The people-to-people task you have taken on constitutes the very heart of our program. Responding is rewarding, time-consuming and delicate. It takes tact, intelligence and a teacher’s heart to do it well. Thanks for volunteering.

On the main Respondents page you will find the online form you will need to submit in order to complete your task as a Festival Respondent and receive your travel reimbursement. The Region III Selection Committee meets in early December of each year in order to choose the productions and scenes to be viewed at the subsequent January festival, and to finalize schedules, lists of students in all areas, and to conduct other business of the region. It is imperative that all information on the current calendar year’s productions be received prior to that meeting.

Submit the online Respondent’s Reimbursement and Recommendation Form. The form will include the information needed such as Irene Ryan nominations, and if you are nominating a production for the Evening of Scenes, the Costume Parade, and a place for you to list any Certificates of Merit that you would like to award. There will also be a place for you to list any student designers working on the production. The Ryan and student designer information must be included in order to receive your reimbursement.

When she was regional chair, Carolyn Gillespie wrote some words on the response process that are loaded with insight. Instead of trying to revise her words, here they are again, with occasional updating.

It’s only fair!

As most of you know, it takes a village to insure that every production entered in our region has a viable respondent. Once again, I ask that your department supply as many respondent visits as you consume. Respondents should have attended the Respondent Workshops at the Regional Festival, or a similar workshop offered by the State Chair. However, given the demand for respondents, occasionally an “untrained” colleague is sent out. If you are interested in becoming a respondent, contact your state chair.

To tell the truth with tact….

A respondent’s job is to respond to what he/she experienced in the theatre at the time of the viewing, and to tell the truth with tact. Each department develops a culture of criticism based its philosophy of teaching. Some programs emphasize nurturing and concentrate almost entirely upon positive feedback; others take a tougher approach and consistently point out aspects of the performance that are not working. – and some do this quite bluntly. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. Remember that our effort must be to support what we must assume to be a good faith effort on the part of the company. In the case of a faculty directed production, the respondent must be careful not to undercut a colleague’s credibility with his/her students. With student directed productions, we must take care to notice what has been accomplished as well as areas which could benefit from further exploration. In all cases, it is essential not to demoralize the company.

What to do about a “bad” respondent?

Try as we might to avoid it, occasionally, a school reports an unsatisfactory experience with a respondent. Sometime, this is a clash of cultures of criticism, and even a “good” respondent can have a bad night. If, however, you feel a respondent to one of your associate productions should not be out on the road, please contact your state chair to discuss the matter in some detail. In the case of a participating production, please talk to the regional chair. We can’t address problems if we don’t know they exist.

What to do about an “inhospitable” host?

Then, too, there is the occasional problem of the “bad” host—one who offers a respondent little or no hospitality. Some respondents have reported not even being greeted at the site. Again, let us know so we can address the problem. Host and respondent should be in contact well before the date determined for the visit to work out details of hospitality. You should receive an invitation to a meal prior to the performance. Not only is a road-weary colleague needing to eat, it provides a great opportunity for collegial exchange and may help frame the oral response session. If a respondent needs to stay overnight, it is the host school’s obligation to provide lodging.

KCACTF Region III policy on reimbursements to respondents

As we transition to an online format for the response, we expect to have a few problems. However, each respondent should complete the online form in a timely manner. If it has not been received within two weeks of the conclusion of the production, the region chair and the automated system will begin sending reminders to the respondent. Once the response has been received, it will be forwarded to the director electronically.

Our goal is to send reimbursements to responders within two weeks of receiving your online reimbursement forms including all of the needed information listed above. If you feel you have fulfilled these requirements, please contact the Region III chair.