Mackay Eisteddfod – Speech & Drama — A Queensland Eisteddfod Speech & Drama Section: Characterization and Duologue Classes Across an 11-Tier Age Ladder

Speech & Drama · Australia & New Zealand

The Mackay Eisteddfod (Queensland, Australia, 79th year) Speech & Drama section, with real Characterization and Duologue classes across a full 11-tier age ladder from 6 Years & Under to 19 Years and Over.

A ready-made speech and drama section with a solo characterization class and a duologue class for pairs, graded from six-and-unders to adults, with a time limit that grows with age and a performance-from-memory rule.

This template models the Speech & Drama section of a long-running regional eisteddfod in Queensland, Australia. Competitors perform a short piece in front of an adjudicator, who awards a placing and gives written or spoken feedback. It is built from the eisteddfod’s own published 2026 schedule, so the two classes, the age tiers and the time limits are real. Schedules change every year, so check the current one before reusing dates, fees or entry rules.

Two competitions are modelled. Characterization is a solo class in which one performer presents a character of their own choice, taken from verse, drama or prose. Duologue is a two-person scene with costume permitted. Both are open to boys and girls and performed in English, and both must be performed from memory with no music or backing track. A duologue pair may mix ages, but the pair then performs in the age group of the older partner.

Entrants are grouped into eleven age tiers: 6 years and under, then single years from 7 to 14, then 15 to 18 years and 19 years and over. Characterization uses the full single-year ladder. The duologue class is printed more coarsely in the schedule as cumulative “and under” classes, so each of those classes is applied to every finer tier it spans. Time limits rise with age: soloists get 2 minutes up to 10 years, 3 minutes from 11 to 14, 4 minutes for 15 to 18 and 5 minutes for adults, while duologues run 3 minutes up to 10 years, 4 minutes from 11 to 14 and 5 minutes from 15 upwards.

The source prints no marking table, so each class is scored on a nominal 10 and entry fees are installed as zero for each organiser to set. Placings run from first to sixth. The schedule ties a number of named perpetual trophies and bursaries to particular age bands rather than to a fixed ranking table, so no rank list is installed. Tell entrants in advance how characterisation, voice, diction, movement and, for pairs, shared focus will be weighed.

Where this event comes from

The Speech & Drama section sits within an annual multi-day eisteddfod in a Queensland coastal city, with music, dance and speech classes running side by side; the 2026 edition is its 79th year.

Where this event is run

Competitive eisteddfods with adjudicator feedback and age-graded classes are a long-standing tradition across Australia and New Zealand, and the same format is found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa and Canada. Local arts societies, drama teachers and schools run smaller versions with the same shape: an age ladder, a strict time limit and a from-memory rule.

• Australia

Key facts

• Two competitions: Characterization (solo) and Duologue (pair)
• Eleven age tiers, from 6 years and under to 19 years and over
• Characterization limits: 2 minutes to 10 years, 3 minutes for 11-14, 4 minutes for 15-18, 5 minutes for adults
• Duologue limits: 3 minutes to 10 years, 4 minutes for 11-14, 5 minutes from 15 upwards
• Mixed-gender entry, performed in English, from memory, with no music or backing tracks
• Scored on a nominal 10; the source prints no criteria sheet, so no ranks are installed

Age groups

11

Competition items

2

Competitions

22

Grade bands

0

Rank awards

0

Age groups

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

6 Years & Under

4From

–

7To

Candidates aged 4 to 7 compete in this group

7 Years

7From

–

8To

Candidates aged 7 to 8 compete in this group

8 Years

8From

–

9To

Candidates aged 8 to 9 compete in this group

9 Years

9From

–

10To

Candidates aged 9 to 10 compete in this group

10 Years

10From

–

11To

Candidates aged 10 to 11 compete in this group

11 Years

11From

–

12To

Candidates aged 11 to 12 compete in this group

12 Years

12From

–

13To

Candidates aged 12 to 13 compete in this group

13 Years

13From

–

14To

Candidates aged 13 to 14 compete in this group

14 Years

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

15 to 18 Years

15From

–

19To

Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

19 Years & Over

19From

–

120To

Candidates aged 19 to 120 compete in this group

Competition items

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

Characterization

ActionMarks

Duologue

ActionMarks

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 mono act judging criteria guide.