UIL (University Interscholastic League) Is an organization that lays the groundwork and rules for every competitive extracurricular in the state of Texas. Among those many competitions, is Theatre. One Act Play is a competition where each competing school performs a show that has been cut to only forty minutes of its original length, and is then shown to a panel of judges. I had the amazing opportunity of being involved with Theatre UIL last year, and currently I’m involved in our UIL production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
It’s rare that you see a Theatre competition in which full shows are measured against each other. Oftentimes, individual scenes are brought to a contest, such as at the Texas Thespian State Festival, and judged in smaller groups. The unique experience of putting together a polished forty minute show that still tells the story of the original script is a difficult but fun task. As an actor, my job is to make sure that I perform my part well and keep our runtime under forty minutes. This year, we’ve advanced past the first round of competition and have another coming up on March 20. Getting here was a struggle, but the experience the cast and crew gain from this competition is immeasurable.
The beginning of our production is fairly standard. Auditions are held and then there’s callbacks, and after that the cast is decided swiftly so we can get to work on the show. What comes next gets harder, as we have to cut the script. Cutting the script to be under forty minutes can be incredibly difficult. Even though the directors gave our scripts to us with initial cuts made, throughout the process we cut many more lines from the play in order to stay within the time limit. This requires constant adaptation from the techs and actors, remembering that a line you’ve just gotten used to is now permanently out of the show. Another interesting aspect unique to UIL Theatre is the set. Most shows will have a set completely ready by the time the house opens, safe and ready on the stage for the show. Competition, however, is a travelling event. We go to other schools to compete and plays are shown one after the other. To solve this issue, UIL mandated a group of standardized set pieces that are to be used for competition. The set for each play is built off of the UIL pieces, so all that needs to be brought to competition is external set pieces like furniture and props. The changes for the set don’t end there, however. Every school is given seven minutes to prepare their set, and seven minutes to put it all away after the play is completed. These events take time, and shows need to go in rapid succession so that the competition can take place all in one day. The entire cast and crew are assigned jobs for set up and strike, and the set is meticulously built all within seven minutes. We have to be a team and build the entire set swiftly and accurately, and the only way that gets done is with constant practice.
Once our show is well rehearsed and our team is ready to put together our set, we go to the contest. The day before competition we travel to the school that is hosting the event and become familiar with the space as well as the lighting and sound equipment. This is known as a tech rehearsal. The day afterwards we return to the hosting campus in the morning and wait for our turn to perform our show. We get to miss school for both of these dates. After arriving, we unload our furniture pieces and props and get into costumes. Depending on what order each school is performing, we could be waiting for hours before we get to perform. Eventually, though, we put together our set and perform the show. Afterwards, critiques are given to us from one of the three judges. These could be things the judge thought we did well or could improve on, or even questions they have about the show. After each school performs, the awards ceremony is held. Awards are given to the best tech crew and members of tech crew, and several acting awards are given as well. Finally, the shows that advance in competition are revealed. Ideally, the night ends with a joyous bus ride home and rehearsal the next day where we further improve the show.
Competing in UIL Theatre has been a great experience both this year and last. It’s a very different show process than any other I have done, and highlights the importance of teamwork and working efficiently to complete a goal.
