TTAO Fall Newsletter

Greetings!

What a fantastic time we had at TheatreFest 2025! Our Open Forum and Annual Business Meeting were wonderful opportunities to see so many of our members in person, share ideas, and celebrate the work being done across the state. The energy and dedication in the room inspired me, and it’s clear that Texas educational theatre is in great hands.

It was a pleasure that TTAO was able to bring Ebrin Stanley from Broadway to Arlington to deliver the Convocation keynote. I hope you were able to hear his message!

If you weren’t able to attend TheatreFest and hear from some of the candidates in our upcoming election (December 1-14), don’t worry—you can learn more about them right here in this newsletter.

Also, be sure to join us for our upcoming Fireside Chats, where we’ll continue to connect, learn, and grow together as a community of adjudicators and contest managers.

We are already looking ahead with excitement to the upcoming UIL One Act Play season. As always, thank you for all that you do to support our students, directors, and theatre programs across Texas. Your professionalism and passion keep our theatre community thriving.

Have a great fall!

Artistically yours,

Scott

R. Scott Allen, Ed.D.

TTAO President

If you missed either of our recent Fireside Chats with Phillip Morgan and Rachel Harrah, keep an eye out for the recordings on our website!

You've got so much to do and only so many hours in a day…Billy Joel, “Vienna”.

We are rapidly approaching the final UIL Student Activity conference in the next couple

of weeks. The League would like to express our gratitude to the many teachers and

TTAO members who helped make the fall season of workshops a success. How

wonderful to see both new and experienced educators and their students come

together, eager to collaborate and learn.

Here are some updates as we plan for a very busy high school competition season.

Contest Managers- Visit the Theatre homepage.

• Please review the updated OAP Handbook, 29th edition AND the Rules and Updates section.
• Are you running a zone or district? Please check the OAP alignment. If one of your schools is missing, please contact that school directly. They will need to petition for late entry. Deadline was October 1.

• Are you running a zone, district contest? You will need to request MEET AUTHORIZATION for each Zone and District contest. Full instructions found on the ONLINE ENTRY SYSTEM page.

• If you are running an official UIL A+, Middle school, Junior high OAP contest, do not forget to submit the contest results form. Visit our RESOURCES AND FORMS page. We’ve added numerous contest resources including contest day sample scripts, recordings, projector test image and more…we hope you will find some of these items helpful.

TTAO Adjudicators-

• If you were contacted about judging a contest or assigned an Area or Region contest and have not received an agreement, email the contest manager posted on the website (Bi-district – Region only) or email the state office. Now that enrollment is complete our office is working on some on judging assignments again.

• New CLINIC/FESTIVAL FORM- Required of all TTAO Adjudicators. To better catch conflicts this year, TTAO adjudicators who serve as a clinician shall submit a form for each of their clinics, per site. OAP Directors will be required to submit a form as well. OAP Directors and Adjudicators should be aware of any conflicts.

• No new rules for judges. Review with your contest managers how critiques will be handled for your contest. In fact, communicate with your contest manager as much as possible so there are no surprises when you arrive to contest. Ask questions.

• Judges are reminded that there is nothing in the judging standards which calls upon you to evaluate the playwright or full-length play. If the League’s Play Appraisal Committee has approved the cutting, it has already been evaluated by a panel of your peers. The school may have additional restrictions from their school district, the publisher or playwright. You may see a complete one-act play, a selected scenes from, or an excerpt from a full-length play.

UIL Young Filmmakers Festival 2026

Ready to inspire the next generation of young filmmakers? The UIL Young Filmmakers

Festival is searching for insightful and passionate film judges to watch and evaluate

short films created by our talented Texas high school students. This contest is 100%

online. Volunteer judges will watch the student films online, provide helpful comments

and rankings. State advancing films will be screened and awarded at the state film

festival. Interested? Submit this Judges Interest Form. A judges’ training session will be

offered in December. Signup! Contest starts in January! See our UIL Film Contest page

for more information.

As always, please reach out to the state office if you have any questions.

theatre@uiltexas.org.

Paula

The Core Values Committee was created to reflect and reinforce the foundational principles that guide TTAO’s work. This year, the committee is thrilled to partner with TTAO President-Elect, Jill Ludington, to promote two key initiatives that exemplify our Core Values of Education and Service:

PWP – Partnering With Purpose
SIOS – Service Is Our Signature

Partnering With Purpose (PWP)

The primary goal of PWP is to expand Professional Development opportunities for Texas Theatre Arts teachers. The committee’s aim is to host at least one PWP event per region each school year, coordinated by committee members and supported by TTAO members across the state.

Given the size and diversity of Texas, localized opportunities are essential. Regional events allow theatre educators to connect, share expertise, and grow together — strengthening our community one region at a time.

Regional PWP Conferences and Coordinators

Region 1

Ft. Worth ISD
Saturday, November 8 | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
I.M. Terrell Academy, Fort Worth, Texas
Registration Deadline: November 1 Coordinators: Jill Ludington & Cindy Couch
Questions-Nicholas Morris-c.nicholas.morris@fwisd.org

Register Here

Amarillo ISD – Tascosa High School
Saturday, December 6 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Tascosa High School, Amarillo, Texas
Registration Deadline: November 15
Coordinators: Cy Scroggins & Cindy Couch
Questions- Cindy Couch- cindycouch09@gmail.com

Register Here

Region 3

East Houston Area
Saturday, November 8 | 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
11433 E. Sam Houston Pkwy N
Registration Deadline: November 1 Coordinator: Frank Chuter
Questions:-Frank Chuter-frank_chuter@me.com

Register Here

Plans are in place to host additional free professional development workshops in Regions 2 and 4 — stay tuned for updates!

Additional Information

• All professional development sessions are free of charge.

• Educators are welcome to attend any regional workshop, regardless of home region.

• Sessions are designed for both middle school and high school directors.

• Workshops are presented by TTAO members and cover a range of topics, from OAP 101 to Navigating Adjudicators’ Evaluation Documents.

The Core Values Committee is seeking regional coordinators for upcoming PWP events and volunteers to serve as presenters. Contact Jill Ludington at jnjpurpose@gmail.com or Cindy Couch at cindycouch09@gmail.com to get involved.

Service Is Our Signature (SIOS)

Now in its third year, Service Is Our Signature continues to grow! This initiative encourages TTAO members to serve UIL Title I participating schools and those with new directors. By sharing expertise, offering feedback, and modeling best practices, our members uphold the TTAO Core Value of Service — helping every director and student theatre program thrive.

Director Sign up: Here

TTAO Adjudicator-Find a school and sign up to service: Here

Together We Grow Stronger

Through Partnering With Purpose and Service Is Our Signature, the TTAO Core Values Committee is building a stronger, more connected community of theatre educators across Texas.

Let’s continue to educate, serve, and inspire — together.

TTAO Contest Manager and Adjudicator Certification Fall 2025-Training #2

Our 2nd fall training is open for registration. A reminder, we plan to offer two training sessions this spring. This allows us to service all four UIL Academic Regions.

Training #2 is at Denver City H.S., on December 3rd, 2025.

Jr. High OAP Contest

Denver City H.S.

601 Mustang Dr.

Denver City, Tx, 79323

Mandi Davis, Host

Tana Howard/Cindy Couch, TTAO CM Trainers

Jill Ludington/Denise Green, Adjudicator TTAO Trainers

Be on the lookout for more information on our spring trainings.

Thank you to those interested in becoming TTAO Contest Managers and Adjudicators!

Complete the application and pay the training fee prior to the deadline (Nov 1st or until slots are filled) to be considered for participation in the certification workshop. This event is limited to 20 participants. You will be notified if your application is approved and you are eligible to participate by November 15th, and a more detailed schedule will be available at that time.

When: December 3 8am-9pm (dependent on the contest schedule which may vary)

Apply to become a TTAO Adjudicator:

Step 1: Adjudicator Application Registration Link:

https://forms.gle/84k1VWg8EXTbUcFMA

Step 2: Pay for Training

https://connect.ttao.org/#!/training/purchase

Apply to become a TTAO Contest Manager:

Step 1: Contest Manager Application Link:

https://forms.gle/iVnYxU3R5nWbmbNP9

Step 2: Pay for Training

https://connect.ttao.org/#!/training/purchase