2025 Kansas Community Theatre Festival

Festival basics

Quick answers to some basic questions about the Festival

What is Kansas/Fest?

Kansas/Fest is the state-level round of the biennial American Association of Community Theatre festival cycle. From the state festival a show (or shows depending on how many productions are entered at the state level) is selected to advance to the Regional festival. At Regionals, shows are selected to advance to the National Festival.

Productions are adjudicated by a three-person panel, who share feedback on each show and select the advancing production.

The goal of festivals are:

• To provide an optimum learning experience through festival entry, which affirms, supports, and nurtures community theatre companies as they strive toward excellence in theatrical productions.
• To stimulate and inspire community theatre companies to strive for the best work possible and to recognize them for their achievement through an appropriate adjudication process.
• To provide a learning experience in artistic, technical, and management areas for people in attendance through performances, adjudication, and workshops.
• To develop enlightened and discerning audiences for community theatre.

Regional and Nationals are relatively close this cycle! Regional Festival will be held April 4-6 in Newton, Iowa. The National Festival will be June 25-28 in Des Moines, Iowa.

What are the rules for a festival show?

There are a series of rules for shows participating in the festival. Shows have 60 minutes to perform, and 10 minutes to set-up and 10 minutes to strike. These rules are designed to provide a level playing field for all entering productions. Click here for the complete festival rules.

Who can attend?

Anyone can attend the festival, you don’t have to be part of a show! There will be workshops, and in-person networking opportunities. While virtual meetings and workshops are great, we all can agree nothing beats seeing each other in person. Festival is a chance for community theatre lovers from across the state to come together.

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