Dear Coach:  

 

We are cordially inviting you and/or your students to participate in The MASQ (Making Art while Socially Quarantined) Virtual Regional hosted by The Perfect Performance, LLC. Competition will take place (asynchronously) on Feb 3 & 4, with awards on Feb 5.

 

The MASQ is designed to give competitors a competitive digital experience with competitive costs and no judge requirements. This competition will serve as a qualifier for the NIETOC national competition next May. For the eight NIETOC events, finalists will receive an automatic qualification and semifinalists/quarterfinalists will earn a bid if entries warrant in each event.

 

There are no qualification pre-requisites for a student to enter this tournament. This competition is open to all 9-12 grade students, provided your state association permits online and national competition. Each student must submit a single-take (non-edited) videotaped performance in one or more of the following events:  Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Program Interp, Original Oratory, Informative, Prose, Poetry, Duet Acting, Duo Interp and Extemp. Students can enter as many events as they wish. For all events except Extemp, the same video will be used for all rounds of competition. Extempers will submit two videos – one for prelims and a second video for elimination rounds. Topics will be released by Jan 23 and extempers will have until Jan 27 to submit videos.

 

Fees are $35 per event and a $125 per school judging fee. All entries are due by January 26. A late fee of $15 per entry will apply to those added between Jan 27 & 28, after which no entries will be accepted. Payments (or proof of payment) are due by January 28. Unpaid entries after Jan 29 will be dropped from the competition. Entry fees are non-refundable. Payment options will be available at the bottom of your invoice page. If you have any trouble there, you can also use this link to pay via PayPal or with a debit/credit card:  https://paypal.me/themasq?locale.x=en_US

 

We are planning for three preliminary rounds, quarterfinals (if entries warrant), semifinals and finals. Performances will be judged and critiqued by a nationwide panel of experts who specialize in forensics and theatre. Electronic ballots (with videotaped performances embedded) will be used and educational critiques will be provided to the students immediately following the competition. Students are not required to be present for any part of the tournament.

 

Planned awards include trophies, medals and masks. The top three teams will receive trophies.

 

REGISTRATION STEPS:

1-Confirm receipt/acceptance of legally binding document. Coaches registering multiple students will be sent directions for how to do this for each individual.

 

One of the key parts of participation includes acceptance of the Legal Terms & Conditions. In order to do so, EVERY STUDENT listed on your entry must complete this digital signature Google Form. Please share the link below with ALL COMPETITORS listed with your team's entry so that their parent/guardian may acknowledge receipt and provide official permission to compete.

 

https://forms.gle/znHJo1VjmhkLPxf38

 

Coaches may check this document to see which of your students have submitted the forms. Please note the updated date in the top corner of the form. I will try to do this regularly leading into the tournament deadline. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jX0p2R6Dxb8EUzu7atIUPGm5A-9mUD9E3EgBvo6Gl4A/edit?usp=sharing

 

2-Submit your entries in each of the various categories.

 

3-Provide piece information (titles/topics)

 

4-Click on Current Invoice in order to pay fees electronically.

 

5-Record and upload video (Because it will not allow you to advance without adding information, we recommend adding the words ‘PENDING’ here until you are able to provide the final video clip link.)

 

6-Once all steps are completed and verified for every entry, your participation will be officially approved and you will receive a confirmation email. Any missing steps will appear on the Registration Page as a ‘Not Yet Approved’ statement in red.

 

Details regarding our events, schedule, rules and video submission procedures are also available under the ‘Files for Download’ feature of our SpeechWire tournament page. 

 

Questions regarding registration should be directed to Matt Heimes, Tournament Manager, at mheimes@lps.org or by texting/calling 402-310-4153.

 

Sincerely,

Demond Wilson

Owner & Founder, The Perfect Performance, LLC