Stephen Stewart Memorial Middle and High School Invitational
2023 — Milpitas, CA/US
Duo Interpretation
Event Description:
No selection shall be the contestant’s own work; the contestant shall suggest the thoughts, emotions, the ideas and the purposes of the author. No costumes or props (the use of something extraneous to the body) shall be permitted in interpretation with the exception of thematic interpretation which requires the student to hold a manuscript. Although gestures or pantomime may be used, they should be used with restraint. IDENTIFICATION OF THE SELECTION: The title of the selection, name of the author, and appropriate source cites shall be given by the contestant when the selection is introduced. TIME LIMITS: 10 minutes. No time signals are necessary. AIDS: The interpretation must be delivered from memory. No notes, prompting, or scripts are permitted.
DUO Interpretation (DUO): In this interpretive event, each of the two speakers will play the parts of one or more characters to interpret a story, play, poem, novel or other literary work. The piece may be humorous or dramatic. During the performance, the students must give the title and author of the piece. The students will attempt to interpret the story through the use of characters, voices, gestures and facial expressions. The material may be humorous or dramatic, or combine both tones depending on the selected work. Consider the quality of the students’ interpretation. The first place should go to the students who do the best job interpreting their selection. The performance must begin and end from the center stage area. Contestants must remain in the center stage area throughout the performance. During the performance, the duo partners may not look directly at each (make eye-contact) other except when they are introducing their title and author. Introductory and/or transitional material may be presented by either or both contestants. The contestants may react to each other’s verbal and/or non-verbal expressions, but they may not touch each other except during the introduction. Each of the two performers may play one or more characters as long as the speaking time is as balanced as possible between the two. If the selection is prose or poetry and contains narration, either or both of the performers may present the narration.