Deconstructing Kenyan Theatrical Adjudication: Video Assistant Adjudicators in the Kenya National Music Festival

This study examined the challenges of adjudication in theatrical performances at the Kenya National Drama Festival and the potential role of Video Assistant Adjudicators (VAA) in strengthening fairness, accountability, and professionalism. Adjudication in the festival has historically relied on the immediate perception, memory, and interpretive judgment of adjudicators. While this reliance foregrounds human expertise, it is prone to fatigue, bias, and inconsistency, leading to contested judgments and eroding participant confidence. The purpose of this study was therefore to deconstruct existing adjudicative practices and to explore the viability of integrating technological support in the form of VAA. Specifically, the study sought to investigate the limitations of relying solely on human faculties, to examine how VAA could minimize bias and contested judgments, and to assess the pedagogical and archival value of video evidence in theatrical performances. The study was informed by Fuller’s theory of adjudication, which emphasizes procedural fairness while acknowledging the limits of human judgment, and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which explains how innovations are adopted through their perceived usefulness and ease of integration. Together, these frameworks provided a lens for analyzing both the structural shortcomings of the current adjudication process and the potential acceptance of VAA by stakeholders. The study employed a qualitative methodology, drawing on purposive and snowball sampling to identify adjudicators and regular theatre attendees as oral sources. Data was collected through interviews and analyzed thematically. The findings demonstrate that the use of VAA enhances fairness, transparency, and accuracy in adjudication, while simultaneously creating an authoritative archive for critique, training, and research. Situating the discussion within the Kenyan theatre and Music Festivals contributes to broader debates on the intersection of performance, technology, and justice, and underscores the transformative potential of video technology in the professionalization of theatre adjudication in Kenya.