More than three hundred Thespians showcase their talents in the National Individual Events Showcase (NIES) program each year. Six performance categories (monologue, duet acting, solo/duet/group musical theatre, and mime) and eight technical categories (costume design, costume construction, theatre marketing [formerly publicity design], scenic design, stage management, lighting design, sound design, and short film) are featured.

For Festival delegates whose troupes do not bring a show to Festival, NIES auditions offer the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on prepared performances and technical designs. The goal for participating students is to find their talent, learn about strengths and weaknesses, and grow as theatre artists.

Participants from up to twelve selected performance events will perform their pieces on the Festival main stage. Three participants from technical events will have their designs prominently displayed in the Lied Center lobby.

All participants who receive a rating of superior in the first round of NIES auditions are eligible to enter the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts’ Young Arts program at the intermediate level of judging in their performance category. For information on eligibility requirements, visit http://www.youngarts.org/index.html.

Permission requirements

NIES audition participants are required to comply with the law in the use of copyrighted material. Each NIES audition entrant is must provide, at the time of registration, proof of permission to perform any copyrighted material used in the performance.

The Educational Theatre Association has negotiated arrangements with play publishers and leasing agents that have simplified the process of securing performance rights for most of the material used in the Festival’s NIES.

For monologues, duet acting, and group acting selections, agreements are in place with publishers that allow participants to perform copyrighted material in most instances without making a formal permission request. Some publishers grant blanket permission for the use of the works in their catalogues. One, Samuel French, publishes a “Green Light List” of titles for which permission is granted (and a “Red Light List,” for which it is not). In some instances the participant is required to pay a royalty fee for using the material if he or she is selected to perform it in the showcase at the conclusion of the Festival. Refer to the PDF “Securing Performance Rights” and the Samuel French Red Light and Green Light lists, all linked below, for specific requirements by each publisher.

If the permission status of a script is not covered in our “Securing Performance Rights” document, the NIES audition participant must obtain written permission directly from the publisher or copyright holder and provide proof of permission at the time of registration.

For solo musical, duet musical, group musical selections, explicit individual permission is not required. An agreement is in place to consider NIES performances of music and lyrics as educational use since, the showcase performances are adjudicated.