Children's Tiatr Competition

What is the Children's Tiatr Competition?

Children's Tiatr Competition is an annual contest run by the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) under the Art, Culture and Museums Department, Government of Goa. The Academy created it in response to a real trend. A growing enthusiasm among schools, students and individual producers for putting children on the Konkani stage, and turned that enthusiasm into a structured, funded platform rather than leaving it to ad hoc school concerts.

Tiatr is the traditional Konkani theatrical form built around acts known as podd'dde and songs known as kantaram. According to the Tiatr Academy of Goa Citizen's Charter published on goa.gov.in, this competition asks child performers aged up to 16 years to present a full-length tiatr in the traditional format, on a theme drawn compulsorily from the lives of children.

The competition is deliberately non-monetary at the prize end. There are no cash prizes. What participants get instead is production funding, a permanent video record of their work, and formal recognition through mementos and certificates across a spread of categories covering best performance, individual artistes, direction, technical craft and music.

What the Academy funds

• Music, specifically a live band with at least two blowing instruments
• Light effects
• Stage setting
• Background music
• Make-up and costumes
• Refreshments during rehearsals
• Transport

Who is eligible for the Children's Tiatr Competition?

You can enter if:

• You are an educational institution, a sports or cultural association, or an individual producer.
• Every child performer is aged 16 years or under on the date fixed for submission of the application.
• Your theme is based compulsorily on the lives of children.
• Your tiatr runs between 90 and 150 minutes, including an interval of a minimum 10 minutes and a maximum 15 minutes.
• You present the tiatr in the traditional format approved by the Academy, with 6 to 7 acts (podd'dde) and at least 4 cantos.
• Comedy in the production is linked to the story of the play.
• The production carries at least 8 kantaram, which must include 1 interactive duet, 1 interactive duo, 1 interactive trio, 1 interactive quartet or quintet, 1 choral song, and solos.

Priority entry: the first three award winners of the previous year's Children's Tiatr Competition get a direct entry into the current year's festival, provided their entries reach the Academy before the due date.

You cannot apply if:

• Any performer in your cast is over 16 years on the application date. A troupe with even one over-age performer is not eligible.
• Your script has already been performed in more than 2 shows before the competition performance.
• Your script has no relevance to the lives of children. The Academy scrutinises every script and reserves the right to reject it outright on this ground.
• Your script, lyrics, performances or speeches carry adverse remarks against any government, individual or institution, or anything against caste, creed and religion.
• Your artistes, technicians or backstage crew are already listed with another troupe. Names on the submitted list may participate only under that troupe. Musicians are the single exception and may work with more than one troupe.

What do participants receive?

Production support. The Tiatr Academy of Goa fixes the financial support figure and pays it by cheque in the name of the educational institution, sports or cultural association, or individual producer. The support is meant to cover the production heads listed above; band, lights, stage, background music, make-up, costumes, rehearsal refreshments and transport. The charter does not publish a fixed rupee figure for this support, so confirm the current amount with the Academy office when the year's announcement appears.

A permanent record. Every tiatr in the competition is video recorded, and the Academy bears the recording cost. The recording is preserved in the Tiatr Academy of Goa library, and one free DVD copy goes to the producer or director.

Recognition. Mementos and certificates are awarded across categories covering best performance, individual artistes, direction, technical aspects and musical components. There is no cash element to any of these awards.

A route onward. The top three award winners carry a direct entry into the following year's competition, and award-winning children's tiatrs are also eligible for staging under the Academy's separate Award Winning Tiatr Festival scheme, which pays Rs 25,000 per tiatr to the director or producer.

What documents are required?

Originals of the birth or baptism certificates should be produced for verification when the Academy asks for them.

How to apply for the Children's Tiatr Competition

1. Wait for the announcement. The Tiatr Academy of Goa announces the competition in the local press each year. Do not file an entry before that announcement appears.
2. Print the prescribed application form, which is set out in the Tiatr Academy of Goa Citizen's Charter on goa.gov.in and is also available at the Academy office.
3. Fill in every mandatory field, then attach self-attested copies of the Aadhaar card and PAN card, birth or baptism certificates for all child performers, the typed complete script, and the typed kantaram lyrics.
4. Arrange the Rs 3,000 refundable security deposit in cash or as a demand draft drawn in favour of Member Secretary, Tiatr Academy of Goa, payable at Panaji.
5. Sign and date the form, then submit the complete set at Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Keep a photocopy and any acknowledgement.

What happens after you apply?

Script scrutiny. The Academy scrutinises the script to verify that it relates to the lives of children and to check the interactive nature of the kantaram. Feedback, where there is any, reaches the applicant within 10 days. The Academy may suggest improvements, or reject the script completely if it finds no relevance to children's lives.

Selection. Only 15 troupes get a slot. The first three award winners of the previous year take direct entry. If more than 15 applications arrive, the Academy calls a meeting of all applicants and the remaining 12 places are decided by lots. If one of the 15 later withdraws, the vacancy goes to the troupe first on the waiting list.

Final documentation. Exactly 3 days before the competition begins, and during office hours, submit the final typed script, the typed copy of the songs, the cast of the tiatr and a summary of the songs.

Performance. Stage the tiatr at the venue and on the day the Academy allocates. A panel of judges appointed by the Academy decides the awards, and their decision is final and binding on all participants.

Why entries fail or lose money

• A performer over 16. Age is checked against the date fixed for application submission, not the performance date, and there is no relaxation published.
• Script rejected at scrutiny. A script that is not genuinely about the lives of children can be rejected outright, which is why the theme should be settled before rehearsals begin.
• Withdrawal after the schedule is drawn. The entire Rs 3,000 deposit is forfeited in this situation, so confirm your troupe's availability before entering.
• Format breaches. Fewer than 6 acts, fewer than 4 cantos, fewer than 8 kantaram, or a running time outside the 90 to 150 minute window all put the entry at risk.
• A crew member double-listed. Technicians and backstage artistes named on one troupe's list cannot appear with another. Only musicians are exempt.
• Over-exposed script. More than 2 prior shows of the same script makes the entry ineligible.
• Late final documents. The 3-day pre-competition submission is a hard requirement, and it must be made during office hours.

Where to get help

• Tiatr Academy of Goa — AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Forms are issued and entries accepted here, and the security deposit is paid to the Member Secretary.
• Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa; Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji. Phone 0832-2404600, email dir-dac.goa@nic.in.
• Citizen's Charter, the complete competition norms and the application proforma are published in the Tiatr Academy of Goa Citizen's Charter on goa.gov.in.

The Academy reserves the right to change the rules of the competition, so read the current year's press announcement and charter before entering. There is no entry fee beyond the refundable Rs 3,000 deposit.

How to check your application status

The Children's Tiatr Competition has no online tracking portal, so status checks run through direct contact with the Tiatr Academy of Goa rather than a login or reference number.

1. Watch for the scrutiny feedback window. After you submit the form, script and lyrics, the Academy scrutinises the script and is expected to respond within 10 days. If that window passes with no word, that is the first point to follow up, not before.

2. Call or visit the Academy office. Reach the Tiatr Academy of Goa at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Keep your submission date and the photocopy or acknowledgement of your application ready when you call or visit, since there is no separate application ID to quote.

3. Ask specifically which stage your entry is at. There are three real checkpoints to ask about: whether script scrutiny is complete, whether your troupe is among the 15 selected slots (direct entry for last year's top three, or through the lottery meeting for the rest), and whether a performance date and venue have been allocated to you.

4. Track the selection meeting yourself. If more than 15 valid entries come in, the Academy calls a meeting of all applicants to draw the remaining slots by lots. Attending this meeting in person is the surest way to know your troupe's status on the day, rather than waiting for a separate notification afterward.

5. Use the Directorate of Art and Culture as a second point of contact. If the Academy office does not respond, the parent Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa (Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, phone 0832-2404600, email dir-dac.goa@nic.in) can be asked to check on a pending entry, since the Academy functions under this Directorate.

6. Confirm your deposit status separately. If your troupe withdraws or is not selected, follow up specifically on the Rs 3,000 deposit: it is forfeited only on withdrawal after the schedule is drawn, and otherwise should be refundable, so raise this as its own question rather than assuming it is settled automatically.