COMPETITION RULES
The rules, clearly explained.
The complete AETF Rules and Regulations are set out below. Please read them carefully before entering and refer back to them throughout the competition.
HOW DO WE ENTER?
Entry, opting
and progression commitments
01
1. Entry into the National Festival must be via a Preliminary Festival, either a local festival organised by the AETF or an independent local festival affiliated to the AETF.
2. Any company:
2.1 Who desires to enter the AETF competition must declare this on the Preliminary Round entry form.
2.2 Companies must provide a completed AETF Declaration immediately following their selection.
3. A company may:
3.1 Enter and opt with any number of plays in a Preliminary Festival.
3.2 Enter as many festivals as they like, but can only opt from one, preferably their local Preliminary (First Round) Festival. This must be stated before the first of these takes place.
3.3 Enter more than one Festival with different plays and opt.
4. By entering the AETF Festival, companies commit themselves to performance at each level if selected and are expected to appear. Those pulling out at short notice without what is deemed reasonable cause will be refused entry for the subsequent year’s competition.
5. A company may not recast more than 25% of its roles unless it is from within the existing cast or because of circumstances deemed extraordinary.
THE FOLLOWING POINTS ALSO APPLY!
6. Any copyright recorded speech or projection of film or TV material can be used as long as proof of permission is produced.
7. Curtain calls are not permitted.
ELIGIBILITY
The following are accepted by the ‘British Final of One-Act Plays’ governing
body the United Kingdom Community Drama Federation (UKCDFF) and must
be adhered to by all competing teams in the UK at all levels of the
competition
02
8. Any bona fide adult amateur Drama Group, or recognised Youth Theatre ( an amateur group performs as a hobby, unlike a professional group which performs to earn an income for itself (and / or its members and officers).
9. No one may receive any payment for their direct contribution to any competitive amateur drama.
10. No actor whose main income is from acting may participate in competitive amateur drama. Any actor who has a credited, paid-for role in a commercial production in the year ending September 1st. prior to a festival is ineligible to take part.
11. Professional Directors may direct amateur competitive productions, but may not receive any payment for their services.
12. A group’s marketing must clearly demonstrate that it is an amateur group and not claim to be ‘professional’ or promote professional work.
13. A festival entry may be performed in advance to a paying audience for the sole purpose of raising funds to finance the production costs
NOTE : Preliminary Round Festivals, independent of the AETF, set their own entry criteria, but the AETF reserves the right for organisers of the next stages of the competition to check every group’s eligibility to progress, with referenceto the above criteria.
03
WHAT CAN WE ENTER?
The following are accepted by the ‘British Final of One-Act Plays’ governing
body the United Kingdom Community Drama Federation (UKCDFF) and must
be adhered to by all competing teams in the UK at all levels of the
competition
14. All performances are subject to the Theatres Act 1968 and must comply with its provisions regarding plays, which might be considered obscene, seditious, or libellous, or likely to incite hatred or a breach of the peace.
15. The entry will be a One-Act Play or an extract from a longer play.
A minimum of 2 actors must appear. The accepted definition of a two-hander must feature two characters who both make a substantial contribution to the dramatic action and who interact meaningfully throughout the piece. For clarity, a play will not qualify if it is essentially a monologue with a second performer used mainly as a listener, observer, narrator or occasional respondent. The roles do not need to be equal in size, but both performers must have a substantial dramatic presence and sustained interaction with one another.
16. No entry can be considered unless it is accompanied by an original copy of the play script, marked with any cuts or alterations (a photocopy will only be accepted if the play is solely published on the internet, out of print, or unpublished). Copies of plays will be available for collection at the end of the Festival.
17. No play in copyright may be performed without production of its
performance licence and written permission must be provided in advance for any cuts or alterations.
18. Plays obtained over the internet are considered published and written permission to perform must be obtained, whether a fee is paid or not. Likewise, written permission to perform must be provided by the author of an unpublished play
19. The performance must be performed as per the script provided for the adjudicator, which must be with the adjudicator at least three weeks before the performance.
04
WHAT ARE THE TIME CONSTRAINTS?
20. The length of performance of the entry shall be not less than 20 minutes and not more than 55 minutes, including any time spent in changing a scene in the course of a performance or time used to set the mood by the cast or music before the house tabs open and up to the house tabs closing at the end of the performance
21. Each team will be allowed 10 minutes for setting and 5 minutes for striking their set.
22. Penalties for not keeping within time for performance, setting and striking are: -
Up to 1 minute 1 mark
Up to 3 minutes 6 marks
Up to 5 minutes 15 marks
Up to 2 minutes 3 marks
Up to 4 minutes 10 marks
Over 5 minutes Disqualification
05
WHAT ARE THE STAGING CONSTRAINTS?
23. Any set or scenery must be free standing within the provided ‘black box’ acting area.
24. All set, scenery and furniture must be treated with a proprietary fire-retardant spray or similar to ensure that it is non combustible
25. Any electrical equipment (including computers/laptops, screens, projectors, working kettles, toasters, working/feature lamps etc proposed to be provided and used by a group must be declared in their staging brief and a valid current PAT testing certificate supplied in advance for each item of equipment. Failing this, the equipment may not be permitted.
26. Groups have a duty to co-operate with the Festival Stage Director (or equivalent role) in adhering to the theatre’s safety rules and attending all safety briefings as required. These requirements will vary between theatres.
27. Groups must give early advance written notice to the Festival Stage Director of any additional equipment, which must comply with the theatre’s requirements, especially stage pyrotechnics, any effects such as naked lights or smoking on stage, use of replica fire arms, pistol shot etc SFX, knives or swords, strobes etc, If stage pyrotechnics (or similar effects) are accepted by the Festival Stage Director and/or Theatre, the group must provide evidence of relevant training for the person-in-charge. The group is responsible for obtaining Licences for imitation firearms and for providing secure storage for same. Note that the Festival Stage Director and/or Theatre stage manager may request changes and/or decline to accept any or all such additional equipment or effects.
28. Unless included in a Festival’s Technical brief, projectors and projector screens must be provided by the Group and are not the responsibility of the festival.These must be rigged in the 10- minute setting time.
29. The use of any kind of microphone will not be allowed to enhance an actor’s vocal projection. Microphones may still be used as a sound effect. In the interests of inclusivity microphones would be allowed in order to facilitate a deaf or hard of hearing member of the casts use of an induction loop.
VARIOUS DOWNLOADS FOR FESTIVAL ORGANISERS
Please note that these documents are under review for the 2026/27 season
AETF Constitution
AETF Entry and Declaration Form for groups wishing to go forward
AETF Sample GoDA Adjudication Contract
AETF Guidance for a festival organising an English Final