Woking Drama Festival
Encyclopedia
The Woking Drama Festival is one of the largest drama competitions in the British Isles for amateur dramatics focussing on one act play
s with a dedicated Youth Section. It is notable not only for its size, but also for the quality of its leading performances, with the winner of the festival having gone onto win the British All Winners Festival
on a number of occasions.
, having been founded in 1959 and celebrating its 50th festival in 2008 (from 30 September 2008 to 11 October 2008). The festival is organised by the Woking Drama Association. The first winning play was “Master Dudley by Philip Johnson
, performed by the Pyrford Little Theatre.
. As such, most of the leading local theatre and drama groups in the Surrey
area belong to the WDA, as well as from further afield across the south of England
. The WDA is also affiliated to many of the leading drama associations, particularly the National Drama Festivals Association
. One of its primary aims is to present an annual drama festival in Woking every October. Outside of the annual drama festival, the WDA works as a focal point for local theatre groups and as a point of reference for directors looking for on-stage talent, backstage; props; costumes or set building.
, Surrey
, in the Rhoda McGaw Theatre (within The Ambassadors, Peacock Centre). The theatre seats 228 in 9 rows of raked seating and has been reported to have excellent acoustics. The stage is flat, 58’ wide from wall to wall, with a 36’ curtain opening. From the main tabs it is 19’ back to the cyclorama and 8’ forward to the front of the stage. The theatre has also been used by the WDA to host the British All Winners Festival on those occasions when it has been invited to do so by the National Drama Festivals Association
(the next time will be in July 2009). This is an affiliated theatre of the New Victoria Theatre
, a commercial touring house owned and run by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). The venue has a unique relationship with the local council, whereby the council handles all the administration for the theatre, with the staffing and technical facilities run by the ATG. The council hires the theatre for four weeks each year to present professional touring productions (mostly one person shows), with the rest programmed by the WDA and local dance and drama schools.
, winners from Woking can be invited to participate in the NDFA’s British All Winners Festival which they have done with some historical success. The winner from the Woking Drama Festival has gone on to win or attain the runner-up spot in the British All Winners Festival on a number of occasions:
.
One act play
A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years the 10-minute play known as "flash drama" has emerged as a popular sub-genre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions...
s with a dedicated Youth Section. It is notable not only for its size, but also for the quality of its leading performances, with the winner of the festival having gone onto win the British All Winners Festival
National Drama Festivals Association
The National Drama Festivals Association was formed in 1964 to encourage and support amateur theatre in all its forms and in particular through the organisation of drama festivals in the United Kingdom....
on a number of occasions.
Foundation
The festival is one of the most enduring amateur festivals of its kind in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, having been founded in 1959 and celebrating its 50th festival in 2008 (from 30 September 2008 to 11 October 2008). The festival is organised by the Woking Drama Association. The first winning play was “Master Dudley by Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
, performed by the Pyrford Little Theatre.
Woking Drama Association
The Woking Drama Association, or WDA, was founded to encourage and support the performing arts in WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
. As such, most of the leading local theatre and drama groups in the Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
area belong to the WDA, as well as from further afield across the south of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The WDA is also affiliated to many of the leading drama associations, particularly the National Drama Festivals Association
National Drama Festivals Association
The National Drama Festivals Association was formed in 1964 to encourage and support amateur theatre in all its forms and in particular through the organisation of drama festivals in the United Kingdom....
. One of its primary aims is to present an annual drama festival in Woking every October. Outside of the annual drama festival, the WDA works as a focal point for local theatre groups and as a point of reference for directors looking for on-stage talent, backstage; props; costumes or set building.
Rhoda McGaw Theatre
The festival is held in WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, in the Rhoda McGaw Theatre (within The Ambassadors, Peacock Centre). The theatre seats 228 in 9 rows of raked seating and has been reported to have excellent acoustics. The stage is flat, 58’ wide from wall to wall, with a 36’ curtain opening. From the main tabs it is 19’ back to the cyclorama and 8’ forward to the front of the stage. The theatre has also been used by the WDA to host the British All Winners Festival on those occasions when it has been invited to do so by the National Drama Festivals Association
National Drama Festivals Association
The National Drama Festivals Association was formed in 1964 to encourage and support amateur theatre in all its forms and in particular through the organisation of drama festivals in the United Kingdom....
(the next time will be in July 2009). This is an affiliated theatre of the New Victoria Theatre
New Victoria Theatre
The New Victoria Theatre in Woking, England opened in June 1992. The main theatre seats approximately 1,300 people, making it one of the largest receiving house theatres outside London. In addition to the main theatre the complex also contains the smaller Rhoda McGaw theatre and a six-screen cinema...
, a commercial touring house owned and run by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). The venue has a unique relationship with the local council, whereby the council handles all the administration for the theatre, with the staffing and technical facilities run by the ATG. The council hires the theatre for four weeks each year to present professional touring productions (mostly one person shows), with the rest programmed by the WDA and local dance and drama schools.
Participating drama groups
Over the years the Woking Festival has grown to become "one of the largest drama competitions in the British Isles and certainly one of the most respected for its quality of performance". In 2008 the WDA had 16 member groups. Some notable groups that are or have been members of the festival are:- Runnymede Drama Group
- Horsell Amateur Dramatic Society
- The Characters
- Ottershaw Players
- Godalming Theatre Group
- Woking Youth Theatre
- Another Theatre Company
- Storrington Theatre Workshop
- Woking College Theatre Company
- Send Amateur Dramatic Society
- Pyrford Little Theatre
Subsequent Success at the British All Winners Festival
As a festival affiliated to the National Drama Festivals AssociationNational Drama Festivals Association
The National Drama Festivals Association was formed in 1964 to encourage and support amateur theatre in all its forms and in particular through the organisation of drama festivals in the United Kingdom....
, winners from Woking can be invited to participate in the NDFA’s British All Winners Festival which they have done with some historical success. The winner from the Woking Drama Festival has gone on to win or attain the runner-up spot in the British All Winners Festival on a number of occasions:
- 2008: Winner - Send ADS with The Island by Athol FugardAthol FugardAthol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
- 2007: Winner - Woking College Theatre Company with Home Free by Landford Wilson
- 2006: Runner-Up - Runnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama Group is a community theatre group based in Chertsey, Surrey that is notable for not only for its longevity, but also for its success both at a national and international level being one of the few groups to have won every major festival in the United Kingdom and having also been...
with And Go To Innisfree by Jean Lenox Toddie - 2002: Winner - Runnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama Group is a community theatre group based in Chertsey, Surrey that is notable for not only for its longevity, but also for its success both at a national and international level being one of the few groups to have won every major festival in the United Kingdom and having also been...
with Five Kinds of SilenceFive Kinds of SilenceFive Kinds of Silence is an in-yer-face theatre play by the playwright Shelagh Stephenson. It tells the story of a family living under the power of the vicious Billy, who physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses his wife, Mary, and children, Susan and Janet...
by Shelagh StephensonShelagh StephensonShelagh Stephenson is a playwright, born in Northumberland and read drama at Manchester University. Her stage plays include The Memory of Water , An Experiment with an Air Pump, Ancient Lights, Five Kinds of Silence and Mappa Mundi... - 2001: Runner-Up - Storrington Theatre Workshop with The Room by Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
- 2000: Winner - Runnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama GroupRunnymede Drama Group is a community theatre group based in Chertsey, Surrey that is notable for not only for its longevity, but also for its success both at a national and international level being one of the few groups to have won every major festival in the United Kingdom and having also been...
with Scarecrow by Don NIgroDon NigroDon Nigro is an American playwright; his plays Anima Mundi and The Dark Sonnets of the Lady have both been nominated for the National Repertory Theatre Foundation's National Play Award...
)
Awards
There are a number of awards that are contested for at the festival. These awards are adjudged by the adjudicator of the festival who is required to be a member of GODAGöda
Göda, in Sorbian Hodźij, is a municipality in the east of Saxony, Germany. It belongs to the district of Bautzen and lies west of the eponymous city.- Villages :Several villages belong to the municipality:...
.
- The Bruzard Challenge Cup (Festival Winning Play) - donated in 1960 by the late Mr G.J. Bruzard of West Byfleet and presented for the Festival Winning Play
- The Eileen Harper Memorial Trophy - donated in 1997 by members and supporters of the Woking Drama Association for presentation to the Festival Runners Up.
- The Edna Nash Cup - donated in 1983 by the Runnymede Drama Group in memory of Edna Nash and presented for the Third-place Play.
- The Youth Award - donated by the Woking Drama Association for the Best Play by a cast Under 21 years of age on 1 September preceding the Festival, provided that the total marks gained are at least 80 per cent of those gained by the Festival Winning Play.
- The Barbara Huntley Cup - donated in 1976 by Horsell Amateur Dramatic Society in memory of Barbara Huntley and presented as the Adjudicator’s Award for any entry in the Festival, or any feature of an entry, which the Adjudicator considers to be of special merit and for which there is no other appropriate award.
- The Godalming Theatre Group Celebration 85 Salver - for Directing, donated in 1985 by the Godalming Theatre Group to commemorate their 21st year and presented to the director who, in the opinion of the Adjudicator, has shown the most imagination and flair
- The Ian Home Rose Bowl - donated by friends in 1968 in memory of Iain Home of Pyrford Little Theatre and presented for the Best Performance by an Actor.
- The Richards-Smith Cup - originally donated by Mr. G. Richards-Smith for dramatic work in the Woking Music Festival and gratefully accepted by the Woking Drama Association in 1968 for presentation for the Best Performance by an Actress.
- The Handley-Jones Cup - donated in 1978 by the Old Woking Theatre Group in memory of H. Handley-Jones, originally for the best performance by any supporting player but re-assigned by the Woking Drama Association in 1993 for presentation to the Best Supporting Actor
- The Irene Hutchence Cup - donated in 1961 by the late Mrs Irene Hutchence of Horsell A.D.S., originally for the best play by an all-women cast but re-assigned by the Woking Drama Association in 1993 for presentation to the Best Supporting Actress.
- The Desmond Holt Memorial Cup - donated in 1979 by the Godalming Theatre Group in memory of Desmond Holt and presented for the Best Performance by a Junior Player aged under 21 on 1 September preceding the Festival.
- The Guildbury Shield - for Technical Excellence, donated in 1984 by Guildbury Productions for presentation to the company who, in the opinion of the Adjudicator, demonstrate the greatest appreciation of the role of staging techniques in the success of a production.
- The Spotlight Award - for the Best Use of Lighting, donated in 1985 by Councillor Mrs P.E. Bohling as Mayor of Woking in that year.
- The Madeline Boden Rose Bowl - donated by Malcolm Boden in memory of his wife, Madeline, and presented for the Best Original Play – defined for this purpose as one which has had no previous public performance
- The Pauline Brown Award - donated by Councillor Gordon Brown and Mrs. Pauline Brown, and presented by the Festival Stage Crew for the Best Backstage Management.
- The Graham Brockis Award (Best use of Sound) - A new Award introduced in 2005
Defunct Awards
- The Runners Up Cup (1959-1996) - replaced in 1997 by The Eileen Harper Memorial Trophy
- The Best All-Womans Play - In 1993 the Irene Hutchence Cup was reassigned by the Woking Drama Association for presentation to the Best Supporting Actress