Texas 4-H Talent Showcase — Youth Talent Showcase in Seven Stage Categories: Junior, Intermediate and Senior, Solo or Team

Talent Test · Community Talent Show

A youth talent showcase from Texas in the United States (formerly known as Share-the-Fun): seven stage categories – Choreographed Routines, Variety Show, Instrumental Music, Vocal, 4-H Skit, Poetry/Prose and Solo/Band Performance – for Junior, Intermediate and Senior divisions, as individuals or teams, built from two sets of district rules.

A ready-made youth talent show for clubs, counties and districts: seven stage categories from choreographed routines to a sing-and-play band act, three age divisions with individual and team entries, and a strict six-minute stage limit with four minutes for set-up.

This template models a youth talent showcase of the kind run through county, district and state contests in Texas. It was built from the printed rules of two districts of the same programme, a 2025-26 information and guidelines sheet and a 2023 rules sheet, which agree on the structure and differ in a few entry details. Rules change from year to year, so check the current ones before reusing dates, ages or entry limits.

Seven stage categories run side by side: Choreographed Routines, Variety Show, Instrumental Music, Vocal, 4-H Skit, Poetry/Prose and Solo/Band Performance. One district groups them into two entry groups: Group One holds Choreographed Routines, Variety Show, Instrumental Music and Vocal, and Group Two holds the skit, the spoken-word category and the sing-and-play category. A member may enter one category from each group, so the same young person can appear twice on the day but never twice in one group.

Every category runs to the same clock. An act has up to six minutes of presentation and up to four minutes for set-up and break-down, ten minutes in all, and both districts print a penalty of five points for each minute, or part of a minute, over the limit. Entry size depends on the district: one allows one to nine participants in any act, the other allows an individual entry and a team of two to nine, with a team drawn from one age division and a cap on how many entries a county may send to each division and category. The template therefore carries an Individual group and a Team group for each of the three divisions.

Judging areas are printed for each category, for example material chosen, talent, creativity, showmanship and costumes for the variety show and the skit, or talent, showmanship, musical presentation and material chosen for instrumental music. The weight of each area is not printed in either document, so the template installs every category as scored out of 100 with no criteria set, and the organiser adds its own score sheet. The first three places in each category at the county contest go on to the district contest.

Where this event is run

Youth talent shows in which each category is a short stage act of a few minutes, entered by an individual or a small team and judged by a panel on showmanship as well as skill, are common at county and state fairs, youth-club contests and community shows across the United States and Canada. This template follows one Texas programme and suits any youth club, extension programme, county fair committee, school cluster or community group that runs a multi-category talent contest with age divisions.

• United States

Key facts

• Seven stage categories: Choreographed Routines, Variety Show, Instrumental Music, Vocal, 4-H Skit, Poetry/Prose and Solo/Band Performance
• Six groups: Junior (8-10), Intermediate (11-13) and Senior (14-18), each as an Individual group and a Team group; the rules name the divisions but print no ages, so these bands are placeholders for the organiser to set
• Time limit for every act: up to 6 minutes of presentation plus up to 4 minutes for set-up and break-down; over-time costs 5 points per minute or part of a minute (not a platform field, so the organiser applies it by hand)
• Entry size: 1 to 9 participants per act in one district; an individual or a team of 2 to 9 members in the other
• Judging areas are named for each category but no marks are printed, so every category is installed as scored out of 100 with no criteria set
• The first, second and third place at the county contest qualify for the district contest; no points or grades are printed, so no ranks or grades are shipped

Age groups

6

Competition items

7

Competitions

42

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.

Junior Individual

8From

–

10To

Candidates aged 8 to 10 compete in this group

Junior Team

8From

–

10To

Candidates aged 8 to 10 compete in this group

Intermediate Individual

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Intermediate Team

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Senior Individual

14From

–

18To

Candidates aged 14 to 18 compete in this group

Senior Team

14From

–

18To

Candidates aged 14 to 18 compete in this group

Competition items

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

Choreographed Routines

DanceMarks

Variety Show

On StageMarks

Instrumental Music

MusicMarks

Vocal

MusicMarks

4-H Skit

DramaMarks

Poetry/Prose

OralMarks

Solo/Band Performance

MusicMarks

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 county fair talent show programs list.