Maxwell Wildcat Speech Tournament
2022 — Maxwell, NE/US
Serious Prose
Event Description:
Humorous and Serious Prose
Prose is writing which corresponds to usual patterns of speech. Unlike poetry, which emphasizes emotions and/or ideas expressed through figurative language recorded in verse and stanza, prose expresses thought through language recorded in sentences and paragraphs: fiction (short stories, novels), nonâfiction (articles, essays, journals, biographies), or drama (plays or monologues).
Multiple characters may be represented and used to aid plot and action. Characterizations should be consistent with performance theme and style, and should be distinct from each other, embodying distinguishing characteristics (gender, age, height, etc.) which enliven characterizations. Caricatures or stereotypes should not be penalized if appropriate to the literature. Delivery should be unaffected, fluent and create a sense of presence for the audience.
The purpose of this contest is to encourage the student to find, understand, experience, and share a prose work through the art of oral reading. All selections should be of literary merit and suitable to the performer and the audience. The cutting should develop some relevant and significant theme, conveying a spectrum of emotion, conflict and resolution through multiple levels of thought and interpretation.
Responsive use of the body (i.e., spontaneous changes in posture and gesture) is permissible so long as this active use of the body is appropriate to the demands of the selection and a natural outgrowth from the literature being performed.
Along with appropriate, effective physical presentation, the contestant will also be evaluated in terms of technique (breathing, tone, pitch, enunciation, phrasing, pace, etc.) and artistry (presentation of mood, vocal characterization, flow of narration, etc.).