Competitive Drama returns to City Centre!

A new One-Act Amateur Drama Festival will take to the stage of The Playhouse over three days in late November this year.

The brand new festival will give local amateur and community drama groups a chance to share their experiences with other like minded groups.

The festival is being organised by the successful City of Derry Drama Festival Committee in response to interest from amateur groups both in the City and throughout Northern Ireland.

Unlike the major three Act Festival, groups are not allowed to have a formal set and are encouraged to be inventive with their use of stage furniture, lighting and sound. Plays should be longer than 20 minutes duration but no more than 55 minutes, and must have a minimum of two actors.

Festival Director, Gerry McLaughlin is quick to point out "Although competition forms part of the motivation for our Festivals we cannot stress strongly enough that they are not cut-throat competitions but an opportunity for clubs to meet together, socialise and learn both from the adjudicators and from each other.

"As the Festival will be affiliated to the UK wide One -Act Festival competition, if a club is premiering an original play in the festival then the author can be eligible to enter the Geoffrey Whitworth One-Act playwriting competition with the play, not the performance, being judged by a panel of readers" he said.

Pauline Ross at The Playhouse said: "This is such an exciting new venture- a great opportunity for local amateur and community drama groups to showcase their talents and hard work!

"Groups are encouraged to be as innovative and as creative as possible, and we're confident they will raise to the challenge to create a great standard of new local work!"

Interested groups should contact the festival director at gerrymcl@hotmail.co.uk.

Pauline Ross, Playhouse Founding Director, One-Act Amateur Drama Festival Director Gerry McLaughlin and Elizabeth McCloskey (secretary).