The annual Far East English & Dramatic Arts Festival celebrates the English and Dramatic arts through writing, performances, workshops and judge-peer critiques. The festival’s primary purpose is to support the English and Language arts and give students a chance to write and perform original works of literature as well as to perform works by well-known playwrights.

Feedback from judges and other coaches who are experts in their field are utilized to help students raise their level of creativity and performance and to encourage growth in their chosen crafts. Students must pass an audition to participate in the festival. Selected teams prepare a 30-minute ensemble show and all students are required to participate in a 15-minute collaborative reader’s theater, as well as individual performance pieces involving performance poetry, a monologue, duo or trio. All students are given the chance to perform and to be critiqued by judges in the field of theater and performance as well as participate in theater and writing workshops.

Far East English & Drama History

In 1986 The ELA/Drama Festival begin as the Far East Speech Arts Festival.  During the early days of the festival, the event included a variety of different activities such as storytelling and interpretive speech as well as dramatic performances.   As the festival grew, the emphasis shifted to focus primarily on theatrical studies and was named the Far East Drama Festival.  In 2011, the Festival added a writing and performance poetry component and took its present form.