YDD Goes to DTASC

 DTASC - Drama Teachers Association of Southern California.

Your Director's Director is here to talk to you all about DTASC. What is DTASC? It is an association of theater educators from all over Southern California who strive for excellence, humility, and competition. DTACT is a one day three time annual acting and technical competition for students ranging from 6th through 12th grade. This year the competition took place on 10/19 and hosted by Bill Garret at Calabasas High School in Calabasas, Venture County. The festival host upwards of 75 total school between the upper and lower division festivals with schools traveling as far as Fresno all the way to San Diego. I, Ricky Meza, hold a board position with the organization and am the acting Varsity Registrar. I foresee the registration of every school competing in out Varsity (High School) Division and ensure all schools have their required documentation to be in attendance on the day of the festival.

So why is this festival so important? This organization strives to find common ground and equity for all school who attend. This festival celebrated its 100 years of competitions in 2020 and has been the most affordable theater competition since at 15 dollars per student to attend. The uniqueness of the festival is that it has a major focus on creating all school equal by creating shared restrictions and guidelines for all the share. Being that this festival does not allow the use of costumes but solid color shirts, plain pants/shorts, and rehearsal dresses. They also prohibit the use of sets and limit the actors competing to 2-4 chairs depending on the category. The festival occurs 3 times a year, twice in the fall semester with a Varsity festival and JV festival followed by a duel division Shakespeare festival in the spring. At the festival, is membership (the teachers of the school who attend) select the categories for all the festivals. Each year they strive to find representation in their material as in the past they have had categories requiring LGBTQ playwrights as well as scenes that center around woman.