Othello

2025 — Othello, WA/US

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Novice Humorous Interp

Event Description:

This includes categories of individual (solo) performance of dramatic (serious) and humorous literature, as well as duo performance of either emotive appeal, with selections drawn from published, printed: novels, short stories, plays, poetry, or other printed, published works, PDFs, e-books, as well as limited online and recorded works as provided for in the rules below.

1. Divisions. Contests are conducted in Dramatic, Humorous, Duo, and Program Oral Interpretation.

2. Length: The time limit in Interpretation Main Events (Dramatic, Humorous, Duo, and Program Oral Interpretation) is ten minutes with a 30-second “grace period.” If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. Theranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices. No minimum time is mandated.

1. Material: Selections used in these contests must be cuttings from a single work of literature (one short story, play, or novel). If the source is an anthology (collection of short stories, plays, or novels), each selection of literature is independent and only one selection can be used, even if it is from the same author. If the source is an anthology which includes poetry, multiple poems may be used from this single source by one or a variety of authors. Unlike the other interpretation events, Program Oral Interpretation may use multiple sources for the program. Song lyrics may be used if the performer has an original, hard copy of the lyrics such as sheet music or a CD jacket, or if they can be found from online sources that meet the digital source rules below.

1. Original source material must not be written by the competitor performing it.

1. Original source material must be publicly accessible throughout the duration of the tournament. Digital printed publications such as web pages and PDFs retrieved or purchased from web pages are permitted as long as the web page is publicly accessible throughout the duration of the tournament. Digital unprinted publications such as videos, audio files, and films are permitted as long as the original source is publicly accessible throughout the duration of the tournament and the competitor can obtain an official transcript of the original source. Purchased cuttings do not take the place of the original source from which they were cut.

1. For print publications such as novels, short stories, plays, or poetry, the original source is the physical book or e-book. Photocopies of original literature are not acceptable. Presenting the physical book or e-book is sufficient to prove that a printed publication is publicly accessible.

1. For digital printed publications such as web pages, original source material is no longer required to come from online publishing sources listed on the NSDA Approved Websites List. The original source must be publicly accessible for viewing or purchase by a simple internet search or by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes. Competitors must also present a printed manuscript to be used in the case of a protest, but presenting a printed copy of a website is not alone sufficient to prove that a digital printed publication is publicly accessible.

1. PDFs are permitted as long as the website from which the PDF is retrieved or purchased is publicly accessible for viewing or purchase by a simple internet search or by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes. Competitors must also present a printed copy of the PDF to be used in the case of a protest, but presenting a printed copy of the PDF is not alone sufficient to prove that a PDF is publicly accessible.

1. For non-English print material that a competitor will perform in English, the original source material in its original language must be publicly accessible. Competitors must present an official English translation to be used in the case of a protest. An official translation must be obtained in one of two ways:

a. An official translation is obtained through the original source’s producer, licensing agent, or copyright holder.

b. Or, an official translation is obtained through a translation service which uses non-automated, manual translation. Then, the competitor receives approval to perform the translation by the original source’s producer, licensing agent, or copyright holder.

5. For digital unprinted publications such as videos, audio files, and films, the original source must be publicly accessible for viewing or purchase by a simple internet search or by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes. Competitors must also present a printed official transcript of the original source to be used in the case of a protest, but presenting an official transcript is not alone sufficient to prove that the original source is publicly accessible. An official transcript must be obtained in one of two ways:

a. An official transcript is obtained through the original source's producer, licensing agent, or copyright holder.

b. Or, an official transcript is obtained through an official transcription service such as TranscribeMe, Scribie, or iScribed, which use non-automated, manual transcription. Then, the competitor receives approval to perform the transcription by the original source's producer, licensing agent, or copyright holder. If the digital unprinted source is not in English and the competitor wishes to perform it in English, an official transcription and an official translation of the transcription (see #4 above) are required.

4. Source Verification: It is the affirmative duty of each coach and each student entered in Interpretation contests to determine that the cutting being performed meets all rules for material.

1. Print: The original published source of any selection used must be immediately available at the tournament as well as a word-processed manuscript of the cutting performed, and a complete copy of the highlighted pages from the original script used in the cutting. The typed manuscript and the text used from the page copies of the original script should reflect the content performed. A complete script of the cutting from the original text includes:

1. A photocopy (or printed screenshot for e-books) of every page from which any line of the cutting is taken; pages are to be placed in the order in which they are performed (e.g., if text from one page is used more than once within the cutting, that page should be copied again with those words highlighted and re-inserted where it is used in the cutting).

2. All words used from the script should be highlighted (any words/lines not used should be left unmarked).

3. Any word changes (to eliminate profane language) and/or additions (for transition) must be indicated clearly in ink. Failure to clearly indicate the addition of words will be subject to disqualification. Changes to the script may only be used for the purpose of transition or to eliminate profane language. Transitions may be used to clarify the logical sequence of ideas. They are not to be used for the purpose of embellishing the humorous or dramatic effect of the literature.

For PDFs, an original, unaltered PDF via flash drive, email, or on an electronic device (e.g., laptop) must be presented. Manipulation of a PDF script outside the scope of the rules will be subject to disqualification. c. PDF publications from an online source that meets the above standards and e-books are permitted. Competitors may turn in an e-book via flash drive, email, or e-reader. For e-books, an original, unaltered e-pub or other recognized e-book format via flash drive or email must be presented; however, as some e-book formats are exclusive to their specific apps or electronic readers, students must provide the required technology and/or internet access to verify the material performed for tournament officials. d. For non-English publications that are being performed in English, both the original non-English source and the official English transcript must be provided.

1. Digital (Online) Publications: The material the competitor performs must presently appear on the website if questions arise in competition, additionally, a printed manuscript must be available:

1. Manuscript items to be printed directly from the screen:

1. The first page in the website (the home page)

2. All other linked pages needed to navigate to the literary text selected for competition shall be printed out and the link must be highlighted in the manuscript

3. All web pages upon which the cutting appears

2. Each page must have printed in the header and/or footer:

1. Date the page was printed

2. Web address

3. Only the printed manuscript shall be considered adequate proof of authenticity. In other words, the student or coach must provide printed pages or an identical copy for examination.

4. The highlighted manuscript submitted for material verification will follow the same rules designated for print publications as per 4A.

5. The website and online version of the digital publication need to be available for comparison if challenged. Online access is the fundamental responsibility of tournament officials and/or individual filing the protest. NOTE: If tournament officials cannot gain online access and the above requirements have been met, the piece is considered legal for use.

1. Performance: The presentation may not use physical objects or costuming. During the presentation, the contestant/team must name the author and the book or magazine from which the cutting was made. Additionally:

A. Adaptations to material may only be used for the purpose of transition. . Any word changes (to eliminate profane language) and/or additions (for transition) must be indicated clearly in ink. Failure to clearly indicate the addition of words will be subject to disqualification. Changes to the script may only be used for the purpose of transition or to eliminate profane language. The voice of a script may not be changed. For example, changing “She moved to California when she was 13” to “I moved to California when I was 13” is not permitted. Combining small fractions of sentences or singular words to create humorous or dramatic dialogue, scenes, moments, and/or plot lines not intended in the original literature is prohibited. For example, it is not permitted to take one word from page 13 (e.g. home), a phrase from page 211 (e.g. ran away from), and a name, (e.g. Tyler) from page 59 to create dialogue between characters or events that do not exist in the script. Example: adding “Tyler ran away from home.” when this did not occur and was not said in the script is not permitted. Transitions only may be used to clarify the logical sequence of ideas. They are not to be used for the purpose of embellishing the humorous or dramatic effect of the literature. The gender stated by the author must be honored. However, a female contestant may play a male role, and a male contestant may play a female role.

1. Humorous, Dramatic, and Duo Interpretation selections must be presented from memory. Program Oral Interpretation must use a manuscript.

2. In Duo Interpretation, each of the two performers may play one or more characters so long as performance responsibility in the cutting remains as balanced as possible.

3. Monologues, prose, and poetry selections are acceptable in Dramatic, Humorous, and Program Oral Interpretation. In Duo Interpretation, if the selection is prose or poetry and contains narration, either or both of the performers may present the narration.

4. Artistic Plagiarism: Videos of previous final round performances are intended to provide educational examples for coaches and students. They are not intended to serve as a model to directly imitate or duplicate in performance. The wholesale impersonation of final round performances is strongly discouraged.

1. Focus: In Dramatic, Humorous, and Program Oral Interpretation, use of focal points and/or direct contact with the audience should be determined by the requirements of the literature being interpreted. In Duo Interpretation, focus may be direct during the introduction [the performers may look at each other] but must be indirect [off-stage] during the performance itself. Indirect focus prohibits physical contact between the performers.

2. 1. Re-Use: A student may not use a cutting from a work of literature the student used in any previous contest year. A student entered in two events may not use the same selection of literature in both events.

   
   Suggested Websites List: The NSDA will maintain a list of websites as a resource for assisting coaches and students with finding materials for use in competition. Students are no longer required to use only digital sources found on this list. The list can be found at www.speechanddebate.org/suggested-source-material-for-interpretation-events/.