MACT
Fast*Fest, MACT’s biennial festival of 20-minute plays, will be held August 16 (welcome social) and August 17 (performances and social) in Cloquet. It will be hosted by our friends at County Seat Theater Company at their facility, the Encore Performing Arts Center.
We are thrilled to announce that 15 theatres have registered shows for Fast*Fest ’24. This is the highest number we’ve had in quite a while! With that many shows, This should be a very fun and entertaining festival.
Performance Schedule
Only the starting time of each session is announced. Shows are presented one following the other within a session.
Friday:
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Open house at Encore Performing Arts Center – your chance to see the stage & facility.
(light snacks provided by MACT)
Saturday:
9:00 am – 5 productions:
Sister Loretta – Penny Pinchin’ Production
The Spot – County Seat Theater Company
The Last Romeo – Ole Olson Onstage
Macbeth, The Oppositional King – Classics Lost N Found Theatre Company
Jeanette Rankin: Champion of Persistence – Thorn Productions
12:00 pm – Lunch on your own
1:30 pm – 5 productions:
Lunchtime! – Mindless Mirth Productions
All’s Well That Ends – NKB Productions
Porch Talk – Rhubarb Jam
Anniversary Season – Zenith City Players
Timber – Marshall Area Stage Company
5:00 pm – Dinner provided by MACT (with full package only)
Menu (subject to change): pulled pork sandwich, vegie/pasta salad, chips, other fixin’s, cookie & water
6:30 – 5 productions:
The Door – Seat of Your Pants Players
Heart Attack – Open Heart Theatre
Wedding Belle Blues – Pargeter Players
A Woman Over Forty – Applause Community Theatre
Death Knocks – FungusAmongus Players
10:00 pm – 12:00 pm after-glow social at Encore Performing Arts Center
(light snacks provided by MACT)
Click here for the Festival Brochure (with registration form)
On-line registration
On-line registration is now available. The ticketing site is: https://buy.ticketstothecity.com/purchase.php?date_id=56176
Early bird prices (prior to August 10): $50 full package, $20 per performance session
Late prices (on/after August 10): $65 full package, $25 per performance session.
The full package includes the Friday evening welcome social, all 3 performance sessions on Saturday, the afterglow social Saturday night and a meal between the afternoon and evening performance sessions. Menu (subject to change): pulled pork sandwich, vegie/pasta salad, chips, other fixin’s, cookie and water. The meal is only available with a full package.
Deadlines: There are several upcoming deadlines that you need to be aware of:
- July 20 – Special Needs request (ASL, AD, etc.)
- August 10 – early bird registration deadline (prices go up on that date)
Hotels:
- There are two hotels in Cloquet, a couple more in Carlton and several more in the south Duluth area.
- Americinn and Super 8 are located next to each other in Cloquet, just off Hwy 33. Last we checked they had limited availability, required a 2 night stay and weren’t cheap.
- Black Bear Casino Resort is just south of the theatre, just off I35. Again, limited availability and not cheap.
- Black Bear also owns two other hotels, just across I35 from the casino. They are the First American and Royal Pines. They were less expensive than other options when we last checked (Larry & Carol booked their room (at First American) a few weeks ago.) They had good availability and no minimum stay at that time. Prices were much better than at the other Cloquet hotels. You must call them (on-line reservations are not available) at 218-384-3535.
- There are also several hotels on the south end of Duluth, just off I35. That’s only about 20 minutes (or so) away from the theatre.
Be aware that there is construction along I35 between the Twin Cities and Cloquet. They are replacing bridges near Hinkley and Barnum. Expect major delays on Friday night and Saturday morning. (Well, anytime, for that matter!)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the festival co-chairs: Larry Pint (lpint@bevcomm.net or 612-598-4782) or Joel Soukkala (countyseatgm@aol.com or 218-878-0071).
Older Information:
MACT has setup a committee to produce this event. The committee includes:
- Joel Soukkala Co-Chair (County Seat Theatre – our host)
- Larry Pint Co-Chair (MACT Treasurer, Webmaster & Newsletter Editor)
- Julianna Skluzacek (MACT Board)
- Susan Olson (Merely Players)
- Gordy Handeland (MACT Board)
- Bruce Kurtz (Past MACT*Fest past adjudicator)
- Rachel Bohnsack (MACT Board – Northern Starz)
- Gary Davis (Applause Community Theatre)
- Darren Beecher (MACT President – de facto committee member)
- Bob Schwoch (MACT Board – Marshall Area stage Company)
- Donna Heaston (MACT Board)
- Jon Skaalen (MACT Board)
Fast*Fest Rules
- Shows will be limited to 20 minutes, with 5 minutes allowed for setup and for strike.
- MACT will provide 1 table and 4 chairs. Theatres may bring only ONE additional set piece.
- Only the standard light plot can be used. Sound is up to each theatre.
- There is no time for rehearsals in the space.
- There will not be an adjudication. There will be a moderated colloquy after each play.
- The festival is open to all non-professional groups, be they community theatres, colleges, high schools or ad-hoc groups.
- There is no registration fee for MACT member theatres. There is a $25 registration fee for non-members. Participants are expected to register for at least the session they are performing in (but we hope they will want to attend the full festival). Single session registration will be $20 and full package price is $50 before August 10th (single session $25, full package $65 thereafter). Full package includes Friday night welcome social, Saturday morning workshops, afternoon play session, evening play session and the Saturday night social.
- Performers and technicians must meet the AACT Festival Guidelines (not paid, non-equity).
- Theatres must represent that they have the rights to use any copyrighted materials including performance rights by signing the registration form below.
- Except as stipulated above, all AACT Festival Rules will apply.
- If ASL Interpreters or Audio Describers are requested for your session, you will need to provide 2 copies of your script by July 27th.
General Information
- There will be a social/networking event Friday (August 16th) at the Encore Performing Arts Center.
- All Shows will be on Saturday. Depending on the number of entries, there could be up to 3 sessions. Performance order will be determined by the Fast*fest committee. There could be 4 to 6 performances in each session.
- There will be breaks between sessions for meals (on your own) and networking.
- There will be a social gathering Saturday evening after the final session.
Theatre Registration Deadline is June 15th.
To register your theatre for Fast*Fest 2024, mail the completed form below (with $25 registration fee if not a MACT member) to:
FastFest
c/o Larry Pint
704 Main St W
New Prague, MN 56071-2340
The registration fee may also be paid online via our ticketing site accessible from the Fast*Fest page on our website.
You must still mail the form below to us so we can get the show and contact information.
The schedule, attendee registration forms and additional information will be sent out in July.
Click here for the Fast*Fest 2024 theatre registration form
Click here for the Fast*Fest 2024 logo (pdf file)
Click here for the Fast*Fest 2024 logo (jpg file)
Click here for the Fast*Fest 2024 poster (pdf file)
Click here for the Fast*Fest 2024 poster (jpg file)