State Drama Festival – school application
Applications for live performances have now closed.
Applications for short films have been extended and will close on Friday 26 September 2025 (end of Term 3 Week 10).
The State Drama Festival celebrates classroom and cocurricular drama achievements of students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The Festival runs across 4 days with students participating from schools across NSW.
In 2025, we are thrilled to accept both live performance groups and student-made short films to show in the theatre as part of our festival.
The State Drama Festival celebrates classroom and cocurricular drama achievements of students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The Festival runs across 4 days with students participating from schools across NSW.
In 2025, we are thrilled to accept both live performance groups and student-made short films to show in the theatre as part of our festival.
State Drama Festival will be held from Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 October 2025. Performances will run every evening at 7 pm.
Note that a matinee of the NSW Public Schools Drama Ensemble programs will also run at 11:30 am on Friday 24 October.
- Please nominate any pieces or short films that have not been presented in your local Area Drama Festival.
- Nominations may exceed places available. Please do not anticipate acceptance into the State Drama Festival.
- It is the nominating teachers responsibility to ensure the video link for each item is submitted by the due date.
- All applicants will be notified via emailed after the audition panel meet.
For live performance items, we are looking for ensemble performances that are less than 10 minutes. Please note that we prefer devised or original works (rather than scripted works) as copyright can be tricky for scripted options. However, if you have a scripted item that is less than 10 minutes, feel free to submit and we can investigate what might be possible.
For short films, we are looking for creative, student-made films that are less than 5 minutes. There is no required theme, however, the festival will be shared with a general public audience, so we request that any films submitted are is suitable for this context.
Further inquiries should be directed to the Drama Team.
Cost
$150.00 including GST per school performance item.
$100.00 including GST for short films in 2025.
Festival clothing
Festival t-shirts and hoodies will be made available to order in late Term 3, 2025.
Workshops
School groups will also have the option of attending a 90 minute workshop on the same day as their technical rehearsal. Please indicate on your application if you would be interested in booking in for this optional opportunity.
Workshops will incur an additional fee of $12.00 per student.