Seattle Academy Invitational

2020 — Online, WA/US

• Invite
• Entries
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• Results

Oral Interp (Not POI)

Event Description:

Oral Interpretation- TOC bid only. Not a Washington State Qualifying Event.

The art of interpretation is to be regarded as recreating the characters and/or mood in the material presented and making them seem real to the audience. The presentation shall NOT be from memory, and the reader’s script should be presented. Cuttings from prose and poetry must be given, and the student should prepare meaningful introductions and transitions. Selections should be judged for their appropriateness as contest material and their suitability to the particular contestants using them. The contestant should be judged on poise, quality, and use of voice inflections, emphasis, enunciation, pronunciation, and, especially, the ability to interpret characters and/or mood correctly and consistently.

Time Limit:

• Maximum time: 10 minutes. This includes at most 1 minute of introductory and transition material other than the author's words. There is no minimum time.

• If the speaker goes over a 30 second grace period, that contestant must not be awarded first place.

Rules of Procedure:

• The speaker shall prepare three programs of manuscript-based literature substantially different in content, author, and/or original source.

• Each program will be an original of the student, and each must contain an introduction for purposes of explication, setting, or selection transitions.

• A manuscript is required. There will be no penalty for eye contact as long as the illusion of reading is maintained.

• Lines attributed to one character in the published source must not be attributed to another character in the performance. The author’s words, as published in the literature, must not be altered for the presentation with the exception that cutting is permitted.

• The literature chosen may include any form of prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction. Drama, including theatrical monologues, is prohibited. Speeches written to be delivered in real-life are prohibited.

• Speakers may use a persona and/or character voices, but it is not necessary.

• No properties except a manuscript or binder may be used; no costumes, makeup, or props are permitted.

• Only the performer’s feet may touch the ground. The use of full bodily movement (bending, kneeling or turning) is not permitted in interpretive reading. Bodily movement should be limited to a one-step radius.

• Students may not present the same selection(s) in Humorous, Dramatic, Program Oral, Dual, or Oral Interpretation.

Round 1- Poetry

• The program shall consist of a single piece, a cutting, or a series of short pieces united by poet or theme. The program shall be composed of published poetry. If using a series of pieces, all titles and authors must be cited.

Round 2- Prose

• The program shall consist of a single piece, a cutting, or a series of short pieces united by author or theme. The program shall be composed of published prose. If using a series of pieces, all titles and authors must be cited.

Round 3- Interpretive Reading

• The program will be thematically integrated, consisting of two or more selections in which the contestant will use a balanced program of both published prose (NO DRAMA) and poetry as a presentation requirement. The judge should note the student’s use of good literature in a balanced program favorably; the speaker will use an introduction and/or transition in which the authors, titles, and theme will be stated.

• The authors of the prose and poetry portions of this program must be different. The same author may be used more than once within the prose or poetry portion of the program. The pieces used in this program may also be used in the competitor’s Poetry program and Prose program.

Finals-Contestant Choice

• The program will be the contestant’s choice of one of the programs used in preliminary rounds.