Middle School Contests

The METG Middle School Division runs contests that recognize student excellence in performance, technical theater, design, and writing. Each contest below lists what students need to prepare, how the contest is run, and how to register.

Contest Day is Saturday, December 5, 2026

Held at Norwood High School, Norwood, MA. The deadline to register is November 20, 2026. You do not need to have your entry ready when you register.

Jump to a contest

Monologue Contest

What to prepare: in person

Each applicant may perform one piece that is one to two minutes in length.
Students may enter a monologue from a published play, or they may enter an original piece.
Monologue choices must be approved by the applicant’s drama teacher/advisor.
You may utilize a small table or chair(s) in your monologue/scene, but no other furniture or scenery is permitted.
No audio/sound effects will be permitted.
Costumes and props are not permitted.
Applicants should wear simple clothing that allows for ease of movement.
No special lighting will be available.
No live or recorded accompaniment or sound effects are allowed.
Your total allotted time is one to two minutes. You will be stopped if your monologue runs too long. Please time yourself when you rehearse.

What to prepare: virtual

Each applicant may perform one piece that is one to two minutes in length.
Students may enter a monologue from a published play, or they may enter an original piece.
Monologue choices must be approved by the applicant’s drama teacher/advisor.
You may utilize a small table or chair(s) in your monologue/scene, but no other furniture or scenery is permitted.
No audio/sound effects will be permitted.
Costumes and props are not permitted.
Applicants should wear simple clothing that allows for ease of movement.
No special lighting will be available.
No live or recorded accompaniment or sound effects are allowed.
Your total allotted time is one to two minutes. The judges will stop watching your recording after two minutes. Please time yourself when you rehearse. Your time begins after your slate.
Entrants should begin their recording with:
- My identification number in the Middle School Monologue Contest is (give number); my piece is from (title of play) by (author); I play the part of (character)." DO NOT USE YOUR NAME IN YOUR SLATE.

Judging and prizes

Judging

Performances will be evaluated by two adjudicators independently using the METG Monologue Contest Rubric (shown below).

Prizes

Prizes will be determined by the METG Board of Trustees.

Excellence in Technical Theater

What to prepare: in person

Students may enter ANY technical theater element—including set design, set dressing, props design, costume design, hair and makeup design, lighting design, sound design, projections design, directing, stage management, etc.
Entrants must submit a design from a published play or musical. The adjudicators will not evaluate designs from original texts.
Entrants may submit no more than two (2) different designs. Participants may present two designs from the SAME show or a single design from two different shows.
Entrants submitting two designs for evaluation must pay fees for both entries. Failure to pay for your entry will result in disqualification from the contest.
Entrants will choose a play or musical, create a plan for design in a specific area of technical theater, and present their vision to a panel of adjudicators using whatever medium works best for them.
The presentation should clearly identify the show/production, credit the playwright(s), authors, and/or lyricists, and if a design is based on a specific scene or moment, clearly identify the moment.
Designs should include specifics for each element of technical theater. For example, set designs should include a detailed set rendering of a scene or moment from the selected work. Costume Designers should create looks for at least 2-3 characters, but do not need to create a costume for every character within a play. Sound designers could create/present a sound plot and examples for a specific scene, an act, or the entirety of the script. Stage managers could present a cue call book for a scene, as well as plans/maps for scenery set/strike, prop placement, backstage travel, etc. Presentations could take the form of Tri-fold boards, a Google Slides presentation, or other visual/auditory mediums. The METG is open to you expressing your creativity in whatever way works best for you.
Entrants should consider utilizing other tools to enhance their presentation. For example, a sound designer may utilize a laptop and headphones, a stage manager may present a marked-up script with cues, a projection designer may want to present a series of images via a slideshow.
Designs must be approved by a teacher/administrator from the entrant’s school.
At Contest Day, entrants will each have 3 minutes to “sell” their vision to a panel of qualified judges, so be sure to practice your pitch!

What to prepare: virtual

Students may enter ANY technical theater element—including set design, set dressing, props design, costume design, hair and makeup design, lighting design, sound design, projections design, directing, stage management, etc.
Entrants must submit a design from a published play or musical. The adjudicators will not evaluate designs from original texts.
Entrants may submit no more than two (2) different designs. Participants may present two designs from the SAME show or a single design from two different shows.
Entrants submitting two designs for evaluation must pay fees for both entries. Failure to pay for your entry will result in disqualification from the contest.
Entrants will choose a play or musical, create a plan for design in a specific area of technical theater, and submit a video of them presenting their vision for a panel of adjudicators.
The presentation should clearly identify the show/production, credit the playwright(s), authors, and/or lyricists, and if a design is based on a specific scene or moment, clearly identify the moment.
Designs should include specifics for each element of technical theater. For example, set designs should include a detailed set rendering of a scene or moment from the selected work. Costume Designers should create looks for at least 2-3 characters, but do not need to create a costume for every character within a play. Sound designers could create/present a sound plot and examples for a specific scene, an act, or the entirety of the script. Stage managers could present a cue call book for a scene, as well as plans/maps for scenery set/strike, prop placement, backstage travel, etc. Presentations could take the form of Tri-fold boards, a Google Slides presentation, or other visual/auditory mediums. The METG is open to you expressing your creativity in whatever way works best for you.
Entrants should consider utilizing other tools to enhance their presentation. For example, a sound designer may include samples of the sounds and music of their design, a stage manager may present images of a marked-up script with cues, a projection designer may want to present a series of images.
Designs must be approved by a teacher/administrator from the entrant’s school.
Entrants will submit a 3 minute video to “sell” their vision to a panel of qualified judges. The video can be as creative as you want to present your vision. Using images, sound, and/or video to sell your concepts is encouraged. Your time begins after your slate.
Your slate should be presented as follows:
- "My identification number in the Middle School Excellence in Technical Theater Contest is (give number). I am presenting (design element) from (title of play or musical)." DO NOT USE YOUR NAME IN YOUR SLATE.

Judging and prizes

Judging

Submissions will be judged on the student's design and interpretation of the material. Presentations should be organized, precise, and cohesive.
Judges will be looking to see that the student has a clear understanding of the play and their chosen technical element and has used that element to support and enhance the production.
Students should be prepared to answer any questions from the judges about their presentation.

Prizes

Prizes will be determined by the METG Board of Trustees.

DIRECTIONS TO NORWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: When you arrive, please park in the back of the school and enter by Door 14. That door is the closest to the Dining Hall where registration for each session will take place.

Norwood High School Paul M. Alberta Performing Arts Center:

Norwood High School 245 Nichols St. Norwood, MA 02062

From Rhode Island/Areas South (I-95): Take I-95 North to Exit 11B, merge onto Neponset St.

toward Norwood. In approximately 1.8 miles, at the traffic circle take the 2nd Exit onto Nahatan St. Drive approximately 1.2 miles. Turn left onto Nichols Street. Drive approximately 0.7 miles. Norwood High School will be on your right.

From Springfield/Areas West (Mass Pike I-90): Take I-90 East to Exit 14 onto I-95 South/128, toward the South Shore/Cape Cod. Drive approximately 10.6 miles to Exit 15B, merge onto Route 1 South. Drive approximately 2.7 miles and take the Norwood Center Exit. At the traffic circle, take the 1st Exit onto Nahatan St. Drive approximately 1.2 miles. Turn left onto Nichols Street. Drive approximately 0.7 miles. Norwood High School will be on your right.

From Boston: (I-93): Take I-93 South to Exit 1 onto I- 95 South towards Providence, RI. Drive approximately 3.2 miles to Exit 11B, merge onto Neponset St. In approximately 1.6 miles, at the traffic circle, take the 2nd Exit onto Nahatan St. Drive approximately 1.2 miles. Turn left onto Nichols Street. Drive approximately 0.7 miles. Norwood High School will be on your right.

Festival Logo Design

Contest specifics

Come up with an image simple, creative and original - to identify this year’s Drama Festival. Don’t be limited by traditional theatrical symbols.
Your design must incorporate the words: Massachusetts Middle School Drama Festival - no abbreviations please!
Your design must also incorporate the calendar year in which the festival occurs (2026).
Entries must be 8-½” x 11” in size and in Vertical Format.
Entries must be in black and white only with no gradation or shading.
Your design must be uploaded in the registration form as either a PDF or JPG file.
Students may not submit more than one entry.
Once you register, there will be a link in your confirmation email to upload your design.
Click here to access the METG Logo. You do not need to use this in your design, but it is available if you want it.

Judging and prizes

Judging

Judging will be based on originality, design quality, and visual impact.
Entries will become the sole property of The Guild and will not be returned.
The Guild reserves the right to modify the design to meet graphic requirements.

Prizes

The winning design will be used as the official logo of the 2026 Middle School Drama Festival.

Monologue Writing

Contest specifics

The script must be original, typed in 12-point Courier font with pages numbered.

Once registration closes, you will receive a link to a google form. When you are ready to submit, you will use that link.
The following information must appear on the first page (cover page): title of the monologue, student’s name, school, current grade, email address, home address, city, state, zip code, home phone number, name of teacher, and signed statement certifying the originality of the submitted work.
The following information must appear on the second page (title page): title of the monologue. No other information may appear on this page.
Students may collaborate on a single monologue. Each student will need to complete their own registration.
Students may not submit more than one entry.

Guidance and requirements

A dramatic monologue is any “speech” of some duration addressed by a character to a second character or characters.
How long should my written monologue be? When reading or performing the monologue it should be approximately twenty seconds in length or more. If your monologue goes beyond three minutes you may want to consider edits.

Action is core to any dramatic work. The character should be doing something through their speech. If the character has a need or a goal it makes the writing dynamic.
The Character should have a real need to pursue an objective through the monologue.
Lively and well written monologues explore the unique rhythms and vocal patterns of a character.
Monologues are responses to something that another character said or did. If you are having trouble getting started, give your character something really big to react to.
Look for opportunities, in the middle of the monologue to surprise yourself, your character and hopefully the audience.
Ending a monologue is difficult. Unlike a play you need not wrap up all of the action at the end of the monologue. That said, there should be some sort of movement forward in the character’s journey.

Judging and prizes

Judging

A professional, working playwright will read your monologue and choose winners. The number of winners will be based in part on the number of entries.

Prizes

The METG will host an in-person reading of the winning piece(s). Prizes will be determined by the METG Board of Trustees.

Ten-Minute Play

Contest specifics

The play may be 10 minutes or less.
There should be a story arc that answers a question.
Characters should be well developed.
The primary character should be dynamic and complex.
The script must be original, typed in 12-point Courier font with pages numbered.
Once registration closes, you will receive a link to a google form. When you are ready to submit, you will use that link.
The following information must appear on the first page (cover page): title of the play, student’s name, school, current grade, email address, home address, city, state, zip code, home phone number, name of teacher, and signed statement certifying the originality of the submitted work.
The following information must appear on the second page (title page): title of the play. No other information may appear on this page.
Students may collaborate on a single monologue. Each student will need to complete their own registration.
Students may not submit more than one entry.

Guidance and requirements

When writing a 10-minute play, any method can be used to brainstorm the standard parts of any story, such as the character, world, and so forth. For best results, focus your brainstorming for a 10-minute play on the same things you would for a short story.

Ask a question:

Every 10-minute play should ask a question. It is something to keep in mind when writing a 10-minute play as it helps you avoid writing a sketch.

Ask any sort of question. Make this the focus of your play. It will give your play purpose.

Develop your character, conflict, and setting:

After you've asked the main question of your 10-minute play, you'll want to flesh out the characters, setting, and conflict that derives from your question.

Develop at least one complex character to engage your audience.

Skip exposition:

Due to the time constraint, you'll need to skip exposition of any kind to get to the action. Introduce the conflict as soon as possible so the audience knows why they're following your story right away.

Cut out extraneous details:

Unlike a short story, there is an actual time limit to this piece, so cut out anything that isn't relevant to your story. This could be a side character, a scene, or a line of dialogue. Once you've written your script, look at it with a critical eye and treat every detail of your story like a choice. Ask yourself if it answers the main question you posited at the beginning of this post, and if it doesn't, cut it out.

Use action to add depth:

Avoid telling the entire story with dialogue alone. You have living, breathing people on stage who can use their bodies, their movement, and their expressions to tell even more. Make your story more efficient and jam-pack it with more information by adding action that signals deeper meanings.

Judging and prizes

Judging

A professional, working playwright will read your monologue and choose winners. The number of winners will be based in part on the number of entries.

Prizes

The METG will host an in-person reading of the winning piece(s). Prizes will be determined by the METG Board of Trustees.

Contest Day logistics

How Contest Day works

For students who register for IN-PERSON:

Once registration has closed, you will be contacted by the Contest Chair to be assigned a time slot.
Adjudicators will watch all in-person entries during their assigned time slot and score them on the appropriate rubric.
In-person space will be limited so sign up today! If we reach capacity for in-person, you will have the option to submit virtually. In the event that this occurs, you will be contacted by the METG.

For students who register for VIRTUAL:

Once registration has closed, you will be sent an ID Number and information with a link to instructions on how to record and upload their contest entry.
Contestants will record their monologues/scenes/technical presentations and submit them to our online platform.
Adjudicators will review all entries and score them on the appropriate rubric.

Additional information

Students may change their registration from in-person to virtual and vice versa up to the registration deadline. After the registration deadline, changes will not be accepted.
As always, the METG is committed to providing barrier-free access to student programming for all students regardless of their financial means. If the registration fee poses a hardship, please contact metg@metg.org to request a waiver.
Please note, this is the process for the Doug Ingalls Monologue Scholarship Contest, the Scene Partner Contest, the Excellence in Technical Theater Contest, and the HS Festival Logo Design Contest. This process may change for the contests later in the year.
METG Middle School Contests are open to middle school students within the state of Massachusetts.

Directions to Norwood High School

When you arrive, please park in the back of the school and enter by Door 14. That door is the closest to the Dining Hall where registration for each session will take place.

Norwood High School Paul M. Alberta Performing Arts Center:

Norwood High School 245 Nichols St. Norwood, MA 02062

From Rhode Island/Areas South (I-95): Take I-95 North to Exit 11B, merge onto Neponset St.