Cupid Shot me in my After School Congress

2023 — Loveland, CO/US

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Character Congress

Event Description:

Character Congress

This speech event combines the argumentation skills of congressional debate with character acting techniques celebrated in our interpretation events.

Before rounds begin:

• Two pieces of legislation are selected for each round.

• The day before the tournament, coaches receive name plaques. These plaques will have the characters’ names and pictures. Coaches will receive more plaques than students entered in the event so that each student should have 2-3 choices of what character they will portray. Students may decide to act as one character for all three rounds OR take on a different character (from their choices) each round. Coaches may give plaques to students immediately to encourage students to prepare for their delivery and even adapt arguments according to their character.

During round:

• Students bring the character name plaque they have selected. They may write their student code on the back for the convenience of judges.

• Students elect a chair; this should take no longer than 5 minutes.

• Students run a session just like Congressional Debate for one hour focused on the two bills pre-selected for that round.

• The judge should evaluate students on argumentation, organization, and the student’s ability to deliver as the character.