Mount St Mary Academy Forensics Festival
2025 — Little Rock, AR/US
JH Words and Music
Event Description:
Criteria:
Words and Music (WM) is a group event consisting of at least three (3) competitors performing a cutting from a musical that has been published for the stage and is within legal copyright parameters.The selection should be a continuous cutting from the original published script and may contain a variety of musical numbers from the original score.
*Performers must present an introduction that provides the necessary background and relevant context for the speech selection .Title and author must be stated in the introduction .
*Scripts may not be used; use of scripts is against ACTAA event rules per the Qualifying Document.
*Time limit, inclusive of introduction, is 10 minutes with a 30 second grace period (if the performer goes beyond the 30 second grace period, the performer may not be ranked first). There is no time minimum.
Note: It is the expectation that performances are the artistic creation of the performer(s). If there is suspicion of plagiarism, please be prepared to cite the source that was copied and consult with the tournament director.
Comments:
Introduction: Did it capture your attention? Did it establish background information?
Selection: Did the selection meet literary standards? Was the selection worthy of study on the part of the student? Was the cutting adequate?
Insight and Understanding: Did the speaker understand the issuesthe topic deals with? Did the student understand the author’stheme and purpose?
Characterization: Ability to create a believable characters? Were the characters differentiated clearly? Were the emotional and mental elements of the characters understood and projected efficiently?
Voice and Diction: Did the voice communicate objective, tactics, and relationships through both dialogue and music? Use of focus and concentration, vocal skill, technique, and expression?
Bodily Action: Use of movement, gestures, facial expressions, integration of body, movement, and staging?
General Effectiveness: Did the speaker portray the literature and characters effectively? Was it entertaining? And/or enjoyable?