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GoDA
GUILD of DRAMA Adjudicators |
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Introducing GoDA
The Guild of Drama Adjudicators was founded to improve the standards of adjudication of amateur drama by establishing recognised principals of practice to which its members could be relied up to adhere. Its members are bound by a strict rule of professional etiquette. The objectives of the Guild are:
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONCONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENTBACKGROUND INFORMATIONThe original membership of the Guild consisted of forty-six founder members; the admission of additional members has been carried out mainly by means of Selection Weekends held at a week-end each year for the purpose of instructing and testing candidates for membership in the nature and method of adjudication. All candidates for membership are required to have professional or amateur stage experience (preferably both) and to possess a thorough knowledge of drama. A report upon each candidate is made to the Council of the Guild by an Approved Board on which there is at least one person who is not an adjudicator. New members are normally admitted as associate members for a period of two years during which time they will be advised by a Mentor. They may be admitted to full membership after they have adjudicated not less than six Festivals during that time or subsequently. Their admission will be at the discretion of the Council and based upon confidential reports from two Festival Organisers by whom the Associate Member has been employed and an appraisal by a full member of the Guild. The responsibilities of associate members are the same as those of full members. All members and associates are bound to observe certain minimum conditions of engagement. As the Guild is not an agency, negotiations for engagements must be made direct with the adjudicator, but the Guild will provide information and assistance to festival organisers. All members of the Guild are bound to abide by the rules of any festival at which they undertake to adjudicate, and disciplinary action may be taken by the Council against any member who fails to do so. More than eighty per cent of members of the Guild have had professional stage experience as actors, directors, or stage managers, and some are still engaged in the professional theatre, among whom are highly distinguished members of the profession. All have experience of the amateur stage and of the conditions under which amateur plays are performed, and are interested in the furtherance of amateur drama. Many are engaged in some form of teaching the technique of the stage, voice production, etc. The ability to impart instruction is regarded as a necessary qualification for membership of the Guild, as well as sound judgement. Persons with knowledge of the stage and of drama, especially those who have had some experience of adjudication, are invited to apply for membership. Most members of the Guild are willing to adjudicate at verse-speaking festivals and to lecture on drama and various aspects of theatrical art. Members are also available for engagements as producers of plays, operas and musicals. Most members are available and willing to accept engagement anywhere in the UK or abroad, in addition to their home district. In the event of an adjudicator being required to cancel at short notice owing to illness or for any other cause the services of the Guild are available. The Guild is always ready to discuss any problems with festival organisers and to give them any advice or assistance in its power. For the Directory to be of maximum value to Festival Organisers they are advised to attend as many Festivals and to hear as many adjudicators as possible. Printed copies of the Directory are available from the Secretary. CONDITIONS OF ENGAGEMENTThe following are the minimum terms and conditions members of the Guild are required to observe. Fees are always a matter for negotiation between the Festival organisers and the adjudicator. It is expected that the importance and responsibility of the later rounds of a festival will be reflected in the fee offered, particularly when such a booking would preclude an adjudicator accepting an earlier round within that festival, or work of a longer duration. 1. No Member of the Guild is permitted to accept engagements for lower fees than the following, although individual members may charge a higher fee: (a) Full Members - a minimum fee of £66 per session for (b) Associate Members - a minimum fee of £56 per session for (c) Adjudicators must be prepared to supply written reports if these are asked for before the Festival commences. The fee for such written reports is to be negotiated with the original contract and should be not less than £30 for a full-length play and £20 for a one-act play. Adjudicators’ fees and expenses should be paid within 7 days of the completion of the engagement. 2. The above fees provide for a public adjudication at the performance. Public adjudications will normally be of approximately 10 minutes duration per one-act play and approximately 25 minutes for a full-length play. Organisers should advise the adjudicator if they have concerns over the duration of public adjudications. The adjudicators may at their discretion, and by arrangement with the organisers of the Festival concerned, also talk privately with the acting company or companies whose performance they have observed. In such cases a member of the Committee holding the Festival should invariably be present. 3. When an adjudicator is asked to undertake additional work in connection with the Festival such as judging entries in play-writing competitions, an additional fee is payable, which should be agreed beforehand. 4. Motor, rail and other travelling and subsistence expenses are to be paid, and hotel accommodation or hospitality is to be provided for the whole period including any vacant dates. Hospitality is to be provided within a reasonable distance of the Festival venue. 5. In the event of a performance being cancelled in respect of which an engagement has been entered into with an djudicator, 70 per cent of the fee is payable unless 21 days’ notice of the cancellation is given to the adjudicator. The same length of notice should be given by adjudicators if they are unable to fulfil an engagement, unless a specific arrangement has been made to the contrary. 6. No member may accept an engagement for adjudication on less than these minimum conditions without having first referred the proposal to the Council of the Guild. The permission of the Council for any departure there from will be given only under exceptional circumstances. 7. In entering into a contract for any adjudication, every member of the Guild undertakes to observe the Rules under which the particular Festival is held. 8. It is the duty of members when their personal interests appear to be involved which might be considered to bias their judgment, to give this information at once to the sponsors of any Festival at which they may be invited to adjudicate. 9. Members of GODA are prohibited from tendering for engagements. When issuing an invitation to adjudicate, Festival Organisers should always state the fee offered which may be the subject of negotiation above the GODA minimum rate. 10. Festival Committees may occasionally feel that their adjudicator has given cause for complaint. They are invited to make an official notification to the Council immediately so that the matter can be investigated in the interests of the Festival, the adjudicator and GODA. It will be appreciated that it is very difficult to deal with delayed complaints. In no circumstances will Council entertain complaints from participating teams or individuals. 11. If members of GODA are approached by Festival Organisers in Ireland, including organisers of Finals Festivals, the fee will be negotiated bearing in mind the current minimum rates applicable to the Association of Drama Adjudicators and GODA. 12. Festival Organisers must provide the adjudicator with a script of each play to be presented, in the version in which it is to be performed, i.e. with any amendments clearly indicated, not less than three weeks before the start of the Festival. All amendments must be authorised in writing by the author or his/her agent. Photocopies of published scripts are acceptable only with written permission of the publisher. Each script should include a list of characters and indicate if any parts are to be doubled. 13. A member of the organising committee should be appointed to take charge of arrangements for adjudicators, to see that they are met, have what they need at the performance, and to conduct them on to the stage at the end. 14. Adjudicators should be given a seat from which they can have an uninterrupted view of the stage. 15. Adjudicators must be provided with a suitable table upon which to write. He or she must have sufficient room in which to work and be allocated an empty scat on both sides of them so that they are not crowded. A private room with a writing table and chair must be provided for the adjudicator’s use when finalising marks and award winners following the final session of the Festival. 16. Adjudicators must have a shaded light, which they can turn on and off. If possible, a dimmer switch should be provided. A torch is not sufficient unless it is fixed and not hand held. 17. Adjudicators must be provided with a copy of the programme at each performance. 18. Adjudicators should be allowed to inspect the stage, lighting equipment, etc., before the first performance. 19. It is preferable that all adjudications be given at the end of the evening and not at the end of each play 20. Recordings of adjudications, whether audio, video, film etc. may be made only if prior permission has been obtained from the adjudicator, who must be given a copy of the recording and who may require a royalty. 21. In all publicity material and programmes. Festival organisers are asked to print the words ‘Guild of Drama Adjudicators’ after the name of the Adjudicator.
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