2026 NYSFL State Championshhip
2026 — Bronx, NY/US
Duo Interpretation
Event Description:
Duo Interpretation: This is a contest in interpretation, and the students should exhibit the literature rather than themselves. The audience should be presented with a unified scene, story or poetic image. Speakers should be evaluated on: poise, vocal quality and use (inflection, emphasis, enunciation, pronunciation, diction, phrasing), and especially the ability to accurately and consistently interpret the characters and the piece of literature as a whole.
Judges: 1. No two teams may be given the same rank. 2. Time limit: maximum of ten (10) minutes with no minimum. There is a mandatory thirty (30) second grace period, during which time no penalty may be assessed. Teams that exceed this grace period may not be ranked first in the round. 3. Selections must be from from published, printed plays, novels, short stories or poetry. Adaptation may be for the purpose of continuity only. Duo teams, as part of their presentation, shall name the title of the selection and its author. Selections should be judged on their appropriateness as contest material and their suitability to the speakers using them. 4. Two students, as a team, are to present a memorized scene. Each speaker may portray more than one character in addition to taking part in narration, if there is any. 5. Eye contact with the audience is suitable during narration and transitional sections only, and students may have eye contact with each other only during these sections as well. During the scene itself, speakers must develop character "focal points", and may not directly look at each other. Movement and gestures should add to the storytelling rather than distract from it.