Speech & Drama · Australia & New Zealand
South Auckland Performing Arts Competitions Society (Papakura, New Zealand), with real Character Recital and Drama Sketch/Extract classes across a 4-tier age ladder from Under 11 to 15 Years & Over.
A ready-made speech and drama section: a Character Recital for individuals and a Drama Sketch or Extract for groups, laid out across four age bands from under 11 to 15 and over, with time limits that lengthen as performers grow.
This template models the speech and drama section of a community performing arts competition in South Auckland, New Zealand. It is deliberately compact: two classes, the Character Recital, where one performer presents a prepared piece in costume as a character, and the Drama Sketch or Extract, where a group presents a short scene or an extract from a play with two or more costumed characters. The real value is the age ladder, which turns the programme’s differently worded class headings into clear, separate bands.
There are four age groups: under 11, 11-12, 13-14, and 15 and over. Both classes are offered in every band. The printed programme splits the recital into four age classes but the sketch into only three coarser ones, so the template reconciles them onto one shared ladder. An organiser then works with a single age system, and a teacher entering a pupil in both classes finds them on the same row. Age is reckoned as at a fixed date set by the organiser, as the printed programme does.
Time limits follow the printed programme. Character Recital runs to 3 minutes for under 11, 4 for 11-12, 5 for 13-14 and 6 for 15 and over. Drama Sketch or Extract runs to 5 minutes for under 11, 6 for 11-12 and 8 for each of the two older bands. Recitals are individual entries and sketches are team entries. Both classes are open to any gender and run in English, and the maximum duration is installed on each assignment so a timekeeper has a clear stop point.
The source prints no mark-sheet, so the template carries a nominal ten-point scale and no invented criteria. Placings are first, second and third, installed with zero points because the programme prints none. Entry fees are installed as zero for each organiser to set. Panels should agree their own criteria before the first class, and a festival wanting more classes, such as prepared reading, mime or improvisation, can add them alongside these two.
Where this event comes from
The structure comes from the competition society’s own published 2026 speech and drama syllabus, which lists the character recital classes, the drama sketch classes, their age ranges, time limits and entry fees.
Where this event is run
Age-laddered solo and group drama classes are a standard feature of festival-style speech and drama competitions in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and other countries that share the same festival tradition, where drama teachers and schools enter pupils year after year. The model suits any school, studio or community festival that wants a simple solo-and-group drama section with fair, age-matched competition.
- New Zealand
Key facts
- 2 items: Character Recital (individual) and Drama Sketch or Extract (team)
- 4 age groups: under 11, 11-12, 13-14, and 15 and over
- Recital limits run from 3 to 6 minutes; sketch limits from 5 to 8 minutes
- Open to both genders, English language; entry fees installed as zero for the organiser to set
- The source’s recital and sketch classes use different age boundaries, so the template maps both onto one shared ladder
- No criteria printed in the source, so none are installed; nominal ten-point scale
- Age groups
- 4
- Competition items
- 2
- Competitions
- 8
- 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.
Under 11 Years
Candidates aged 5 to 10 compete in this group
11-12 Years
Candidates aged 11 to 12 compete in this group
13-14 Years
Candidates aged 13 to 14 compete in this group
15 Years & Over
Candidates aged 15 to 120 compete in this group
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 | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 11 Years | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Character Recital | Individual | — | English | 10 | 3 min |
| Drama Sketch or Extract | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| 11-12 Years | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Character Recital | Individual | — | English | 10 | 4 min |
| Drama Sketch or Extract | Team | — | English | 10 | 6 min |
| 13-14 Years | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Character Recital | Individual | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| Drama Sketch or Extract | Team | — | English | 10 | 8 min |
| 15 Years & Over | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Character Recital | Individual | — | English | 10 | 6 min |
| Drama Sketch or Extract | Team | — | English | 10 | 8 min |
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 speech judging guide.
Install this template in eTalenter
Everything above is installed as a live, editable event in one step — age groups, items, rules and scoring. Start your own below.
Start a SAPACS – Speech & Drama event
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