A drama category in a national performing arts festival in Jamaica where a group acts out a short play set in an imagined world, with four minutes on the clock and a score out of 100.
Drama – Fantasy is the first category in the Drama discipline of the Jamaican national performing arts festival that this template is rebuilt from. It follows the Dance block and opens a run of drama categories named by genre rather than by size: Fantasy, Gospel Drama, Tea Meeting, Farce, Tragedy, Comedy, Musical and so on. A fantasy play is one whose world, characters or events could not happen in everyday life: a kingdom under a spell, a talking animal, a ghost, a dream that turns real, a journey to another place. The audience is asked to accept the imagined rules and then follow a story that plays out inside them.
The extract used to build the template lists the category and its limits but prints no definition, no required length of script, no rule on costume or set and no marking table. This page therefore describes what a fantasy play normally is and does not claim to know what the festival requires. An organiser who runs the category should publish their own wording on whether the script must be original or may be adapted from a folk tale, and whether a narrator is allowed, because those points decide how entries are prepared and how they are compared.
A good fantasy round in four minutes is built like any short play: an opening that shows the imagined world quickly, a problem that breaks into it, a turning point and an ending. The difference is that the cast has to make the unreal believable with very little. A single cloak can make a wizard, a change of voice can make a creature, a shift of light or a sound can mark the edge of a dream. Strong casts agree the rules of their world early and then keep to them, so that a spell that works in the first minute still works in the last.
On the template the item is offered in all seven classes, from the youngest children (ages 3-6) to adults (20 and over) and the combined class. Every class has the same limits: four minutes with a warning bell at three, a score out of 100, both genders in one list, English as the language. The template records the entry as a team, so the cast is entered together; it does not fix a number of actors, so say in your notice what the minimum and maximum cast size is.
Organisers keep a fantasy category because it opens the stage to young performers and to groups with little equipment. Imagination is cheap, and a class of children telling a story about a dragon is often more inventive and more fun to watch than a realistic scene played safely.
Where Drama – Fantasy is run
On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the Jamaican national performing arts festival template, where it is assigned to all seven classes (six age bands from 3-6 up to adults aged 20 and over, plus a combined class) inside the Drama discipline. Fantasy plays and fairy-tale scenes also turn up in school drama festivals, youth theatre showcases, library and community storytelling days and children’s arts fairs, but each event sets its own rules on script, cast size, props and time, so read the notice of the event you are entering instead of assuming the limits here.
- Jamaica (the national performing arts festival the template is built from)
Key facts
- A short group play set in an imagined world, with the entry recorded as a team on the template
- Open to both genders in one list, with the language set to English
- Offered in all seven classes, from Class 1 (ages 3-6) to Class 6 (adults, 20 and over) and the combined class
- Four-minute limit with the warning bell at three minutes
- Scored out of 100 on the template; the festival awards medals against published mark bands rather than first, second and third
- Not to be confused with the other genre categories on the same list (Farce, Tragedy, Comedy, Musical, Gospel Drama) or with Drama – Skit, which is a short sketch
- The extract used for the template prints no definition, no rule on script origin or cast size and no per-criterion weights, so none are asserted here
On eTalenter, Drama – Fantasy is filed under On Stage 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, Drama – Fantasy is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Drama – Fantasy
What a Drama – Fantasy panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The source does not print this category’s marking table, so what follows is organiser guidance for agreeing yardsticks with the panel, not rules from the source
- Belief in the imagined world: the cast sets out its rules quickly and keeps to them, so the audience accepts the magic, the creature or the dream and does not spend the four minutes wondering what is going on
- Story: a clear beginning, a problem, a turning point and an ending that lands inside the time, not a string of striking images with no plot
- Characterisation: each fantastic character has its own voice, walk and way of reacting, and the cast stays in character when others are speaking
- Inventive use of little: costume, props, sound and movement used with imagination to suggest the unreal, rather than a heap of items that slows the changeovers
- Ensemble work: the cast shares the stage, cues each other cleanly and moves as a group when the story needs it, with no one hiding at the back or taking the whole scene
- Voice and diction: every line is heard and understood at the back of the room, including in the loud or exciting moments
- Time discipline: the play finishes within four minutes, with the warning bell at three used to pace the ending
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Drama – Fantasy under Scoring Setup, or start from the full drama & skit judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Drama – Fantasy
How entrants and their teachers usually get Drama – Fantasy right on the day:
- Ask the organiser in writing whether the script must be original, whether a folk tale may be adapted and whether a narrator is allowed, and keep the answer with your entry paperwork
- Pick one imagined idea and keep it simple: one world, one problem, three or four characters. A four-minute play cannot carry a whole quest
- Write down the three rules of your world in one sentence each (for example: the spell only works at night) and check every scene against them
- Time the script aloud, with movement and pauses, before casting the final version; fantasy plays tend to run long because of the action and the changeovers
- Build creatures and magic from the body and voice first (posture, pace, sound), then add a single prop or costume piece per character instead of a full wardrobe
- Rehearse entrances, exits and any change of place until they take seconds, and agree one signal that tells the cast the scene has shifted
- Run speaking drills for the back row of the hall: slow down the exciting lines and finish every sentence, because unclear words lose the story fast
- Rehearse recovering from a missed cue: another actor covers the gap with a line or an action, so the audience never sees a stall
- With the youngest classes, start from a story the children already love and let them add their own characters, which keeps the play theirs and the performance relaxed
Ready-made event templates that include Drama – Fantasy
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| JCDC National Performing Arts Festival (Jamaica) | On Stage | Marks | 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Drama – Fantasy 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.
What is a fantasy play in a drama festival?
A short play set in an imagined world or involving things that could not happen in daily life, such as magic, spirits or talking animals. The extract used for this template gives no further definition, so check the organiser’s notice for script and length rules.
Can we adapt a fairy tale or folk tale?
The template does not say. Ask the organiser whether adaptations are allowed or whether the script must be original, and follow the answer in writing.
How long can it be and how is it marked?
The template sets four minutes with a warning bell at three, and scores out of 100. The festival awards medals against mark bands, and the extract used for the template prints no per-criterion weights for this category, so an organiser using it should agree and publish their own.
How is Fantasy different from Comedy, Farce or Drama – Skit?
Those are separate categories on the same list. Fantasy is defined by its imagined setting, not by tone: a fantasy play can be funny or sad, while Comedy and Farce are defined by their humour and Skit by its short sketch form.
Is it entered as a team or as individuals?
The template records it as a team entry in every class, with both genders in one list. It does not fix a number of actors, so ask the organiser for the minimum and maximum cast size.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full drama & skit judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Drama – Fantasy in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Drama – Fantasy, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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