Mansfield Festival – Speech & Drama — A Festival Speech Section: Character Study and Duologue from Year 4 to Open Adult

Speech & Drama · United Kingdom

The Mansfield Music & Drama Festival (Nottinghamshire, England) Speech & Drama classes, with real Character Study and Duologue items spanning a continuous age ladder from Year 4 & Under to Open (adult).

A ready-made speech and drama festival with two classes, Character Study for solo performers and Duologue for pairs, run across a continuous age ladder from Year 4 and under to open adult, with time limits of two to six minutes.

This template models the speech and drama classes of a market-town music and drama festival in Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England, whose classes run over three days in the spring. Children, teenagers and adults perform short scripted pieces in front of an adjudicator. It is built from the festival’s published class listings, so the two items, the age bands and the time limits are real, but dates, fees and entry conditions change every year and the current syllabus must be checked before the template is reused.

Two items are modelled. Character Study is an individual class in which one performer builds and presents a single character from a prepared piece. Duologue is a pair class in which two performers share a scene and enter as one team. Both are open to boys and girls and are performed in English. The festival also lists verse speaking, sight reading, public speaking, mime and group acting, but those families are not part of this template.

Character Study is entered by school year for the younger bands, from Year 4 and under up to Years 11 to 13, then open. Duologue is entered by plain age, from 9 and under up to open. Because the two ladders break at different points, the template uses one shared set of nine age groups built from both, and each item’s class value is repeated across the finer groups it covers. Character Study allows two minutes for Year 4 and under, three minutes for Years 5 and 6, four minutes for Years 7 to 10, five minutes for Years 11 to 13 and six minutes for open. Duologue allows three to five minutes depending on the class.

The syllabus prints no points table that can be used as a criteria sheet, so every competition is scored out of a nominal 10 on a single mark and the template ships no criteria or grades. Entry fees are set to zero so each organiser can add their own. Organisers should tell entrants beforehand how characterisation, voice, movement and, for pairs, the interaction between the two performers will be weighed.

Where this event comes from

The speech and drama classes are one part of a long-running local music and drama festival held in the spring.

Where this event is run

Competitive speech and drama festivals are a long-standing tradition in the United Kingdom and in countries with a similar school system, including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Canada. Local arts societies, schools and drama teachers run smaller versions of the same format, with an adjudicator, a time limit by age and a single mark per performance.

• United Kingdom

Key facts

• Two competitions: Character Study (individual) and Duologue (pairs)
• Nine shared age groups, from Year 4 & Under through to 18+ (Open)
• Open to boys and girls and performed in English
• Character Study time limits: two minutes for Year 4 and under, rising to six minutes for open
• Duologue time limits: three to five minutes depending on the class
• Placings first, second and third; scored out of a nominal 10 on a single mark, with no criteria or grades printed, and other speech families not modelled

Age groups

9

Competition items

2

Competitions

18

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.

Year 4 & Under

4From

–

9To

Candidates aged 4 to 9 compete in this group

Year 5-6

9From

–

11To

Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

11-12

11From

–

12To

Candidates aged 11 to 12 compete in this group

12-13

12From

–

13To

Candidates aged 12 to 13 compete in this group

13-14

13From

–

14To

Candidates aged 13 to 14 compete in this group

14-15

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

15-16

15From

–

16To

Candidates aged 15 to 16 compete in this group

16-18

16From

–

18To

Candidates aged 16 to 18 compete in this group

18+ (Open)

18From

–

120To

Candidates aged 18 to 120 compete in this group

Competition items

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

Character Study

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.