Divisional Tripartite Competition (Divisional Three-Act Play Competition)

What is the Divisional Tripartite Competition?

The Divisional Tripartite Competition is the divisional round of the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi's three-act play contest. The Gujarati name is Vibhagiya Triyanki Natya Spardha, and "tripartite" in the English listing is a rendering of triyanki, meaning a three-act or full-length play. The Akademi works under the Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Government of Gujarat, and has held autonomous status since 1 September 1992.

According to the Akademi's own scheme page, the competition selects 15 to 20 plays, divides them into two or three divisions, and runs a contest of six plays per division. The plays placed first and second in each division go forward to the state-level three-act play competition, whose winners then perform a winners' show.

This is a competition, not a welfare benefit. It exists to keep full-length Gujarati theatre in production, to give amateur and semi-professional groups a stage with lights and sound provided, and to put prize money and certificates behind writing, direction, acting and set design.

Who is eligible to take part?

An institution can enter if:

• It is a registered drama institution or group, registration under the Bombay Public Trusts Act 1950 or the Societies Registration Act 1860 is compulsory, and the registration number and date must be written in the entry form.
• It has been active for at least two years.
• The play it enters is that year's own production.
• It is willing to show the play, with full set, costume and lighting, to an inspector appointed by the Akademi before selection.
• Gujarati theatre groups based outside Gujarat may also enter under the same rule.

Membership of the Akademi is not required, registered groups that are members and non-members may both enter.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual actor, director or writer applying on your own. Entry is institutional; individual prizes are awarded within a competing production.
• Your play was selected under the Talented Director scheme; such plays are barred from this competition.
• Your group is unregistered, or registered for less than two years.
• You are re-entering a play the institution has already performed in an Akademi-run Gujarat state drama competition.
• Your play encourages caste, communal, religious or political discord: such plays are not eligible for selection.

Two further restrictions apply to people rather than groups: no person may direct more than one play in the competition, and an artist performing in one play cannot perform in another.

What documents and fees are required?

The form also asks for the institution's founding date, the list of plays it has staged with dates, places and evidence, a short profile of the director, the full cast list with the role each artist plays, the total running time including interval, and the date on which the group can show the play for pre-inspection.

How to apply for the Divisional Three-Act Play Competition

1. Download the three-act play entry form from the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi website at sangeetnatak.gujarat.gov.in, under the news and forms section.
2. Fill every field — institution details, registration number, chief organiser, play name, playwright, director, cast list, running time and bank details. An institution may name up to three plays in order of preference; if the first is not accepted, the second and third are examined in turn.
3. Obtain the suitability certificate for the script from the Gujarat State Cultural Programme Certification Board, Gandhinagar, and the written consent of the playwright.
4. Prepare a demand draft of Rs 1,750 in favour of the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi; Rs 1,500 refundable deposit and Rs 250 registration fee. Cash is not accepted.
5. Attach self-attested copies of every supporting paper and submit the complete entry to the Akademi at Gandhinagar on or before the announced last date, which was 31 May 2026 for the 2026-27 cycle.
6. Give the Akademi timely notice of the date on which your play can be shown to its inspector, with full set, lighting and costume, at your own cost.
7. If selected, perform in your assigned division; the Akademi provides the stage, lights and microphones.

Entries received after the last date are filed away, and so are entries with any detail left blank.

How much prize money is on offer?

Divisional round

• First prize: Rs 3,000
• Second prize: Rs 2,500
• Third prize: Rs 2,000
• Special additional prize for an original play: Rs 500
• Certificates for notable individual acting to six male and six female performers; judges may award fewer if they think fit.

State-level round

• Participation award to every institution performing: Rs 5,000
• First place: Rs 10,000; second place: Rs 7,000
• Special prize for an original play: Rs 500
• Six individual acting prizes of Rs 500 each; three male and three female roles, totalling Rs 3,000
• Best director: Rs 2,500 first and Rs 1,500 second
• Best set design: Rs 500
• Writer of an original play staged at the final: Rs 1,000

Winners of the first and second places at the state round must take part in the winners' show, which is compulsory.

What are the rules on cast size, travel and timing?

A competing group may field a maximum of 25 artists, plus up to 8 assistants covering musicians, instrumentalists, stage technicians, make-up artists and managers. Numbers beyond this are not accepted. Groups travelling from another city are paid a daily food allowance of Rs 45 per artist as per government rules, along with ordinary State Transport bus fare or second-class rail fare; reservation and sleeping accommodation charges are not reimbursed.

The play must run not less than two hours and not more than three hours including intervals, and the total interval time must not exceed 20 minutes.

How do you check the status of an entry?

The Akademi communicates selection directly to the institution's chief organiser at the mobile number and email given in the entry form, and the inspection visit is itself the working signal that an entry is live. For anything else, contact the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Gandhinagar, on 079-23254552 or 079-23251693.

Why are entries rejected, and how do you fix them?

• Incomplete form. The rules say an entry with any detail missing will be filed away. Fill every row, including the cast list and the pre-inspection date.
• No suitability certificate. The Gandhinagar certification board's certificate must go with the script; get it well before the last date.
• Cash tendered instead of a draft. Only a demand draft of Rs 1,750 in the Akademi's name is accepted.
• Not showing the play to the inspector. If the group does not stage the play for the appointed inspector, it is treated as not wanting to take part and the entire Rs 1,500 deposit is forfeited.
• Old production re-entered. The play must be that year's production and must not have competed in an earlier Akademi state competition.
• Play judged not up to standard. The committee or inspector's decision is final, and a group can be stopped from taking part on that ground.

What related schemes does the Akademi run?

The Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi also runs the state-level three-act play competition that this divisional round feeds, a one-act play competition, a drama training camp, the Talented Director scheme, the Turi Barot drama production assistance scheme under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, and classical music festivals held in memory of Pandit Omkarnath and the musician Baiju. Entry forms for the year's competitions are published together on the Akademi's home page, so a group planning its season should check all of them at once rather than only the three-act competition.