Pike School Fall Into Speech
2026 — Andover, MA/US
Novice Prose Reading
Event Description:
Prose Reading: An excerpt from a readily accessible novel, short story, letter, diary or essay; fiction or non-fiction, delivered by a single student from a required text using no props or costumes. Students should strive to bring the material to life in a natural and realistic way using voice, facial expressions, body and gestures. Students are required to provide brief introductory remarks at some point, which at the least must identify the title and author of the work.
Time limit: 7 minutes with a 30 second grace period. Students who speak beyond the time limit plus the grace period may not be ranked 1st. Judges should offer to provide visual time signals.
Note that the required text need not be in a binder. As an example, en electronic manuscript on a tablet might be used.
This event may contain presentations which include potentially sensitive subject matter (e.g.
violence, abuse, substance use) and if so, a student is expected to provide a Content Warning before
beginning their speech. After a content warning, the opportunity to leave the room for the duration
of that presentation will be provided to all audience members.