MACT Logo. Upper portion is comedy/drama masks with comedy mask in yellow and drama mask in blue. Lower portion has the acronym "MACT" and below it the description MN Association of Community Theatres.

Minnesota Association of Community Theatres

Home of Minnesota’s Theatre Community

It’s Coming …

What’s coming? The registration deadline to submit your 20-minute (maximum) short play for Fast*Fest 2026. The deadline for registering a show is June 19. Registration is FREE for MACT member theatres. A registration fee of $25 is required from groups that are not current MACT member theatres. This fee includes a MACT membership for the remainder of the year.

We will allow up to 18 shows in this festival.  Our 2024 FAST*Fest at County Seat Theater in Cloquet had a record 15 shows. We are hoping to break that record with this festival. Fast*Fest ’26 will be held conveniently in downtown Minneapolis at Theatre in the Round. This should be a very fun, entertaining and educational festival.

This is a unique opportunity for your theatre to try out performing “in the round”. We will be utilizing the arena stage at Theatre in the Round, so your theatre can tryout a different layout than the typical proscenium stage.

This is also a great opportunity to try out new material. Traditionally, many of the shows in this festival were written for the festival. Playwrights can try out new material and get feedback from a receptive audience of theatre enthusiasts and practitioners.

With Fast*Fest there are no awards, so no competition. Just a friendly, relaxed atmosphere where everyone can have fun and enjoy a day of theatre.

Join the fun! Get your show together and register it by June 19.

Fast*Fest deadlines:

  • June 19 – show (presenting Theatre) registration closes
  • June 19 – show name, author(s) and presenting theatre name and city are due
  • July 6 (week of) – festival brochure get mailed.
  • August 1 – requests for special accommodations (ASL, Audio Described) due
  • August 6 – early bird registration deadline (prices go up on August 7)
  • August 7 – program info due (show description, cast, staff, theatre description)
  • August 21 – welcome social at TRP
  • August 22 – performances at TRP

Fast*Fest 2026 rules:

  1. Shows will be limited to 20 minutes, with 5 minutes allowed for setup and strike.
  2. MACT will provide 1 table and 4 chairs.  Theatres may bring only ONE additional set piece.
  3. Only the standard light plot can be used.  Sound is up to each theatre.
  4. There is no time for rehearsals in the space.
  5. There will not be an adjudication.  There will be a moderated colloquy after each play.
  6. The festival is open to all non-professional groups, be they community theatres, colleges, high schools or ad-hoc groups.
  7. There is no registration fee for MACT member theatres.  There is a $25 registration fee for non-members which includes a 6 month membership in MACT.  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 and full package prices are available on our on-line ticketing site.  Full package includes Friday night welcome social, Saturday morning session, afternoon session, evening session and the Saturday night social.
  8. Performers and technicians must meet the AACT Festival Guidelines (not paid, non-equity).
  9. Theatres must represent that they have the rights to use any copyrighted materials including performance rights by signing the registration form below.
  10. Performance order will be determined by random drawing shortly after the June 19 deadline.
  11. Except as stipulated above, all AACT Festival Rules will apply.
  12. If ASL Interpreters or Audio Describers are requested for your session, you will need to provide 2 copies of your script by August 1.

General Information

  1. There will be a social/networking event Friday (August 21) at Theatre in the Round (245 Cedar Ave Mpls).
  2. 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.
  3. There will be breaks between sessions for meals (on your own) and networking.
  4. There will be a social gathering Saturday evening after the final session.

There is still plenty of time to register your show for Fast*Fest 2026. More information and the registration form can be found on MACT’s website at mact.net/about-us/mact-events/fastfest-2026/.