Speech & Drama · Asia
The Maharashtra state drama competition across Marathi, musical, Hindi, Sanskrit and children streams, with amateur and professional divisions.
Sets up Maharashtra’s long-running state drama competition as a ready programme: Marathi, musical, Sanskrit, one-act and children’s drama streams, with amateur, professional and children’s divisions.
The Maharashtra State Drama Competition (Rajya Natya Spardha) is a government-run, state-wide contest for full-length and one-act plays. It has run for more than sixty years, and the 2025-26 season was its sixty-fifth edition. Entries come from registered drama groups rather than from individual actors, so every item here is a team entry.
The competition is divided into streams. The template carries five items: Natya (Drama), Sangeet Natya (Musical Drama), Sanskrit Natya (Sanskrit Drama), Ekankika (One-Act Play) and Balnatya (Children’s Drama). They are spread across four divisions: an amateur division (Hausi) for performers aged 16 and over, a professional division (Vyavsayik) for 18 and over, a children’s division (Balnatya) for ages 8 to 16, and a separate division for differently-abled children (Divyang Balnatya) in the same age band. The amateur division offers Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit drama plus musical drama and one-act plays; the professional division is Marathi drama.
Groups register online within a fixed window, with supporting documents and an affidavit, and late entries are refused. The amateur stream is run as a preliminary round at around nineteen or twenty centres, followed by a final round; the professional stream is a single round. The department fixes the centres and the start date and appoints the judging panels, whose names are published with the results.
Results are published as formal lists. Besides first, second and third places for the production, the awards recognise craft: direction, set design, lighting, costume, music direction, and best acting for a male and a female performer. The published rules do not give a per-criterion numeric scheme, because panels decide qualitatively. The template therefore applies the app’s standard defaults for scoring, and an organiser should replace them with whatever scheme their own panel uses.
Where this event comes from
The competition is a state government initiative that has been held every season for over sixty years, with the 2025-26 season counted as the sixty-fifth.
Where this event is run
This template follows the Maharashtra state drama competition, a state-level contest run by the government’s cultural affairs department. The preliminary round is held at centres across Maharashtra, with one or more in neighbouring Goa, and the best productions go through to a final round. The same stream-by-division layout suits any regional drama festival that mixes languages, a children’s section and a professional section.
- Maharashtra, India
- Goa, India
Key facts
- Five items, all team entries, open to both genders.
- Four divisions: amateur (16 and over), professional (18 and over), children’s (8 to 16) and differently-abled children’s (8 to 16).
- Streams in the template: Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit drama, musical drama, one-act play and children’s drama.
- Amateur stream: preliminary round at about 19-20 centres, then a final round; professional stream is a single round.
- Craft awards for direction, set design, lighting, costume, music direction and best acting (male and female).
- The published rules give no numeric marking scheme, so the 100-mark total, 10-minute field and A/B/C grade bands are app defaults, not competition rules.
Age groups
Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.
- Balnatya — ages 8 to 16
- Divyang Balnatya (Differently-Abled Children) — ages 8 to 16
- Hausi (Amateur) — ages 16 to 99
- Vyavsayik(Prof) — ages 18 to 99
Competition items
The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.
- Natya (Drama) — On Stage, Rating out of 10
- Sangeet Natya (Musical Drama) — On Stage, Rating out of 10
- Sanskrit Natya (Sanskrit Drama) — On Stage, Rating out of 10
- Ekankika (One-Act Play) — On Stage, Rating out of 10
- Balnatya (Children’s Drama) — On Stage, Rating out of 10
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natya (Drama) | Hausi (Amateur) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Sangeet Natya (Musical Drama) | Hausi (Amateur) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Natya (Drama) | Hausi (Amateur) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Sanskrit Natya (Sanskrit Drama) | Hausi (Amateur) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Ekankika (One-Act Play) | Hausi (Amateur) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Natya (Drama) | Vyavsayik(Prof) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Balnatya (Children’s Drama) | Balnatya | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
| Balnatya (Children’s Drama) | Divyang Balnatya (Differently-Abled Children) | Team | Both | 100 | 10m 10s |
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 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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