Speech & Drama · United Kingdom
The Thanet Music, Drama & Dance Festival’s Speech and Drama classes (founded 1921): 2 real classes (Monologue, Duologue) across a real school-year age ladder, built from the festival’s own official 2026 syllabus.
A ready-made speech and drama festival with two classes, Monologue for solo speakers and Duologue for pairs, run across five age groups from Year 6 and under to Open, with a three- to five-minute limit on every performance.
This template models the drama section of a long-established English seaside music, drama and dance festival, where children, teenagers and adults perform short spoken pieces before an adjudicator. It is built from the festival’s 2026 syllabus, so the two classes, the age ladder and the time limits are real, but dates, fees and entry conditions change each year and the current syllabus must be checked before the template is reused.
Two classes are published. Monologue is a solo class: one performer delivers a single piece. Duologue is a pair class: two performers share a scene. Both are open to boys and girls and are performed in English. Pieces can be taken from published plays, and the syllabus also allows original scripts and dramatised poems, although it notes that stand-alone pieces are weighed as less of a challenge than extracts from published plays.
Entrants are sorted by school year into five groups: Year 6 and under, Years 7-8, Years 9-10, Years 11-13 and Open, which has no upper age limit. Monologue time limits rise from three minutes for the two youngest groups to four minutes for everyone older, while every Duologue performance is allowed five minutes. Because the syllabus publishes fewer Duologue age classes than Monologue ones, Duologue entrants in Years 7-10 share one class and the oldest school-year group enters the Open class.
The syllabus prints no points table, so each competition is scored out of 10 on a single mark and the template ships no criteria sheet, grades or ranks. Entry fees are set to zero so each organiser can add their own. The other drama classes in the festival, such as group drama, mime, verse speaking and Shakespeare, are not part of this template.
Where this event comes from
The festival was founded in 1921 and its drama section is held over several days each late winter.
Where this event is run
Competitive festivals of speech and drama are a long-standing tradition in the United Kingdom and in countries with a similar school-year system, including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Canada. Local arts societies, schools and drama teachers run smaller versions of the same two-class format with an adjudicator and short time limits.
- United Kingdom
Key facts
- Two competitions: Monologue (individual) and Duologue (pairs)
- Five age groups by school year: Year 6 and under (ages 4-11), Years 7-8, Years 9-10, Years 11-13 and Open (19 and over)
- Open to boys and girls, performed in English
- Time limits: three minutes for Monologue in the two youngest groups, four minutes for older groups; five minutes for every Duologue
- Scored out of 10 on a single mark; no criteria, grades or ranks are printed
- Fees, other drama classes and adjudicator remarks are not modelled
- Age groups
- 5
- Competition items
- 2
- Competitions
- 10
- 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.
Yr 6 & Under
Candidates aged 4 to 11 compete in this group
Years 7-8
Candidates aged 12 to 13 compete in this group
Years 9-10
Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group
Years 11-13
Candidates aged 16 to 18 compete in this group
Open
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yr 6 & Under | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Monologue | Individual | — | English | 10 | 3 min |
| Duologue | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| Years 7-8 | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Monologue | Individual | — | English | 10 | 3 min |
| Duologue | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| Years 9-10 | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Monologue | Individual | — | English | 10 | 4 min |
| Duologue | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| Years 11-13 | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Monologue | Individual | — | English | 10 | 4 min |
| Duologue | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 min |
| Open | |||||
| Action | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Monologue | Individual | — | English | 10 | 4 min |
| Duologue | Team | — | English | 10 | 5 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 judge scoring and tabulation 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 Thanet Festival – Drama event
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