2008 Theatre In Our Schools Essay Contest (download guidelines)
2007 Theatre In Our Schools Essay Contest
The TIOS Essay Contest is open to any K-12 student in the United States or Canada. For complete details, see the guidelines below. For those who participated in last year's contest, a list of selected essays and honorable mentions can be found below, along with other information regarding the 2007 Essay Contest. Selected essays will appear in STAGE of the Art, volume 18, 3, which should be available in February 2008.
The American Alliance for Theatre & Education announces the
2008 THEATRE IN OUR SCHOOLS ESSAY CONTEST
AATE is holding its second annual Theatre in our Schools Essay Contest as part of a nationwide search for powerful stories about the positive impact of theatre on the lives of students.
Topics:
Kindergarten through Second grade: Write about why you like drama or theatre. Tell us about a time when you liked doing drama or theatre at school, at home or at a theatre and how it made you feel. You may include a drawing or illustration (8.5 by 11 inches in size) with your essay. 75 word minimum.
Third through Fifth grades: Why is theatre/drama important in your life and education? Give examples from your school, home or theatre. 200-500 words.
Sixth through Eighth grades: Why is it important for theatre/drama to be part of your life and education? Give specific examples from your life about why theatre/drama is important to you. 350-800 words.
Ninth through Twelfth grades: Why is theatre/drama important in the lives and education of children and youth? Cite specific examples from your life explaining why theatre/drama is important to you. 700-1250 words.
Eligibility:
Formatting Specifications: please read carefully!
Essays must be written entirely by the student, but may be typed by an adult. All essays must be within the specified word count. Essays should be submitted between March 1, 2008 and March 31, 2008 by email to TIOSEssayContest@aate.com with subject line: TIOS2008 – YOUR LAST NAME/YOUR GRADE.
Essay text and all student information should be included in the body of the email. Please note that essays submitted as attachments may not be opened. (continued on next page)
Each submission should include the following information in this order:
Essay Title
First and Last Name
Grade Level
City, State
ESSAY TEXT
The following statement*:
By entering my essay in the AATE Theatre in our Schools Month Essay Contest, I give AATE the right to present and publish my essay (and drawing, if applicable) or selections from my essay in its publications, both print and digital, including future promotions for this contest. AATE also has permission to use my name, my teacher’s name, and the name of my school or theatre when referring to my essay or this contest. AATE also has permission to make grammatical edits to my essay or selections from it before publishing. I understand that AATE will give me credit for my work whenever it is cited or published.
My teacher/director and parent/guardian* listed below consent to this submission, and can be reached at the contact information below to verify their approval of my participation.
STUDENT NAME
PARENT OR GUARDIAN NAME*
TEACHER OR DIRECTOR NAME, ORGANIZATION
Mailing address (must be valid through June of 2008)
Phone number, Email address
Additional notes or contact information if desired
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* Students 18 years of age or older do not need the permission of a parent or guardian, but MUST have teacher/director permission to submit. PLEASE NOTE THAT SUBMISSIONS THAT ARE MISSING ANY REQUIRED INFORMATION AS LISTED ABOVE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Students whose essays are selected as finalists will be asked to submit a signed hard copy of the permission form by fax or mail.
- Applicants may submit only ONE ESSAY per contest. Students may enter the contest each year, but are encouraged to complete a new essay for each contest.
- There is NO APPLICATION FEE to enter the 2008 TIOS Essay Contest.
- Students must list a Drama teacher, English teacher or director (K-3rd grade may list a general classroom teacher) and the affiliated school or theatre in order to be eligible for the entire prize package.
- Submissions by immediate family of AATE Staff or Board Members will be accepted, but will not be eligible for prizes.
- The evaluation process will be blind; the final selection team will not have access to student, teacher, director or affiliated school names, and educators or directors will not be permitted to review essays written by their own students.
Essay Selection:
Essays will be evaluated by a national team of theatre artists and educators based on the following rubric:
CONTENT 1-5
Does the essay answer the topic question? Are ideas clearly developed and relevant? Does the essay address the positive impact of theatre/drama? A “5” essay will include discussion of multiple effects of theatre and specific examples, ideally from both life experience and educational experience.
FORM 1-5
Is it well written, well organized and cohesive? Is it formatted according to the Essay Guidelines? Is it within the appropriate word count range? (NOTE: minor spelling and grammatical errors will not detract from this score.)
ORIGINALITY 1-5
How creative and unique is the essay? Are the ideas presented in a creative way?
HEART 1-5
Does the student draw from personal experience? Is it clear that he or she is passionate about drama/theatre?
BONUS POINTS 1-5 (maximum 5)
1-2 points for poignant or “quotable” lines
1-2 points for accompanying illustration (for K-2 only)
1-2 points for miscellaneous merit not covered elsewhere, at the discretion of the evaluator. Explanation of this additional score must be provided and approved by the Contest Committee Chair.
One essay will be selected from each age group and announced in May of 2008. Selected essays one of AATE’s national publications, and students’ names will be announced at AATE’s annual conference. The chosen students will receive award plaques and their affiliated schools or theatres will be awarded complimentary one-year memberships to the American Alliance for Theatre & Education. Honorable Mentions and additional prizes may be awarded, and will be announced at a later date.
All questions regarding this essay contest should be directed to the AATE National Office at (301) 951-7977 or info@aate.com.
Thank you for your interest in the 2008 Theatre In Our Schools Essay Contest! We look forward to receiving your submission.
The American Alliance for Theatre & Education
2007 THEATRE IN OUR SCHOOLS ESSAY CONTEST
Thank you and congratulations to all who submitted essays to the 2007 contest! We received hundreds of inspiring essays about the importance of theatre in the lives of students across the country. All who submitted essays according to the contest guidelines will be sent Certificates of Participation to award your hard work.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the following students whose essays were chosen for publication
in AATE's STAGE of the Art, volume 18, 3, which will be available in February 2008:
Daniella Cohen, Grade 3
of Northwestern University Saturday Enrichment program, Evanston, IL
Teacher: Donna Stone
Paula Ariel Martinez, Grade 4
of Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School, Hamden, CT
Teacher: Mrs. Mangini
Samantha Quiroz, Grade 7
Pershing Middle School, San Diego, CA
Teacher: Terry Miller
Mary Jones, Grade 11
Round Rock High School, Round Rock, TX
Teacher: Johanna Whitmore
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CONGRATULATIONS to the following students whose essays received Honorable Mentions:
Jayadev Babu, Kindergarten
Geana Gonzalez, Grade 1
Sophia Nelson, Grade 2
Amari Santiago, Grade 2
Azuri Hughes, Grade 3
Katherine Moldow, Grade 3
Aiesha Savage, Grade 5
Callie Mobley, Grade 7
Sara Jacobs, Grade 8
Kristie Nguyen, Grade 9
Jessica Jollie, Grade 10
Natnael Etuma, Grade 11
Kahle McFadden, Grade 11
Emma Young, Grade 11
Quotes and excerpts from the above essays can be found in the April 2007 AATE Dialogue. Watch for full essays in the next issue of STAGE of the Art!
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Again, thank you to all who submitted essays! We hope you will all continue to be involved in theatre and share the valuable role it has played in your lives.
Please watch for details on next year's Theatre In Our Schools Essay Contest! If you have any questions, or if you do not receive any type of notification by Friday, June 8th, please contact the AATE National Office.