifying item for each character and a few props that can be set up quickly.
• Record a rehearsal and score it on the six heads; after a loss, work first on the weakest head, usually Direction or the use of folk content.

Frequently asked questions

Is Anansi Playlet judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Who is Anansi?

Anansi is the spider trickster of West African and Caribbean folk storytelling, known for winning through cunning. The playlet is expected to draw on his tales.

How long is the Anansi Playlet?

The template sets a ten-minute maximum, which matches the source rules. Confirm the exact frame with the organiser.

How many actors can take part?

The source rules describe a cast of six to 15 actors. The platform does not enforce cast size, so check it at registration.

How is the Anansi Playlet marked?

Out of 100: Content (use of folk traditions) 30, Plot and Story 20, Direction 20, Acting 15, Overall Impact 10 and Technical 5.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

As a team. In eTalenter it is a team item with a single mark sheet for the whole cast.

Want the full judging picture? Read how judge scoring and tabulation software works, or browse every drama competition item.