Winter is coming, and so is the Letterkenny One Act Drama Festival.
This year’s event runs from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5 th November in an Grianan Theatre.
Since its inception in 2013, it has brought drama groups from the four provinces to compete in this All Ireland competition. The festival is one of many held throughout the country during the month of November and is run jointly by the Drama League of Ireland and the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland.
For those not familiar with the festival circuit, every festival has a professional adjudicator who marks each play under the headings; Direction, Acting, Presentation, Overall achievement. The festivals are run on a league basis, with marks awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings. The top groups in each competition qualify for the All-Ireland finals.
There is a Confined and Open competition within each festival. The Open Competition is for groups with significant experience – the Confined Competition is for newer groups/more inexperienced groups/ smaller groups/groups with less resources. Plays must not be less than 20 minutes and not exceed 55 minutes.
In previous years, the festival has had three plays on each night and it is anticipated a similar format this November. At the end of each night the adjudicator gives an open adjudication of each play in front of the audience before giving a private critique with each group. The open adjudication has proved popular with audiences in the past and many spectators make up their own minds who deserves the awards before the final adjudication.
The committee are now putting plans in place for this year’s event under the guidance new festival director, John O’Donnell. Their next meeting will be held in the Mount Errigal hotel on Thursday 7 th September at 8pm and any new members are most welcome.
“As can be understood, running an event like this is financially costly. The committee is grateful to all sponsors in the past. We would greatly appreciate support from local businesses for this year’s event,” a spokesperson for the organisers said.
Potential sponsors can get in touch by email, letterkennyoneactfestival@gmail.com or contact any committee member. Tickets for the event can be purchased from the theatre.
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