Kenya National Drama and Film Festival — Kenya’s National Drama and Film Festival, Set Up Genre by Genre

By

Luke Justin

Urdd Eisteddfod (Wales) — A Ready-Made Event Template on eTalenter

Speech & Drama · Africa

The national drama and film festival of Kenya: 18 genres from play and choral verse to spoken word and screen work, across five school levels.

Seventeen drama, dance, verse and film genres across five school levels, ready to install. Adjust the genre list and age groups to match your own zonal, county or school round, and open registration the same day.

The Kenya National Drama and Film Festival is a national performing-arts competition for learners, run through the education ministry and its drama committee. It is best known for the school play, but the programme is far wider: dance, verse speaking, storytelling, mime, stand-up comedy and a full film strand all compete side by side. This template rebuilds that programme as a working eTalenter event, so a coordinator starts with the real genre list rather than an empty catalogue.

The template carries 17 competition items. Team genres are Play, Play in Kenyan Sign Language, Cultural Creative Dance, Modern Creative Dance, Choral Verse, Spoken Word and Narrative, plus six film genres: Short Film, Screen Dance, Screen Narrative, Screen Verse, Documentary and Advert. Individual genres are Solo Verse, Solo Dance, Mime and Stand-up Comedy. Every item is offered to every age group, giving 90 item-by-group assignments (Play runs in both English and French), each scored out of 100.

Entries are grouped Pre-Primary (ages 3 to 5), Primary (6 to 12), Junior School (13 to 15), Secondary (14 to 18) and Tertiary (19 and over). Secondary is set to allow overlap with Junior School, because the published bands share ages 14 and 15 and a learner’s class level, not just age, decides where they enter. Both genders may enter every item and the language is set to English by default; change it per item if your round runs in Kiswahili or French.

The real festival climbs through five levels: Zonal, Sub-County, County, Regional and National. Organisers running any one of those rounds, or a school preparing its own selection day, can install the template and trim it. Marking follows the published Play scheme of 100 marks, split into choice of play and scripting (30), acting (30), production (20), costume and decor (10) and achievement (10). Other genres have their own schemes, so the template does not impose one set of grade bands; panels enter marks against each genre’s own sheet.

Where this event comes from

The festival began as a schools and colleges drama competition and grew into a national event covering several performing-arts and film genres.

Where this event is run

The festival is run in Kenya, progressing from zonal rounds through sub-county, county and regional rounds to a national final. This template follows that Kenyan format only. It suits a school, zone, county or regional drama festival that wants the same genre list, five learner age groups and a 100-mark scheme per genre.

  • Kenya

Key facts

  • 17 competitions: 7 team stage genres, 4 individual genres and 6 film genres, counting Play in Kenyan Sign Language separately.
  • Five learner groups: Pre-Primary, Primary, Junior School, Secondary and Tertiary.
  • 90 item-by-group assignments, every one open to both genders and scored out of 100.
  • Four individual genres (Solo Verse, Solo Dance, Mime, Stand-up Comedy); the rest are team entries.
  • Play marks: scripting 30, acting 30, production 20, costume and decor 10, achievement 10.
  • The real festival runs five levels: Zonal, Sub-County, County, Regional, National.
Age groups
5
Competition items
17
Competitions
90
Grade bands
0
Rank awards
3

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

  • Pre-Primary — ages 3 to 5
  • Primary — ages 6 to 12
  • Junior School — ages 13 to 15
  • Secondary — ages 14 to 18
  • Tertiary — ages 19 to 99

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Competitions by group

The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.

Item Group Type Gender Max score Time limit
Play Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Play Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Play in Kenyan Sign Language Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Cultural Creative Dance Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Modern Creative Dance Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Solo Verse Pre-Primary Individual Both 100 —
Choral Verse Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Spoken Word Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Narrative Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Solo Dance Pre-Primary Individual Both 100 —
Mime Pre-Primary Individual Both 100 —
Stand-up Comedy Pre-Primary Individual Both 100 —
Film – Short Film Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Dance Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Narrative Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Verse Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Documentary Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Advert Pre-Primary Team Both 100 —
Play Primary Team Both 100 —
Play Primary Team Both 100 —
Play in Kenyan Sign Language Primary Team Both 100 —
Cultural Creative Dance Primary Team Both 100 —
Modern Creative Dance Primary Team Both 100 —
Solo Verse Primary Individual Both 100 —
Choral Verse Primary Team Both 100 —
Spoken Word Primary Team Both 100 —
Narrative Primary Team Both 100 —
Solo Dance Primary Individual Both 100 —
Mime Primary Individual Both 100 —
Stand-up Comedy Primary Individual Both 100 —
Film – Short Film Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Dance Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Narrative Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Verse Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Documentary Primary Team Both 100 —
Film – Advert Primary Team Both 100 —
Play Junior School Team Both 100 —
Play Junior School Team Both 100 —
Play in Kenyan Sign Language Junior School Team Both 100 —
Cultural Creative Dance Junior School Team Both 100 —
Modern Creative Dance Junior School Team Both 100 —
Solo Verse Junior School Individual Both 100 —
Choral Verse Junior School Team Both 100 —
Spoken Word Junior School Team Both 100 —
Narrative Junior School Team Both 100 —
Solo Dance Junior School Individual Both 100 —
Mime Junior School Individual Both 100 —
Stand-up Comedy Junior School Individual Both 100 —
Film – Short Film Junior School Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Dance Junior School Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Narrative Junior School Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Verse Junior School Team Both 100 —
Film – Documentary Junior School Team Both 100 —
Film – Advert Junior School Team Both 100 —
Play Secondary Team Both 100 —
Play Secondary Team Both 100 —
Play in Kenyan Sign Language Secondary Team Both 100 —
Cultural Creative Dance Secondary Team Both 100 —
Modern Creative Dance Secondary Team Both 100 —
Solo Verse Secondary Individual Both 100 —
Choral Verse Secondary Team Both 100 —
Spoken Word Secondary Team Both 100 —
Narrative Secondary Team Both 100 —
Solo Dance Secondary Individual Both 100 —
Mime Secondary Individual Both 100 —
Stand-up Comedy Secondary Individual Both 100 —
Film – Short Film Secondary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Dance Secondary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Narrative Secondary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Verse Secondary Team Both 100 —
Film – Documentary Secondary Team Both 100 —
Film – Advert Secondary Team Both 100 —
Play Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Play Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Play in Kenyan Sign Language Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Cultural Creative Dance Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Modern Creative Dance Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Solo Verse Tertiary Individual Both 100 —
Choral Verse Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Spoken Word Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Narrative Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Solo Dance Tertiary Individual Both 100 —
Mime Tertiary Individual Both 100 —
Stand-up Comedy Tertiary Individual Both 100 —
Film – Short Film Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Dance Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Narrative Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Film – Screen Verse Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Film – Documentary Tertiary Team Both 100 —
Film – Advert Tertiary Team Both 100 —

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.

Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?

No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.

Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to drama and skit competition judging criteria.

Install this template in eTalenter

Everything above is installed as a live, editable event in one step — age groups, items, rules and scoring. Preview it below, then start your own.

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Luke Justin

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