Judging and Events

Time limit: 10 minutes • Scripted • Upper-body movement only

EVENT GUIDELINES: This event follows all the rules of oral interpretation. The material, however, must be suitable for and enjoyable to an audience of children as well as adults. Although CL pieces are aimed at a younger group than the target audience for prose and poetry, competitors should still select works complex enough for multiple interpretations and varied enough so that the presenter can change mood, tone, and intensity. The emphasis is still on atmosphere and storytelling. In this event, the competitor reads from a manuscript a selection of prose or poetry. The selection should not be memorized, but the competitor should demonstrate clear familiarity with the piece. Upper-body movement is allowed, and the speaker may depict characters in the work. However, emphasis should be placed on vocal performance and the effective use of narration. Excellent posture, evocative hand gestures, good eye contact and the graceful handling of the manuscript are to be rewarded. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: In this event, open to students in the 9th or 10th grades only, students must use a speech or portion of a speech previously given by another person. Students will read from a manuscript. Introduction: The introduction must name the work and author, provide necessary background information and establish the mood. If using a teaser, or if lines from the selection are used in the introduction, the speakers must adhere to the rules of the event. Presentation style: The speaker should convey the message in a sincere, honest and realistic attempt to recreate the spirit of the original presentation. Although the style of delivery chosen by the speaker should be judged in light of the purpose of the speech, artificiality is to be discredited. The message should be conveyed credibly and convincingly as if the words were the speaker’s own. This event is an interpretation, not an impersonation. Vocal delivery: The speaker should be articulate and fluent. The speaker should make use of contrast, making use of the elements of vocal variety: pitch, volume, rate, pausing, phrasing, stress, tone. The speaker should be conversational and concerned, passionate and pleasing. The speaker should be in control of the words and the emotions. The speaker should sound confident and self-assured, and seem eager to enlighten the audience. The speaker should convey the message in a sincere, honest, and realistic style in an attempt to recreate the spirit of the original presentation. Physical delivery: The speaker should be physically open to the audience and use body language that invites the audience into the world of the declaimer. The speaker should vary facial expression to accentuate the natural flow of thoughts and feelings. The speaker should make eye contact with the audience. The speaker’s stance should be erect and controlled, without distracting movements. Movement, if used, should be motivated by transitions in thought or mood. Gestures should be visible, effectively used for emphasis, and varied. Overall effect: The speaker should project an understanding of the speech’s message. The speaker should instill in the audience a concern for the speech’s content. The original speaker’s message should not be overshadowed by the delivery. Consideration should be given to the oratorical merit of the selection.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: This is an individual category in which the selections are dramatic in nature. Selections shall be cuttings from published-printed novels, short stories, plays, poetry, or any other printed-published materials. Presentations must be memorized, without props or costumes. Actors will utilize stationary blocking to enhance the interpretation. The time limit is 10 minutes, which includes an introduction. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character. From the National Ballot: The art of interpretation is regarded as recreating characters in the story presented and making them seem living and real to the audience. A selection for interpretation must be a cutting from a single literary work: one novel, or one short story, or one play, or one or more poems (from the same published volume). Monologues are acceptable. The selection should be judged for its appropriateness as contest material and its suitability to the particular contestant(s) using it. The use of good literature should be noted favorably and a selection devoid of literary merit graded lowest. Narrative, if included, should be vivid and animated so as to be an interesting and integral part of the story rather than just “filler” between portions of dialogue. Contestants are evaluated on poise, quality and use of voice, inflections, emphasis, pronunciation, enunciation, physical expression, and especially the ability to interpret characters correctly and consistently. The final test of good interpretation is the ability to use all these factors so successfully and unobtrusively that the hearer forgets that this is a contest and in a created atmosphere is carried away to the time and place of the story being unfolded.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: This is a two-person category in which the selection may be either humorous or dramatic in nature. Each of the two performers may play one or more characters, so long as performance responsibility in the cutting remains as balanced as possible. If the selection is prose or poetry and contains narration, either or both of the performers may present the narration. Focus may be direct during the introduction (the performers may look at each other) but must be indirect (offstage) during the performance itself. Performers may not touch. Selections shall be cuttings from published-printed novels, short stories, plays, poetry, or any other printed-published materials. Presentations must be memorized, without props or costumes. Actors will utilize stationary blocking to enhance the interpretation. The time limit is 10 minutes, which includes an introduction. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character. From the National Ballot: The art of interpretation is regarded as recreating characters in the story presented and making them seem living and real to the audience. A selection for interpretation must be a cutting from a single literary work: one novel, or one short story, or one play, or one or more poems (from the same published volume). The selection should be judged for its appropriateness as contest material and its suitability to the particular contestant(s) using it. The use of good literature should be noted favorably and a selection devoid of literary merit graded lowest. Narrative, if included, should be vivid and animated so as to be an interesting and integral part of the story rather than just “filler” between portions of dialogue. Contestants are evaluated on poise, quality and use of voice, inflections, emphasis, pronunciation, enunciation, physical expression, and especially the ability to interpret characters correctly and consistently. The final test of good interpretation is the ability to use all these factors so successfully and unobtrusively that the hearer forgets that this is a contest and in a created atmosphere is carried away to the time and place of the story being unfolded.

Time limit: 5 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: Expository speeches are the original compositions of the contestant. The Expository speech is a speech to inform, not a performance. It should describe, clarify, illustrate or define an object, idea, concept or process. A fabricated topic/subject may not be used. No props or visual/audio aids are allowed. Items of dress put on or removed during the course of the performance are considered visual aids. The composition should be considered carefully for its rhetoric and diction. The use of appropriate figures of speech, similes and metaphors, balanced sentences, allusions, and other rhetorical devices to make the oration more effective should be noted especially. Use of American English should be more than correct; it should reveal a discriminating choice of words and altogether fine literary qualities. It should be especially adapted to oral presentation. Delivery should be judged for mastery of the usual mechanics of speech: poise, quality and use of voice, bodily expressiveness, and for the qualities of directness and sincerity which impress the oration upon the minds of the audience. No particular style of delivery is to be set up as the one correct style to which all contestants must conform. Rather, each contestant is to be judged upon the effectiveness of his/her delivery, free to choose or develop whatever style will best give him/her that effectiveness with his/her particular exposition. What makes Expository distinct? Other events ask students to be persuaders, entertainers or analysts. Expository speaking asks students to be teachers first, sharing interesting information in a compelling and memorable way. The judge should ask him/herself at the end of the speech, “What did I actually learn?” Note: Students doubled in original oratory may NOT use any portion of their orations in their expository speeches.

Time limit: 7 minutes • No script/no note cards • Movement permitted and encouraged • Judges are expected to provide time signals

EVENT GUIDELINES: A contestant draws three questions on a topic, selects one, then has 30 minutes to prepare an answer to the question. This will be done before the competitor enters your room. Only published materials may be used as resources (books, magazines, newspapers, and online resources). The extempore speech should not be regarded as a memory test of the material contained in any one magazine article, but rather as an original synthesis by the speaker of the current fact and opinion on the designated topic as presented by numerous sources. The contestant therefore should be held accountable for strict adherence to the precise statement of the topic drawn and discounted severely for shifting to some other phase of the topic on which he or she might prefer to speak. The information presented should be well-chosen, pertinent, and sufficient to support the central thought of the topic. The material should be organized according to some logical plan to produce a complete speech within the time allowed. Delivery should be free from marked defects in the mechanics of speech — poise, quality and use of voice, enunciation, fluency, bodily expressiveness — and should be effective in enlisting and holding the interest of the audience. The best extemporaneous speech combines clear thinking, good speaking, and interesting presentation to establish a definite thought with respect to the subject chosen. Judges should not require contestants speaking on a controversial subject to take a personal stand on that issue. They may do so, or they may elect to present both sides of the controversy as currently set forth in the public press.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: This is an individual category in which the selections are humorous in nature. Selections shall be cuttings from published-printed novels, short stories, plays, poetry, or any other printed-published materials. Presentations must be memorized, without props or costumes. Actors will utilize stationary blocking to enhance the interpretation. The time limit is 10 minutes, which includes an introduction. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character. From the National Ballot: The art of interpretation is regarded as recreating characters in the story presented and making them seem living and real to the audience. A selection for interpretation must be a cutting from a single literary work: one novel, or one short story, or one play, or one or more poems (from the same published volume). Monologues are acceptable. The selection should be judged for its appropriateness as contest material and its suitability to the particular contestant(s) using it. The use of good literature should be noted favorably and a selection devoid of literary merit graded lowest. Narrative, if included, should be vivid and animated so as to be an interesting and integral part of the story rather than just “filler” between portions of dialogue. Contestants are evaluated on poise, quality and use of voice, inflections, emphasis, pronunciation, enunciation, physical expression, and especially the ability to interpret characters correctly and consistently. The final test of good interpretation is the ability to use all these factors so successfully and unobtrusively that the hearer forgets that this is a contest and in a created atmosphere is carried away to the time and place of the story being unfolded.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged • Props allowed (see below)

EVENT GUIDELINES: An informative speech is an original speech designed to explain, define, describe or illustrate a particular subject. The general purpose of the speech is for the audience to gain understanding and/or knowledge of a topic. Any other purpose such as to entertain or to convince shall be secondary. This contest comprises only memorized speeches composed by the contestants and not used by them during a previous contest season. While a student may convert a speech from one competition category to another from tournament to tournament (changing a expository to an informative speech, for example), he or she may not use a variation of the same speech in two or more events at a single tournament. Effective speeches provide new information or perspectives on a topic, including those that are widely known. The responsibility for choosing a worthwhile topic rests with the contestant. A fabricated topic may not be used. Any non-factual reference, including a personal reference, must be so identified. Optional audio/visual aids: Audio/visual aids may or may not be used to supplement and reinforce the message. During the presentation, no electronic equipment is permitted. The use of live animals or any additional people as visual aids is not allowed during the speech. Audience interaction (having question and answer periods, asking for a show of hands, giving the audience a quiz, etc.) is likewise not allowed because it treats audience members as audio and visual aids. Food and drink are not permitted. Items of dress put on and removed during the course of the presentation are considered costumes and may not be part of the contestant’s presentation. Visual aids may not violate law (weapons, drugs, etc.) Students will have up to 1 minute of “prep time” to set up aids before the 10 minute “speech time” begins. “Speech time” is continuous and will not stop for the student to adjust or take down aids. Visual and audio aids are optional. They should be judged favorably only in so far as they help make good speaking possible. If a contestant chooses to use aids, he or she should select materials appropriate to the speech, smoothly integrate such materials, and use them with restraint. Visual and audio aids should not be a distraction from — or a substitute for — good public speaking.

Time limit: 5 minutes total (for both preparation and speaking); up to 2 of the 5 minutes for prep; note that in North Carolina and elsewhere, times vary (often total of 7 minutes) • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: A contestant draws three prompts designed around a general topic, selects one, then has up to two minutes to prepare a speech on the topic. The Impromptu speech should be regarded as an original interpretation by the speaker of the designated topic as supported by varied materials and gives a contestant opportunity to be creative and imaginative. An Impromptu speech should reveal the student’s ability to organize his thoughts in a logical manner. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT TIME: Upon draw, the contestant has up to 2 minutes to prepare a speech. When the contestant declares he or she is ready to speak, or when the prep time has reached 2 minutes, the clock starts over and prep time has expired. Now, the contestant has up to 3 minutes in which to give the impromptu speech.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Scripted• Upper-body movement only

EVENT GUIDELINES: This event follows all the rules of oral interpretation. Acceptable contest material includes anything acceptable in oral interpretation or children’s literature; plays and scripts are not allowed. This event is open only to novices. A novice is generally defined as any student who did not become an NSDA member prior to the current academic year. In this event, the competitor reads from a manuscript a selection of prose or poetry. The selection should not be memorized, but the competitor should demonstrate clear familiarity with the piece. Upper-body movement is allowed, and the speaker may depict characters in the work. However, emphasis should be placed on vocal performance and the effective use of narration. Excellent posture, evocative hand gestures, good eye contact and the graceful handling of the manuscript are to be rewarded. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as themselves, not as a character.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Scripted • Upper-body movement only

EVENT GUIDELINES: Oral Interpretation is an individual event performed at many middle school and high school forensics tournaments. In this event, the competitor reads from a manuscript a selection of prose or selection/program of poetry. The selection should not be memorized, but the competitor should demonstrate clear familiarity with the piece. Upper-body movement is allowed, and the speaker may depict characters in the work. However, emphasis should be placed on vocal performance and the effective use of narration. Excellent posture, evocative hand gestures, good eye contact and the graceful handling of the manuscript are to be rewarded. The introduction must include title and author(s), and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character. The use of a teaser (a part of the piece) before the introduction is commonly employed. Judge based on the presentation, noting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement and reasons for a decision.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Memorized • Movement permitted and encouraged

EVENT GUIDELINES: Since orations have been written by the contestants delivering them, the judges should consider thought, composition, and delivery. However, since this is a contest in speech rather than in essay writing, the emphasis should be placed on the speech phase. Thought and composition should be considered primarily in the way they are employed to make effective speaking possible. The orator should not be expected to solve any of the great problems of the day. Any appropriate subject may be chosen, but the orator must be truthful. Any non‑factual reference, especially a personal one, must be so identified. Although many orations deal with a current problem and propose a solution, the judge is expressly reminded that this is not the only acceptable form of oratory. The oration may simply alert the audience to a threatening danger, strengthen its devotion to an accepted cause, or eulogize a person. The orator should be given free choice of subject and judged solely on the effectiveness of its development and presentation. The composition should be considered carefully for its rhetoric and diction. The use of appropriate figures of speech, similes and metaphors, balanced sentences, allusions, and other rhetorical devices to make the oration more effective should be noted especially. Use of American English should be more than correct; it should reveal a discriminating choice of words and altogether fine literary qualities. It should be especially adapted to oral presentation. Delivery should be judged for mastery of the usual mechanics of speech — poise, quality and use of voice, bodily expressiveness, and for the qualities of directness and sincerity which impress the oration upon the minds of the audience. No style of delivery is to be set up as the one correct style to which all contestants must conform. Rather, each contestant is to be judged upon the effectiveness of delivery, free to choose or develop whatever style will best give them that effectiveness with their particular oration.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Scripted • Movement permitted and encouraged • Binder may be used as a prop, provided it never leaves control of competitor

EVENT GUIDELINES: Program OI is a program of oral interpretation of thematically linked selections chosen from two or three genres: prose, poetry, plays. A primary focus of this event should be on the development of a theme or argument using narrative, story, language and/or characterization. Competitors are encouraged to devote approximately equal time to each of the genres used in the program. At least two pieces of literature that represent at least two genres must be used. The use of a manuscript is required. An introduction should set the stage, enhancing the interpretation of the literature to the audience, providing information and analysis to the chosen theme. All selections must be verbally identified by title and author; however, where, when, and how these are accomplished are the speaker’s decisions. The manuscript may be used by the contestant as a prop so long as it always remains in the contestant’s control. No costumes or props other than the manuscript are permitted. Adaptations may be made only for the purposes of transition. This is a contest in oral interpretation. The contestant should be evaluated on poise, quality, and use of voice, inflection, pronunciation, and the ability to interpret characters consistently. In developing a creative, thematic program, attention should be given to the design and organization of a cohesive and carefully conceived whole by linking authors and ideas inherent to the literature. The contestant must address the script; however, the introduction is generally memorized.

Time limit: 10 minutes • Scripted • Upper-body movement only

EVENT GUIDELINES: This event follows all the rules of oral interpretation. The emphasis is on atmosphere and storytelling. In this event, the competitor reads from a manuscript a selection of prose or poetry. The selection should not be memorized, but the competitor should demonstrate clear familiarity with the piece. Upper-body movement is allowed, and the speaker may depict characters in the work. However, emphasis should be placed on vocal performance and the effective use of narration. Excellent posture, evocative hand gestures, good eye contact and the graceful handling of the manuscript are to be rewarded. The introduction must include title and author, and should provide some insight into the piece. The competitor presents the introduction as himself, not as a character. description