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1. The Program Director will set the Schedule for Cappies Shows.
   1. Cappies Shows will ordinarily be scheduled public performances, but may include dress rehearsals or special critics-only performances, if requested by the Performing School, or required for the Schedule.
   2. Cappies Shows may be scheduled for the following time slots:
      1. On Friday and Saturday evenings, or Saturday afternoons.
      2. On Sunday afternoons, if a Friday or Saturday performance is not practicable.
      3. On Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, or Monday evenings, if no other regularly scheduled public performance time and date are practicable.
   3. The Steering Committee may require any Participating School that is distant from where most Critics live, or whose Cappies Show poses any other transportation problems, to schedule its Cappies Show(s) on Saturday evenings or weekend afternoons.
   4. A Performing School will schedule its Cappies Show to final bows that begin not later than 10:30 PM.
      1. If a Cappies Show has final bows that begin later than 10:30 PM but before 11:00 PM, critics will be advised to take the noncompliance with this lateness Rule into account when scoring the Show for the Play or Musical Award categories.
      2. If a Cappies Show has final bows that begin later than 11:00 PM, it will be ineligible for the Play or Musical Award categories.
      3. If, in the judgment of the Mentors, the lateness of the final bows is the result of any delay in seating Critics, these sanctions may be waived.
   5. The Steering Committee will determine the number of Cappies Shows that may take place during the same time slot.
   6. To set the Schedule, the Program Director will:
      1. Honor the dates, and times, requested in School Applications, unless too many requests are made for one time slot.
      2. When a conflict exists, preference will be given to Participating Schools that received fewer Awards and/or Nominations in the prior year, or will be decided by lot.
      3. Assign school Critics Teams to a minimum of two plays and two musicals if at all possible.
   7. The Program Director will set the Schedule at the Initial Lead Critics Schedule Meeting.
   8. If any additional Participating School is added at Midyear, the Program Director may schedule its Cappies Show(s) in any available time slot.
   9. The Program Director may change the Schedule at any subsequent time during the Program Year, as circumstances require.
   10. The Cappies reserves the right to review play content to maintain the integrity of the Program, and therefore supports the right for a chapter's steering committee to decline a show that is to be reviewed by the critics.
2. A Cappies Show will:
   1. Be a performance of one scripted show, or two scripted shows with a similar theme.
   2. Be a minimum of 75 minutes running time, not including intermission.
   3. Have a performing cast at least half of whom are students in grades 9 through 12.
   4. Include at least one intermission of not less than 15 minutes, suitable for a Critics' Discussion, unless the Play or Musical script specifically calls for no intermission.
3. At a Cappies Show, a Performing School will provide:
   1. A Cappies Room of sufficient size for the projected number of Mentors and Critics, not more than a two minute walk from the theater (must be a separate/isolated room away from the performance space), available 45 minutes before curtain, during intermission, and 45 minutes after final bows.
   2. Clearly visible signs, at the theater entrance and in hallways, directing Mentors and Critics to the Cappies Room.
   3. Complimentary tickets for Critics, Mentors, and not less than two Cappies officials, in cordoned-off, preferred-seating locations where the Mentors and Critics can see and hear well (in most theaters: the center section, rows five through seven), with instructions to auditorium ushers to reseat any persons who sit in this location before Mentors and Critics are seated.
   4. Complimentary refreshments, at least comparable to what the audience may purchase at intermission.
   5. A simple microphone and sound system, for Cappies Shows with 20 or more Critics on the final attendance list.
   6. Show programs.
   7. A completed Award Category Eligibility form, presented to the Editor Mentor not later than 30 minutes prior to curtain.
   8. A student usher, who will:
      1. Remain outside the door of the Cappies Room, in a location where the usher cannot see or hear what takes place in the Cappies Room.
      2. Assist the Mentors in ensuring that no one from the Performing School is present in the Cappies Room during the intermission and post-show Discussions, unless invited by a Mentor.
      3. Ensure that the Cappies Room is secure while the Mentors and Critics are in the theater, and promptly accessible to Mentors and Critics at the start of intermission and after final bows.
      4. Escort the Mentors and Critics between the Cappies Room and the theater in a timely manner, at the start of the Show and after intermission.
      5. Request that any theater patrons seated in locations reserved for Mentors and Critics change their seats, to enable Mentors and Critics to sit together as a group.
      6. Help answer Critics' questions about the Cappies Show, with assistance from the Show Director (or designee), as requested.
4. In presenting a Cappies Show, a Performing School will:
   1. Not start the show, nor resume after intermission, until all Mentors and Critics are seated.
   2. Not require the Critics to be present in the auditorium during any pre-show or post-intermission ceremonies and recognitions longer than one minute.
   3. Excuse Critics, by public announcement, from any post-show (e.g., closing night) ceremonies and recognitions longer than one minute.
5. Upon request, a Performing School will be advised of the total Cappies attendance five minutes before curtain.
   1. Fourteen days, seven days, and two days before a Cappies Show, the Advisor, Booster, Lead Critic will receive advance notice, through Cappies Information Services (C.I.S.), of the number of tickets that will be required for Mentors, Critics, and Program Officials who are expected to attend a Cappies Show.
      1. The numbers provided through advance notice will not limit the final number of Critics who may attend a Cappies Show, unless a limit has been specifically set.
      2. Unclaimed Critics tickets may be returned for sale to others five minutes before curtain.
      3. The Performing School may not refuse to provide tickets to any Critics, Mentors, or Program Officials, unless:
         1. The Cappies Show is a sellout, and
         2. The only Critics who are being refused tickets are those who were not on the final (48-hour) attendance list.
   2. At any time, the Performing School's Advisor or Show Director may limit the number of Critics at a Cappies Show at the Advisor's school, by making such a request to the Program Director.
      1. This limit will not be fewer than 20, nor more than (30, 40, or 50) as set by the Steering Committee.
      2. This limit will not apply to any Critic who has been assigned to, or has volunteered for, a Cappies Show before the limit is set.
   3. At its option, upon giving notice to all Critics during Training, the Steering Committee may reimburse the Performing School for:
      1. The sum of $15 for any Critic who is on the attendance list for a Cappies Show but who fails to attend.
      2. The sum of $15 for any Critic who attends a show but fails to submit a Review.
      3. The posted price for tickets to a Cappies Show, beyond 50, which are in fact used by Critics, but only upon specific request from a Show Director, and not later than two weeks after a Cappies Show.
6. A Cappies Show will be eligible for:
   1. Review by Critics, with Reviews selected for Participating Media.
   2. Awards, unless:
      1. The Program does not include Awards, or
      2. The Performing School has requested that its Cappies Show not be Awards eligible, or
      3. The Cappies Show has been disqualified from Awards, for any reason.
7. A Participating School may change the actual show, location, and/or starting time, of a Cappies Show, at any time and for any reason, by giving notice to the Program Director not later than 7 days prior to the scheduled date for the Cappies Show.
   1. In the event of a weather emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, the Advisor may request a postponement or cancellation at any time, with prompt notice given to the Program Director.
   2. The Program Director will select the time slot for the rescheduled Cappies Show.
8. A Program Director may, but is not required to, allow the rescheduling of a Cappies Show with less than 7 days notice.
9. The Program Director may schedule one or more Special Cappies Shows, for the purpose of introducing new schools to The Cappies or of providing a community service.
   1. A Special Cappies Show may be scheduled for:
      1. A high school (or grades 9 to12 of a K-12 school) that is not a Participating School.
      2. A regional or special education center, or a regional youth program, whose performing cast is at least 75 percent of high school age.
   2. Prior to a Special Cappies Show, the Program Director will schedule one Mentor and only the number of Critics whose reviews will be forwarded for publication.
      1. Two Critics may be assigned to write a joint Review.
      2. At the Program Director's option, a Mentor may be credited with one of his/her School's required Mentor Assignments, for volunteering.
      3. A Critic and the Critic's Team will not be credited with a Critic's Assignment.
      4. The Performing School will be asked to provide complimentary tickets to critics and mentors.
   3. At a Special Cappies Show:
      1. The Mentor and Critics will meet at the box office 30 minutes before curtain.
      2. Exchange email addresses and phone numbers.
      3. The Mentor and Critics will sit together, and, during intermission and after final bows, will find a location for private Discussions comparable to those at other Cappies Shows.
      4. No Critics' Choices will be selected.
   4. Following a Special Cappies Show, the Critics will submit Reviews, and the Mentor will edit and forward them, outside C.I.S., through whatever Procedures the Program Director may direct.
10. A Cappies Show may be disqualified for the Play or Musical Award, or from all Awards, as a consequence of substantial or recurrent Rule violations by its Critics Team, any individual Critic, or its Mentor.
    1. This sanction requires a two-thirds vote of the Steering Committee.
    2. The Steering Committee may only disqualify a Cappies Show for individual Critic misbehavior if others on the Critics Team, or the Advisor, are aware of this misbehavior and allow it to continue.