Critics

1. A Critic will be a student who:
   1. Is in grades 9 through 12.
   2. Is currently enrolled in a Participating School, except a student not currently enrolled in a Participating School may be a Critic on a Regional Team.
   3. Has not been prohibited by school authorities from participating in extracurricular activities.
   4. Has submitted a Parental Authorization Form for the current Program Year, which has been received by the Program Director, confirming his/her parent's understanding that the Program, Steering Committee, Governing, Board, and Cappies, Inc., cannot be responsible for the:
      1. Safety of transportation to and from Cappies Shows.
      2. The safety of facilities at the Performing School.
      3. The conduct of the Critic or any other Critic.
      4. Any medical needs of the Critic.
   5. Has attended a Critics Training in the Program Year.
   6. Is reachable by phone.
   7. Is accessible by email at one or more of the following locations:
      1. At home.
      2. At a parent's place of work, including on Saturdays and/or Sundays following Cappies Shows attended by the Critic.
      3. At school, including on Saturdays and/or Sundays following Cappies Shows attended by the Critic.
      4. At a nearby residence of a friend or family member, who will provide occasional internet access to the student, including on Saturdays and/or Sundays following Cappies Shows attended by the Critic.
2. The Advisor of a Participating School will select 3 to 6 Critics for the school's Critics Team, who will be assigned to Cappies Shows at the Initial Lead Critics Meeting.
3. The Advisor may select 1 to 3 Critics for a Regional Team.
   1. Regional Team Critics must be available to attend Cappies Shows during weeks when the Participating School has shows.
   2. Regional Team Critics will be assigned, and may be reassigned, by the Program Director, without regard to when the Critics' own Participating Schools have shows.
4. A Critic may be assigned to, or volunteer (through C.I.S.), for any Cappies Show, unless it:
   1. Is performed at the Critic's Participating School, or includes any cast or crew member who is a student at the Critic's Participating School.
   2. Is the same play or musical that the Critic's Participating School has selected for a Cappies Show during the current Program Year.
   3. Not later than 48 hours before a Cappies Show, a Critic may decline to attend any Cappies Show for which the Critic is on the Attendance List, for any reason, by giving notice through C.I.S.
   4. Later than 48 hours before a Cappies Show, a Critic may decline to attend any Cappies Show for which the Critic is on the Attendance List, only for reason of illness, personal emergency, or transportation problems, but must give notice through C.I.S. and the Program Director not later than the scheduled curtain time for the Cappies Show. Disqualifications will be applied if team minimums are not met.
5. Once on the Roster, a Critic will:
   1. Read the Critic binder.
   2. Maintain an active email address.
   3. Read email not less than once than every two days.
   4. Respond to inquiries from the Advisor, Lead Critic, and Program Officials, in a timely manner.
   5. Learn how to log in to C.I.S., and become familiar with C.I.S. procedures.
   6. Inform C.I.S. about any changes in phone number or email address.
   7. Use C.I.S. to volunteer or decline Cappies Shows.
   8. Arrange for personal transportation to and from shows.
   9. Attend and review the minimum number of required shows.
   10. Maintain a current schedule, on C.I.S., by volunteering for a replacement show whenever declining an assigned show.
   11. Abide by all Cappies Rules and C.I.S. Procedures.
6. In case of an illness or personal emergency that requires a Critic to leave a Cappies Show before the end of post-show Discussions:
   1. A Critic will notify a Mentor and will be excused.
   2. The Critic will not write a Review nor evaluate the Show for Awards
   3. The Show will not be credited to the Critic's (or Critics Team's) yearly Review requirement.
7. A Critic may attend and review any Cappies Show, unless:
   1. The show is the same as the Cappies Show performed by the Critic's own Participating School during the Program Year.
   2. Either of the Mentors at a Cappies Show is a parent, or other family relative, of the Critic.
   3. Critics must attend the school in order to vote with that school team. (If two schools, for example a boys and girls shared Catholic school) then they are either two separate teams or one combined team. The approved application determines which school or combined school a team represents
8. A Critic who intends to review, or has reviewed, a Cappies Show may not attend any other performances of the same show at the Performing School, either before or after the Cappies Show.
9. A Critic may decline to attend any Cappies Show to which his/her Team has been assigned, except:
   1. The Critic must give notice through C.I.S., and by emailing his/her Team's Lead Critic, who will advise the Critic if his/her declination may subject the Team's Participating School to sanctions.
   2. The Critic must volunteer for another Cappies Show, as a replacement.
   3. A Critic on a Regional Team may not decline more than two assigned Cappies Shows.
10. At a Cappies Show, a Critic will:
    1. Arrive in the Cappies Room in a timely manner, ordinarily 45 minutes before curtain, and not later than 15 minutes before curtain.
    2. Bring a writing implement, a Cappies notebook, the Critic Binder, a blank Critics' Choices and Post-Show Evaluation form, and either a Notes Form or blank sheets for note-taking.
    3. Invite no one (including a friend or family member) who is not a Critic into the Cappies Room.
    4. Ensure that any friends and family members who accompanied the Critic to the Cappies Show purchase tickets and do not occupy seats reserved for Mentors and Critics.
    5. Turn off beepers, cell phones, and other noise-making objects before entering the theater.
    6. Safeguard all personal valuables.
    7. Make no comment about the Cappies Show outside the Cappies Room, or when persons other than Critics or Mentors are present in the Cappies Room.
    8. Attend the entire performance, from curtain to final bows.
    9. Attend all Discussions, including the post-show Discussion and Critics' Choices.
    10. Not greet or communicate in any manner with anyone in the cast or crew of a Performing School, or with any teacher or administrator at the Performing School, except in the Cappies Room as part of a Mentor-supervised Discussion.
11. During a Cappies Show, a Critic will:
    1. Sit in the area reserved for Critics, with other Critics, and not with other friends or family members.
    2. Not use any lighting devices, including pen lights, for note-taking.
    3. Not reveal an opinion about any aspect of the Cappies Show, by remark or gesture, except by laughter, applause, or other normal audience reaction.
    4. At final bows, applaud in a manner similar to others in the audience.
12. A Critic who arrives after curtain will, during intermission, report to the Editor Mentor the time of arrival, and may review and evaluate a Cappies Show if the Editor Mentor deems the portion missed to be of no consequence for a fair and complete Review and Post-Show Evaluation.
13. In the Cappies Room, Critics will:
    1. Assist the Mentors in identifying any person who is not a Mentor, Critic, or Program Official, and who should not be present during an intermission or post-show Discussion.
    2. Obtain refreshments, in a manner that does not distract a Discussion.
14. Prior to the Cappies Show, Critics will take note of information provided by the Show Director on the Cappies Show Eligibility Form.
15. During Discussions, Critics will:
    1. Respect the Mentors' authority.
    2. Refrain from all side conversations.
    3. Raise a hand to speak, and speak only when asked by a Mentor.
    4. Stand when speaking.
    5. Speak briefly, allowing time for others to speak.
    6. Listen courteously and attentively to comments from others.
    7. Feel free to disagree with comments made by others, as long as the disagreements are stated respectfully.
    8. Feel free to critique any aspect of a Cappies Show, and may mention cast and/or crew by name, as long as the critique is brief, reasonable, constructively stated, and not sarcastic or unduly harsh.
    9. Assist the Discussion Mentor in maintaining a constructive tone in the Discussion.
16. Immediately following the final curtain, Critics will:
    1. Go promptly to the Cappies Room.
    2. Use a cell phone (or other phone) to arrange for a pick-up to arrive not later than 40 minutes after curtain, if notice is necessary.
17. During Critics' Choices, Critics will:
    1. Assist the Mentors in moving quickly through the categories.
    2. Respect consensus choices that may be different from their own.
    3. Give scores to each Critic's Choice on a Post-Show Evaluation Form.
    4. Use that Form to make any other notations the Critic may wish to see at the time of Awards Voting.
18. Immediately following the Post-Show Discussion, a Critic will:
    1. Not leave the Cappies Room until:
       1. Submitting the Critics' Choices and Post-Show Evaluation Form to the Editor Mentor.
       2. Discarding any personal trash.
       3. Helping to clean up the Cappies Room, as requested by the Mentors.
    2. Leave the Performing School promptly.
    3. Advise a Mentor if the Critic must wait for a pick-up, to ensure that a Mentor waits with the Critic until the pick-up arrives.
19. After returning home following a Cappies Show, a Critic will:
    1. Write and submit a Review, in a timely manner, consistent with the Rules on Reviews.
    2. Tell no one, at any time, anything discussed in the Cappies Room, including Critics' Choices or Post-Show Evaluation Scores.
20. At all times, a Critic will:
    1. Maintain professional decorum and represent the Cappies well, by:
       1. Dressing, and using language, in a manner appropriate to a school setting.
       2. Not revealing, by word or gesture, any opinion about any aspect of a Cappies Show, beyond normal reactions (laughter, applause, or ovations) reasonably consistent with the reactions of other members of the audience.
       3. Showing other Critics the consideration appropriate to other students in a school setting.
       4. Showing gratitude for Parent Boosters who provide refreshments or decorations.
       5. Showing courtesy to members of the audience.
    2. Maintain confidentiality, by:
       1. Not discussing with anyone, outside the Cappies Room, the Critic's own opinion about the Cappies Show, while at the Performing School.
       2. Not revealing to anyone, at any time, the Critics' Choices for a Cappies Show, or anything said by any Critics during Discussions at a Cappies Show.
       3. Not discussing with anyone, at any time, how the Critic intends to score any aspect of a Cappies show during Awards Voting.
       4. Not discussing a Cappies Show attended by the Critic, in any personal web page or web-based conversation.
    3. Treat Mentors with the respect appropriate to a teacher in a school setting.
    4. Follow all Rules and C.I.S. Procedures.
21. If a Program's Steering Committee has determined that a Critic has violated any Rule on confidentiality, the Steering Committee will suspend or dismiss that Critic from his/her Critics Team, disqualification of all that Critic's reviews from the Critics Team's totals, and disqualify that Critic from Awards Voting.
22. If Mentors observe serious Critic misbehavior:
    1. Mentors are authorized to:
       1. Reprimand a Critic.
       2. Request a Critic's name and school name.
       3. Make a report to the Program Director.
       4. Order a Critic to leave the Cappies Room, and/or Performing School, in case of disruptive misbehavior.
    2. Upon receiving a report of serious Critic misbehavior, the Program Director will notify the Advisor at the Critic's Participating School.
23. A Critic may be removed from a Critics Team:
    1. 1. 1. For an act of plagiarism in a submitted review.
          2. At any time, for any reason, by his/her school's Advisor.
          3. At any time, for any reason, by a two-thirds vote of the Steering Committee.
          4. For failing on two occasions to submit a Review for a Cappies Show the Critic has attended.
24. To reinstate a Critic who has been removed from the Roster, the Advisor at a Participating School will email a request for reinstatement to the Program Director.