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As Lead Critic, one of your first responsibilities—on the next school day after your training—is to explain to your school’s Critics, Advisor, Show Director, andMentorhow and Mentor how to download their binders from the Cappies website through CIS.
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Your school may have more than oneMentoror one Mentor or Show Director (for two Cappies Shows), in which case each one should have a binder. Your Program Director can supply you with these, as needed.
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If anyone at your school is a newMentornew Mentor, they are required to attend a training session led by Cappies officials. Check with your chapter to see if there is a mandatory meeting requirement for returning mentors. Please make sure they get their binders before that session, so they can have a chance to look through it.
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- Review the materials in their binder. Point out what needs to be read carefully, and what can be scanned more quickly. (See the “Binder” section for a list.)
- If they are new to the Cappies, go through the “The Cappies Advisor” section.
- Go over the “Glossary” section, very quickly.
- If they are familiar with the Cappies, go through the “New Rules” section.
- Go through the “Consequences” section.
- For everyone who is a Show Director orMentoror Mentor, go through the Award Category Guide, page by page, and the Award Category Eligibility form. Take as much time as needed to review the basics.
- Try to answer any questions. If you can’t answer something, please email your Program Director, and he or she will try to help.
- Make sure your Advisor knows how to log into and use C.I.S.
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- Be able to receive emails and submit reviews online. (If any critics do not havehome have home email, please ask your Advisor to help find a way to do this—at school or somewhere else. Remember that critics generally need to write reviews on weekends.
- Check their emails at least once every other day.
- Use C.I.S. to volunteer for, or decline shows.
- Whenever they decline a Cappies Show, they must (at the same time) volunteer for a replacement show.
- Alert you, as Lead Critic, when they decline a Cappies Show assigned to your Team, so you can make sure your Team has at least half its members attending that show.
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- Treat Mentors with the respect appropriate to a teacher in a school setting.
- Respect other critics like they would other students in a school setting.
- Refrain from side conversations during discussions, and stop talking when shushed.
- Raise a hand to speak, speak only when called on, and stand when speaking.
- Make points briefly, allowing time for others to speak.
- Listen courteously and attentively to comments from others.
- Respect opinions that may be different from their own.
- Don’t make comments that are sarcastic or unduly harsh.
- Discard any personal trash, and help clean up the Cappies Room.
- Be courteous to parent boosters who provide refreshments.
- Leave the host school promptly, after turning in their forms.
- Alert aMentorif a Mentor if they need to wait for a pick-up, after a show.
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If any Critic fails twice to submit a review for an attended show, that Critic will be removed from the roster.
Regional Team Critics
Your school can select an additional three Critics (beyond the six on your Team) if they are willing to be Regional Team Critics.
Regional Team Critics are assigned to the same number of shows as other Critics. What’s important is that they will be assigned by the Program Director, and will be assigned to Cappies Shows during weeks when many schools have shows. They can be reassigned, not later than 14 days prior to a Cappies Show, to provide extra Critics where needed.
It’s best to have Regional Team Critics be students who will not be in your school’s major plays and musicals, especially if your school’s shows are performed during weeks when many other schools put on their shows. They will probably be assigned to attend shows during those busy weeks. Some schools assign freshmen and sophomores to be Regional Team Critics, for this reason.
Regional Team Critics qualify for Critic awards, just like all other Critics. If your school’s Critics Team is nominated for an award (or wins the Cappie), it will be shared by the six highest-scoring Critics from your school, whether they were on your school’s own Critics Team or on a Regional Team.
Regional Team Critics may volunteer for shows to which your school’s Critics Team is assigned, but they must also review their own assigned shows. A Regional Team Critic may decline no more than two assigned shows. If more shows than that are declined, the Program Director may ask the Advisor to replace that Critic on the roster.
You and your Advisor will need to supervise the work of Regional Team Critics just as much as you do other Critics. That could pose a special challenge, since they often will be attending shows apart from your Critics Teamto submit a review for an attended show, that Critic will be removed from the roster.
Maintaining Your Schedule
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You need to manage the Critics Team to be sure every one of your assigned shows is covered. For each show, the team must submit at least half as many reviews as there are members of the team. If your team has 3 or 4 Critics, then the team must submit at least 2 reviews. If 5 or 6 Critics, then 3 reviews. ( If you have additional Regional Team Critics, the required minimum is still 3.)7 or 8 critics, then 4 reviews and if you have 9 critics, 5 reviews.
There is a clear sanction for failure to do this. For every review the team is short, one review gets added to the team’s yearly minimum. If the school fails to submit any reviews twice, the Steering Committee can impose additional sanctions, including disqualification of your school’s own Cappies Show. Please work with team to make sure this does not happen.
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In case of serious critic misbehavior, Mentors are authorized to reprimand a Critic, request the Critic’s name and school name, and make a report to the Program Director. AMentorcan A Mentor can order a Critic to leave the Cappies Room, and/orPerformingSchoolor Performing School, in case of disruptive misbehavior.
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Several months may pass between the time you first meet with your school’sMentorand school’s Mentor and his or her first assignment. Sometime during the week before that assignment, please check in with theMentorand ask if he or she has any questions about the role of Discussion or Editor Mentor, any rules, and C.I.S.
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As Award Voting nears, you should keep close track of the review writing performance of Critics from your school, to make sure you are together submitting enough reviews to qualify your own school’s Cappies Show for awards. If your program requires each Critic to submit five reviews, then all Critics from your school must together submit at least 15 reviews, and have two voting Critics, to qualify your show for awards. (If your program requires four reviews per critic, your minimum i is 12—if three per critic, then the minimum is 9.)
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Make sure your spam blocker does not block out emails from any Cappies address. If you do not know how to do this, please ask another student student who knows about these things.
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