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2009

National Society of Arts & Letters
Drama Competition
National Competition Rules
  1. Contestants must show evidence of career potential but not be under exclusive contract to a theatre, film or television agent at the time of the competition and must not be under professional management.
  2. Competition is open to contestants who have passed their 18th birthday but not yet reached their 30th birthday as of May 15th. Proof of birthdate must be supplied. A photocopy of a birth certificate or recent passport will be acceptable.
  3. Contestants must be citizens of the United States.
  4. Contestant must not be directly related to any current or former member of NSAL.
  5. Contestants must have competed in and been declared the sole first place winner of an NSAL Chapter Competition prior to entering the National Competition. The contestant may choose a chapter in the area where he/she has been residing or where he/she is enrolled in a college, graduate program, or acting school. In case there are no chapters in their hometown or in their place of residence, contestants may enter the competition of the nearest chapter.
  6. Contestants may not compete in more than one chapter competition.
  7. Contestants must be able to be in Washington, DC for the entire period from May 14th to 17th. Contestants must attend the orientation session to be held on May 14th through the Career Award Dinner on May 16th. All expenses are the responsibility of the sponsoring Chapter.
  8. Contestants must attend the orientation session, the competition, the Master Class and the Career Award Dinner.
  9. After their names are announced, the national finalists selected by the judges for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd awards will perform at the Career Award Dinner on May 16th.
  10. The meaning and interpretation of the above rules, along with local chapter and contestant rules, will be determined by NSAL. If such meaning or interpretation is questioned or not understood, the decision of NSAL National will be final and binding.
2009

National Society of Arts & Letters
Drama Competition
Performance Requirements:
  1. Contestants must present two audition monologues from memory and in English. Contestants must present one comedic piece and one serious piece. Contestants must select their comedic and serious pieces from the following list of playwrights.
    Classical
    Aeschylus
    Aristophanes
    William Congreve
    Euripides
    Oliver Goldsmith
    Ben Jonson
    Christopher Marlow
    Moliere
    Plautus
    William Shakespeare
    Richard Brinsley Sheridan
    Sophocles
    John Webster
    Modern
    Jean AnouilhEugene IonescoGeorge Bernard Shaw
    Alan AyckbournArthur KopitSam Shepard
    Bertolt BrechtTony KushnerNeil Simon
    Anton ChekhovDavid MametTom Stoppard
    Caryl ChurchillMark MedoffAugust Strindberg
    Noel CowardArthur MillerJohn Millington Synge
    Horton FooteMarsha NormanWendy Wasserstein
    Michael FraynJohn OsborneOscar Wilde
    Jean GiraudouxSuzan-Lori ParksThornton Wilder
    Lorraine HansberryHarold PinterTennessee Williams
    Lillian HellmanLuigi PirandelloAugust Wilson
    Beth HenleyWilliam SaroyanLanford Wilson
    Tina HowePeter ShafferPaula Vogel
    Henrik IbsenJohn Patrick Shanley 
    Note:
    The contestant will provide the judges with one copy of the complete play from which the contestant has taken each monologue upon arriving for the competition. Contestants will identify on the front cover their contestant number, character name, and reference page numbers locating monologue.
  2. If the contestant selects a comedic piece from the classical period, then the serious selection must be from the modern period or vice versa.
  3. Selections must demonstrate contrasting characteristics.
  4. Contestants must demonstrate a full and varied range of ability.
  5. Upon entering the stage, contestants will announce contestant number, the title of the play, playwright, and the name of the character of BOTH selections in the order of performance. The announcement time will not count in the performance time.
  6. The total performance time may not exceed six (6) minutes total time for both selections. Transition time will be included in the timing.
  7. A chair will be available on stage. Hand props, costumes or recorded sound are not permitted.
  8. Performance attire: Male contestants will wear black slacks and a black t-shirt. Female contestants will wear black slacks or a black skirt and a black t-shirt.
  9. A performance area will be provided. The audience capacity will be approximately 200 persons.
Click here to download your copy of the National Competition Rules and the Performance Requirements in .pdf format, and here to download the application information.
NSAL Chapter Drama Competition Contact List:
ALABAMA:  BIRMINGHAM CHAPTER
Gail Ledbetter gailledbetter@charter.net
3300 Marlboro Dr., Birmingham, AL 35223 205.967.3264
ARIZONA:  GREATER ARIZONA CHAPTER
Joy Tevis tevis@smarthealth.com
2002 N. 15th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85007 602.225.0595 X 213
ARKANSAS:  LITTLE ROCK CHAPTER
Bonnie Brandsgaard bbrandsgaard@mymtnhome.com
204 Wildflower Trail, Mountain Home, AR 72653 870.425.4400
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA and MARYLAND:  WASHINGTON DC CHAPTER
Celia Josephs celia.josephs@gmail.com
6820 Wisconsin Ave., #8012, Bethesda, MD 20815 202.885.3429
Dr. Gail Mardirosian ghumphr@american.edu
811 S. Stafford St., Arlington, VA 22204 202.885.3429
FLORIDA:  BOCA RATON CHAPTER
4093 Sue Bowles flmei@hotmail.com
3155 Landmark Drive #355, Clearwater, FL 33761 561.391.6380
FLORIDA:  CLEARWATER/TAMPA BAY CHAPTER
Sue Bowles flmei@hotmail.com
3155 Landmark Drive #355, Clearwater, FL 33761 727.418.4093
FLORIDA:  NORTH FLORIDA CHAPTER
Jack Masters trubluodm@aol.com
P.O. Box 771, Jacksonville, FL 32201 904.388.4500
HAWAII:  HONOLULU CHAPTER
Stephen Marshall Mead smhonolulu@hotmail.com
3027 Pualei Circle, #318, Honolulu, HI 96815 808.372.5690
ILLINOIS:  CENTRAL ILLINOIS CHAPTER
Richard Peterson rfpeterson1@comcast.net
3 Lyndhurst Village Court, #G, Savoy, IL 61874 217.356.6602
ILLINOIS:  EVANSTON CHAPTER
Joan Smutney joanfsm@aol.com
633 Forest Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091 847.256.1220
Maria Freeman mariafreeman@comcast.net
3110 W. Jerome St., Chicago, IL 60645 773.743.3417
INDIANA:  BLOOMINGTON CHAPTER
Marilyn Norris norrism@indiana.edu
1011 West 11th St, Bloomington, IN 47404 812.361.0641
Breshaun Joyner breshaunj@hotmail.com
1210 Chestnut Court, Bloomington, IN 47401 812.336.5064
KANSAS and WESTERN MISSOURI:  KANSAS CITY CHAPTER
Brooke Wilken bwilken1@kc.rr.com
6112 Summit, Kansas City, MO 64113 816.363.2562
Linda Northrip lnothrip@kc.rr.com
6439 Wenonga Road, Mission Hills, KS 66208 913.262.4747
KENTUCKY:  KENTUCKY CHAPTER
Virginia Bryan vbryan@bellsouth.net
417 Hollow Creek Road, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353 859.498.6740
MICHIGAN:  MID-MICHIGAN CHAPTER
Annette Masson amasson@umich.edu
39771 Golfview Dr., Northville, MI 48167 734.764.5350
Kathleen Beck kbeck0403@yahoo.co
2512 Country Village Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 734.995.3756
MISSOURI:  ST. LOUIS CHAPTER
Joanne Kohn joannekohn@aol.com
40 Upper Ladue Road, St. Louis, MO 63124 314.991.5646
NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK and DELAWARE:  NEW JERSEY CHAPTER
Emmy Meyer
113 Smithfield Court, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 908.903.9298
OHIO and WEST VIRGINIA:  OHIO RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER
John Lee
1117 Juliana St. Parkersburg, WV 26101 304.588.3376
PENNSYLVANIA:  PITTSBURGH CHAPTER
Barbara Russell bar1402@verizon.net
1402 Monterey St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412.321.6265
TEXAS:  EL PASO CHAPTER
Carlos Saldana crsaldana@utep.edu
Theater Dept., University of Texas, El Paso, TX 79968 915.747.5231
VIRGINIA and NORTH CAROLINA:  VIRGINIA / NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER
Corky Sablinsky corkysab@wcbr.us
250 Pantops Mtn. Road, #5119, Charlottesville, VA 22911 434.972.2418
Click here to download your copy of the chapter contact list .pdf format.

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