We sometimes hear of drama societies who have been disappointed with the quality of the adjudication they have received at some festivals. On further inquiry we often find that the adjudicator was not a member of GoDA – or one of the equivalent professional organisations in Scotland or Ireland.

Maybe the festival committee selected a local drama teacher – to save expense. Or maybe a noted actor had been engaged to ‘draw in the audience’. But ability on some aspect of theatre does not necessarily make for an accomplished adjudicator. It is then that the drama societies feel ’short-changed’.

And, of course, it is the drama societies who are at the centre of the festival jigsaw. Without their entries, there will be no drama festivals and no adjudicators – whatever their quality. So it is essential that their needs are met.

GoDA likes to feel that in employing one of its members, festivals will be assured of quality in the assessment of a team’s work.

The most important part of the service is the quality of the adjudication, which should be well-timed, astute, well-considered, insightful, helpful and positive. It will be well-structured so audiences and teams can see all aspects of the production have been covered. It will be clear that the adjudicators have done their research – that they have studied the play and the playwright – that they have understood the challenges of the script so that they can discuss how the company have answered those demands. (The adjudicator’s appearance, manner and organisational skills are all part of this professional approach.)

There are many checks and balances to ensure the right degree of professionalism of its members:

• The selection process to become a Member of GoDA is rigorous.
• New members have the assistance of a Mentor for their first years as an Associate Member.
• Before Associate Members become Full GoDA Members, a stringent new assessment is made of the adjudicator in action. At this point drama festivals are asked for their confidential comments.
• At all drama festivals where any GoDA Member has adjudicated, the festival committee is urged to return an Assessment Form to the Guild Secretary reporting on the quality and skills of the adjudicator.
• If a festival wishes to make a formal complaint against an adjudicator, the GoDA Council investigates the matter diligently – and acts. This is not a toothless process, as in certain cases adjudicators have had their GoDA membership revoked.
• All GoDA Members have a professional code of practice, which they should follow.

Unfortunately many people still think that adjudication is easy – that their work is merely the 20 or 30 minutes spent on stage at the end of the evening. But to this should be added the time spent on preparation and on travel, the deep concentration needed throughout the evening, the meeting with teams afterwards, the drive home later at night, the marking, the typing of written reports. And this may be for a week-long festival – or longer.

At the time of writing, the minimum GoDA fee is £66 a session for a Full Member (£56 for an Associate Member). Assuming that festivals charge £5 a ticket to audience members then it only takes the first twelve people through the theatre doors to pay the adjudicator’s fee.

For the entrants the costs of presenting a play at a festival are enormous – and the demands on people’s time are increasingly heavy. Clearly the companies who continue to enter festivals expect an adjudication which adheres to published standards.

So Why Choose a GoDA Adjudicator?

Because GoDA aspires to give you an assured quality of assessment from a professional – fully versed in the art of theatre adjudication. You have the knowledge that all GoDA Members are regularly assessed, that new Members have supervision and that there is regular feedback on all GoDA Members from festivals, Members and assessors.

You also have the knowledge that all GoDA Members abide by a professional code of practice.

Should not all those teams still entering festivals expect the best quality professional assessment from their adjudicator?