Festivals
SETC Festival Opportunities
SETC festivals bring theatre companies, schools, ensembles, and individual artists together to perform, collaborate, receive feedback, and share their work with audiences from across the Southeast.
Festival participation follows one of two pathways. Some productions advance through a state or regional adjudication process, while others are selected through an application or entered through convention registration.
Adjudicated Festivals
Community Theatre Festival
About the Festival
The SETC Community Theatre Festival is the Southeast’s regional celebration of outstanding community theatre. In odd-numbered years, it serves as the Region IV qualifying festival for the American Association of Community Theatre’s national AACTFest process.
The festival showcases exceptional productions selected through participating state theatre organizations and other approved qualification pathways when a state festival is not available. Bringing together volunteer and nonprofit theatres from across the Southeast, the festival recognizes artistic excellence, encourages collaboration, and celebrates the important role community theatre plays in strengthening local communities.
Who Can Participate?
The Community Theatre Festival is designed for eligible:
Community theatre organizations
Volunteer theatre companies
Civic and municipal theatres
Nonprofit theatre organizations
Participating companies should be affiliated with an eligible state theatre organization or qualify through another approved pathway when a state festival is unavailable.
Companies generally may not enter the SETC Community Theatre Festival by submitting a production directly to SETC. They must first participate in the qualifying or selection process recognized by their state theatre organization.
The Path to SETC and AACTFest
The journey to the SETC Community Theatre Festival generally begins at the state level.
Each participating state theatre organization determines how community theatres qualify for SETC and selects the company that will represent its state at the regional festival. Interested theatres should contact their state theatre organization for current eligibility requirements, deadlines, and selection procedures.
Once selected, an advancing company completes SETC registration and festival requirements, including production information, technical planning, housing, and convention participation.
In odd-numbered years, eligible companies may continue from the SETC Community Theatre Festival into the national AACTFest process in accordance with current AACT requirements.
The Festival Experience
Participating companies perform for audiences of theatre artists, educators, students, and fellow community theatre leaders from across the Southeast.
Companies also receive professional adjudication and participate in the broader SETC Convention, including workshops, performances, networking opportunities, and conversations with theatre makers from across the region.
Learn More
Eligibility requirements, registration information, fees, technical specifications, schedules, and deadlines are updated annually.
Secondary School Theatre Festival
About the Festival
The Secondary School Theatre Festival is SETC’s long-standing traditional one-act festival, showcasing outstanding high school productions selected through participating state theatre organizations.
Advancing to SETC is a significant accomplishment. Each school arrives having already developed and presented a fully realized production and completed the qualification or adjudication process established by its state theatre organization.
At SETC, participating schools perform before fellow students, educators, college representatives, and theatre professionals. They receive professional feedback while becoming part of one of the region’s largest gatherings of theatre artists.
Who Can Participate?
The Secondary School Theatre Festival is designed for eligible high school theatre programs advancing through a participating state theatre organization.
Participating companies may include public, private, charter, magnet, and other eligible secondary schools, subject to the requirements of their state organization and current SETC festival guidelines.
A school generally cannot enter the festival by submitting a production directly to SETC. It must first participate in the qualifying process recognized by its state theatre organization.
The Path to SETC
Each participating state theatre organization determines:
How schools enter its qualifying festival
How productions are adjudicated or selected
Which companies advance to represent the state at SETC
Depending on the state, the process may include regional festivals, a statewide theatre conference, one-act competitions, or another approved selection structure.
Schools interested in advancing should begin by contacting their state theatre organization and reviewing its eligibility requirements, deadlines, performance rules, and selection procedures.
Once a production is selected, the state organization confirms the advancing company with SETC. The school then receives instructions concerning registration, production materials, technical requirements, housing, convention participation, and deadlines.
After Selection
Selected schools must complete all required SETC registration and festival materials by the published deadlines. These may include:
School and participant registration
Production information and credits
Cast, crew, and director information
Technical requirements
Production meetings with the festival and venue teams
Performance-rights documentation
School and state approvals
Housing and travel arrangements
Forms required by the current festival handbook
Directors should carefully review the annual handbook and technical information because the SETC performance environment may differ from the school’s home venue or state festival.
The Festival Experience
The festival is both a performance opportunity and a broader educational experience. Participants may engage in:
Professional adjudication and educational feedback
Workshops led by theatre professionals
Professional development for teachers
Student sessions in performance, technical theatre, and playwriting
College recruitment opportunities
Eligible audition opportunities
Performances by companies from across the Southeast
The Student Awards Gala
Students see work from other states, meet peers with similar interests, learn from working professionals, explore college theatre programs, and begin imagining their own futures in the field.
Adjudication
Productions are evaluated as fully realized one-act plays. Adjudication may consider:
Performance
Direction
Design
Technical execution
Ensemble work
Storytelling
Experienced theatre professionals provide feedback intended to recognize each company’s achievements and support its continued artistic growth.
Student Awards Gala
The Student Awards Gala recognizes outstanding achievement across the Secondary School Theatre and Studio Theatre festivals.
Awards honor productions, ensembles, performers, directors, designers, technicians, and other areas of achievement in accordance with current festival criteria.
Learn More
Eligibility requirements, technical specifications, registration information, fees, handbooks, and deadlines are updated annually.
Studio Theatre Festival
About the Festival
The Studio Theatre Festival gives high school theatre programs an opportunity to present innovative, intimate, and flexible theatrical work in a condensed, stripped-down format.
Designed for productions that embrace creativity, collaboration, and artistic exploration, Studio welcomes work that may be original, devised, adapted, or produced with minimal technical elements while maintaining a high standard of storytelling and performance.
Selection for the Studio Theatre Festival is both an artistic achievement and an opportunity for students to represent their school and state before a regional audience.
Who Can Participate?
The Studio Theatre Festival is designed for eligible high school theatre programs advancing through a participating state theatre organization.
Participating companies may include public, private, charter, magnet, and other eligible secondary schools, subject to the requirements of their state organization and current SETC festival guidelines.
A school generally cannot enter the festival by applying directly to SETC. It must first participate in the qualification or selection process recognized by its state theatre organization.
The Path to SETC
Each participating state theatre organization determines how schools enter its qualifying process, how productions are evaluated or selected, and which companies advance to SETC.
Schools interested in advancing should contact their state theatre organization for current eligibility requirements, deadlines, performance rules, and selection procedures.
After a production is selected, the state organization confirms the advancing company with SETC. The school then receives instructions concerning registration, technical preparation, housing, convention participation, and required materials.
After Selection
Selected schools must complete all required SETC registration and festival materials by the published deadlines. These may include:
School and participant registration
Production information and credits
Cast, crew, and director information
Technical requirements
Production meetings with the festival and venue teams
Performance-rights documentation
School and state approvals
Housing and travel arrangements
Forms required by the current festival handbook
Directors should review the annual handbook carefully, with particular attention to the time, space, scenery, and technical limitations of the Studio format.
The Festival Experience
Studio participants present their work as part of the SETC Convention and engage in a larger educational and professional experience.
Students may attend workshops, see productions from across the region, connect with college theatre programs, meet other young artists, and learn from theatre professionals. The experience culminates in the Student Awards Gala, which celebrates achievement across both high school festivals.
Adjudication
Studio productions are evaluated according to the strengths of the Studio format. The emphasis is on the clarity and effectiveness of the work rather than the scale of its technical production.
Adjudication may consider:
Performance
Direction
Ensemble work
Storytelling
Creative use of the Studio format
This approach recognizes productions for their creativity, theatrical discipline, and ability to communicate a complete artistic experience within a condensed, stripped-down environment.
Student Awards Gala
The Student Awards Gala recognizes outstanding achievement across the Studio Theatre and Secondary School Theatre festivals.
Awards honor productions, ensembles, performers, directors, designers, technicians, and other areas of achievement in accordance with current festival criteria.
Learn More
Eligibility requirements, technical specifications, registration information, fees, handbooks, and deadlines are updated annually.
Open Festivals
Theatre for Youth Festival
About the Festival
The SETC Theatre for Youth Festival celebrates outstanding productions created for and with young audiences.
Featuring professional Theatre for Young Audiences companies, colleges and universities, youth performing ensembles, and other eligible organizations, the festival showcases the creativity, innovation, and impact of theatre designed to inspire children, teens, families, and educators.
By bringing together artists, educators, and young audiences from across the Southeast, the festival strengthens the connection between theatre and youth development while celebrating the power of storytelling to inspire future generations.
Who Can Participate?
The festival welcomes organizations and institutions committed to creating theatre for young audiences, including:
Professional Theatre for Young Audiences companies
Colleges and universities with theatre education or Theatre for Young Audiences programs
Youth performing ensembles
Educational and community-based organizations serving children and teens
Productions may incorporate a broad range of theatrical styles and approaches, including:
New plays
Solo performances
Devised theatre
Physical theatre
Multimedia performance
Interactive and imaginative productions
How Participation Works
The Theatre for Youth Festival is application-based.
Eligible companies and organizations submit a production for consideration. Selected companies are invited to perform during the SETC Convention and receive current information concerning registration, technical requirements, schedules, and other festival details.
Productions should be created for young audiences and support the festival’s mission of engaging children, teens, families, and educators through live theatre.
The Festival Experience
The Theatre for Youth Festival is more than a performance opportunity. Participants share their work, connect with other theatre makers, and contribute to a regional conversation about theatre’s role in the lives of young people.
Companies may also participate in SETC Convention workshops, performances, networking opportunities, and community experiences. The festival provides a collaborative environment where artists can exchange ideas, build relationships, and continue developing their work for young audiences.
Why It Matters
Theatre for young audiences can inspire imagination, develop empathy, encourage literacy and critical thinking, and create lifelong connections to the arts.
The Theatre for Youth Festival celebrates the artists and organizations committed to making those experiences possible.
Learn More
Application information, eligibility requirements, technical specifications, registration details, and deadlines are updated annually.
Fringe Festival
About the Festival
The SETC Fringe Festival is a noncompetitive performance festival celebrating original, innovative, and unconventional theatre.
Inspired by the international fringe movement, the festival gives artists a platform to share bold ideas, explore new forms of storytelling, and present work that challenges traditional theatrical conventions.
Presented as part of the SETC Convention, Fringe welcomes artists from across the Southeast to perform for diverse audiences while connecting with theatre professionals, educators, students, and fellow artists.
Who Can Participate?
The Fringe Festival welcomes artists and organizations interested in presenting original, innovative, or unconventional theatrical work, including:
Community theatres
Colleges and universities
Independent artists
Professional theatre companies
Emerging theatre makers
Playwrights, directors, performers, and devised-theatre ensembles
Productions may include:
Original plays
Solo performances
Devised or physical theatre
Experimental work
Multimedia performance
Cabaret
Performance art
Other innovative theatrical experiences
How Participation Works
The Fringe Festival is application-based.
Artists and companies submit a production proposal for consideration by the SETC Fringe Festival team. Selected productions are invited to perform during the SETC Convention and receive current information concerning registration, technical requirements, schedules, and convention participation.
Fringe is not a competition. Its purpose is to give artists an opportunity to share new work, experiment with theatrical form, and engage audiences through creative storytelling.
The Festival Experience
Fringe artists perform before audiences of theatre professionals, educators, students, and fellow artists while participating in the broader SETC Convention.
Participants may also:
Attend educational workshops
Experience other Fringe productions
Network with artists from across the Southeast
Exchange ideas with theatre professionals
Build creative collaborations beyond the festival
The result is an environment that values artistic curiosity, creative risk-taking, and the exchange of new ideas.
Why It Matters
The Fringe Festival expands the range of stories, artistic voices, and performance styles represented at the SETC Convention.
It is a place where artists can challenge expectations, explore theatrical forms, and contribute to the evolving landscape of theatre throughout the Southeast.
Learn More
Application information, participation requirements, technical specifications, registration details, and deadlines are updated annually.
Visit the current Fringe Festival page to review application guidelines and this year’s festival information.
Short Play Festival
About the Festival
The SETC Short Play Festival is a fast-paced, 24-hour collaboration that challenges convention attendees to create and perform original ten-minute plays in a single day.
Working from a common prompt, playwrights, directors, and actors create new work from scratch. With minimal technical elements, the focus remains on storytelling, performance, teamwork, and artistic imagination.
Who Can Participate?
The festival is open to registered SETC Convention attendees interested in participating as:
Playwrights
Directors
Actors
Participants of all experience levels are welcome, including students, educators, community theatre artists, and working professionals.
Playwrights and directors indicate their interest during advance registration and are selected before the festival. Actors audition during the opening event at the convention.
How the Festival Works
The festival begins with the announcement of the annual writing prompt and actor auditions. Playwright-director teams cast their ensembles, and the playwrights spend the night creating original ten-minute plays inspired by the prompt.
The following morning, completed scripts are delivered to the directors and casts. Teams rehearse throughout the day before presenting their new plays in a public performance that evening.
From prompt to performance, every play is conceived, written, rehearsed, and staged within twenty-four hours.
The Festival Experience
The Short Play Festival brings together dozens of artists for an intense, collaborative creative experience. Participants explore new ideas, build artistic relationships, and make theatre with people they may never have met before.
The festival culminates in an evening of original plays featuring new voices, unexpected stories, and the creativity of the SETC community.
Why It Matters
The Short Play Festival invites artists to think boldly, trust their instincts, and embrace collaboration. Its compressed timeline turns creative risks into opportunities for discovery.
The result is more than a collection of new plays—it is a celebration of the imagination, spontaneity, and shared effort that make live theatre unique.
Learn More
Participation requirements, registration information, schedules, and deadlines are updated annually.