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Dramatic Interpretation

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Dramatic Interpretation (often shortened to "Dramatic Interp," "Drama" or just "DI") is an event in National Speech and Debate Association (and NSDA-related) high school forensics competitions. In the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association and the National Catholic Forensic League, the event is combined with Humorous Interpretation to create the Dramatic Performance event. It consists of a piece from any published work, edited to fit within a 10-minute span with a 30-second grace period (it does not have a minimum and cannot be above 10:30).[1]

In a typical round of DI, five to seven performers will each perform a "cutting" (excerpt) from a readily available, published (copyrighted or non-copyrighted) play, novel, or short story. As the name suggests, the cuttings are invariably from non-comedic (e.g., dramatic) works. Some performers select monologues, others may adopt the roles of many different characters, changing their tone, manner, and the position of their body to indicate a change in character.

After all of the competitors have performed, the judge (or judges) in the round will rank them from best to worst, and assign each of them a score. Contestants who score well will "break" out of preliminary rounds and continue to advance through octo/quarter/semi/final rounds if they continue to score well.

NSDA Nationals

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National Speech and Debate Association Nationals was hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2016. National Champions are awarded a scholarship of US$1,000.[2] To receive the title a competitor must have the lowest cumulative score throughout the duration of the tournament. The Dramatic Interpretation competitor to receive the lowest cumulative score in the final round is awarded the BAMA Bowl and a US$500 scholarship.[3] The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world.[4][5][6]

Past NSDA Champions

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Year Competitor Academic Institution
1931 Kathryn Harney Peoria-Manual, Illinois
1932 Pauline Crockett California, Pennsylvania
1933 Denton Snyder Humboldt, Iowa
1934 Donald Swanson Webster City, Iowa
1935 Mary Ann Porterfield Topeka, Kansas
1936 Caleb Peterson Peekskill, New York
1937 Virginia Kraft Mediapolis, Iowa
1938 Jack Edwards Hollywood, California
1939 Ben Morris Oklahoma City-Classen, Oklahoma
1940 James Lee Santa Rosa, California
1941 Jean Swidensky Oklahoma City-Central, Oklahoma
1946 Rae June Decker DuQuoin, Illinois
1947 Beulah Meacham Canton-McKinley, Ohio
1948 Ralph Jensen Kenosha, Wisconsin
1949 Carolyn Parks Santa Rosa, California
1950 Carolyn Parks Santa Rosa, California
1951 Sue Routsong Dayton-Oakwood, Ohio
1955 Shirley Shubin Los Angeles HS, California
1956 Dan McCall Modesto, California
1957 April Shawhan Dayton-Fairmont, Ohio
1958 Karen McPeek Euclid, Ohio
1959 Alan Haufrect Houston-Bellaire, Texas
1960 Albertha Hillmon Stockton Edison, California
1961 Paul Bernath Houston-Jesse Jones, Texas
1962 Joe Rowlette West Plains, Missouri
1963 Andy Fichter Delaware-Hayes, Ohio
1964 Camille Waters Houston-Bellaire, Texas
1965 Suzanne Abernathy Paris-Grove, Tennessee
1966 Joan Rue Lexington-Clay, Kentucky
1967 Brent Mintz Houston-Bellaire, Texas
1968 Ruben Delgado Stockton Edison, California
1969 Darren Kelley Anaheim-Loara, California
1970 John Wall Campbellsville, Kentucky
1971 John Leamer Fairmont East HS, Kettering, Ohio
1972 Annalee Jefferies Houston-Bellaire HS, Texas
1973 Mark Ferguson Perry HS, Ohio
1974 Robert Rosenberg Toledo-DeVilbiss HS, Ohio
1975 Darryl Bowdre McAlester HS, Oklahoma
1976 Lynne Joyner Bellevue Newport HS, Washington
1977 Michael Mandell Logansport HS, Indiana
1978 Andrew Sattee Pine Crest Prep. HS, Florida
1979 Steven Young New Richmond HS, Wisconsin
1980 Solveig Olsen Sioux Falls-Lincoln, South Dakota
1981 Darrell Johnson Okmulgee, Oklahoma
1982 Greg Dolph Chesterton HS, Indiana
1983 Robert Strain San Antonio-Roosevelt, Texas
1984 Geoff Abbott Sioux Falls-O’Gorman HS, South Dakota
1985 Andy Thornton San Antonio-Churchill HS, Texas
1986 David Getzendaner Kansas City-Park Hill, Missouri
1987 Lance Harshbarger Shawnee Mission-South HS, Kansas
1988 Brenda McElroy Milton Academy, Massachusetts
1989 Greg Wilson Hanks HS, Texas
1990 Dan Sklar Glenbrook North HS, Illinois
1991 Demond Wilson Vines HS, Texas
1992 Colin Stokes San Antonio-Churchill, Texas
1993 Chris Conner Kinkaid School, Texas
1994 Danny Beaty Miami Valley School, Ohio
1995 Susan Bohannon Albuquerque Academy, New Mexico
1996 Jelena Moore James Logan HS, California
1997 Michael Washington Plano Sr. HS, Texas
1998 Michael Urie Plano Sr. HS, Texas
1999 John Egan Eagan HS, Minnesota
2000 Esther Etuk Newman Smith HS, Texas
2001 Aimee DeShayes Syosset HS, New York
2002 Krystyn Spratt Apple Valley HS, Minnesota
2003 Pierre Clark James Logan HS, California
2004 D’Angelo Lacy Creekview HS, Texas
2005 Cory D. Stewart Eastview HS, Minnesota
2006 Blake Williams The Montgomery Academy, Alabama
2007 Nana Amoah, Jr. Edison HS, Virginia
2008 Stephen Elrod Bellarmine College Prep, California
2009 Jane Bruce Ogden HS, Utah
2010 Michael Carone Monsignor Farrell HS, New York
2011 Jamaque Newberry Nova HS, Florida
2012 Deshawn Weston Grand Prairie HS, Texas
2013 Anthony Nadeau Royal Palm Beach HS, Florida
2014 Abigail Onwunali Hastings HS, Texas
2015 Daniel Williams Holy Cross School, Louisiana
2016 Izabella Czejdo McDowell HS, Pennsylvania
2017 Chase Garrett Southside HS, South Carolina
2018 Kimberly Lee Summit HS, New Jersey
2019 Jacob Foster Comeaux HS, Louisiana
2020 Semaj Lee Apple Valley HS, Minnesota
2021 Giana Martinez L. C. Anderson HS, Texas
2022 Logan Green Hattiesburg HS, Mississippi
2023 Kylan Williams Comeaux HS, Louisiana
2024 Karla Rivera Harlingen HS South, Texas

Rules

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Dramatic Interpretation falls under the jurisdiction of events under the category defined as “Interpretation” by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). These events are Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation. Events that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the following rules include, but are not limited to Poetry, Prose, and Storytelling. The National Speech and Debate Associations rules are organized into categories of length, material, material availability, performance, re-use, and website approval submission process.[7]

Length

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The set time limit is ten minutes with a thirty-second period in which a student may go overtime with no penalty, colloquially referred to as a 'grace period.'According to National Speech and Debate Association rules, a student who exceeds the ten minute and thirty-second time limit cannot be awarded the rank of 1st in the round. There is no minimum time limit.[8]

Material and material availability

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A student may choose from a single work of literature to perform. Acceptable forms of literature include:[9]

Performance

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In Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Humorous Interpretation performers are not permitted to use any type of "physical objects or costuming."[10] In addition, students may not:

Re-use

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Students may not perform the same work of literature at any National Speech and Debate Association tournament if they have already done so in a separate contestant year.

Website approval submission process

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All piece selection is subject to online year-round review.

Collegiate Dramatic Interpretation

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In intercollegiate forensics, a competitor may use one or more theatrical scripts to craft a dramatic narrative involving one or multiple characters.[11] The dramatic material can originate from a variety of sources, ranging from stage, screen, to radio.[12] Unlike dramatic interpretation performances at the high school level, collegiate competitors are required to use a manuscript throughout their performance.[13]

Past AFA Champions

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1978 Scott Schaeffer DePaul University
1979 Terry Kiel Minnesota State University, Mankato
1980 Steve Geck St. Cloud State University
1981 Mark Fredo PennWest Clarion
1982 Michael Eckert George Mason University
1983 Philip Shelburne Southern Utah University
1984 Greg Dolph Bradley University
1985 Greg Dolph Bradley University
1986 Greg Dolph Bradley University
1987 Vincent Bly Kansas State University
1988 Florence Woodard Howard University
1989 Sarah Braun Bradley University
1990 Paige Petrucka Southern Utah University
1991 Zoe Brown University of Alabama
1992 Jason Davidson Bradley University
1993 August Benassi Bradley University
1994 Dustin Abraham Arizona State University
1995 Andrew Greene California State University, Los Angeles
1996 Esther Austin California State University, Chico
1997 Eduardo Maytorena California State University, Los Angeles
1998 Sara Mayer University of Texas at Austin
1999 Jill Valentine Bradley University
2000 Paige White University of Alabama
2001 Ryan Knowles University of La Verne
2002 Javon Johnson California State University, Los Angeles
2003 Scott Boras University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
2004 Tatiana Simonian California State University, Los Angeles
2005 Robert Hawkins San Francisco State University
2006 Ashley Brasfield Western Kentucky University
2007 Sonequa Martin University of Alabama
2008 Julia Kolsrud Arizona State University
2009 Nick Bateman George Mason University
2010 Amanda Voirol Bradley University
2011 Kane Kennedy James Madison University
2012 Kaybee Brown Lone Star College-North Harris
2013 Kaybee Brown Bradley University
2014 Robi Mahan Illinois State University
2015 Karlee Currin University of Nebraska Omaha
2016 Abigail Onwunali University of Texas at Austin
2017 Caleb Merritt Hastings College
2018 Marianna Garcia University of Texas at Austin
2019 Sarah Courville University of Texas at Austin
2021 Paige Allbright Western Kentucky University
2022 Emily Feazel Seton Hall University
2023 Kaylee Frazier University of Texas at Austin
2024 David Jacobson University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 tournament was canceled, resulting in no champion.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ High School Unified Manual: Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations. 2017 ed. Vol. 1.0. National Speech and Debate Association, 2017. PDF. Updated February 2017
  2. ^ "Nationals History".
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Blue Valley West hosts world's largest academic competition". 17 June 2014.
  5. ^ "National Speech & Debate Association's National Championships (Largest academic competition in the world)". Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  6. ^ "Kansas City hosts largest academic competition in the world - Story". Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  7. ^ High School Unified Manual: Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations. 2017 ed. Vol. 1.0. National Speech and Debate Association, 2017. PDF. Updated February 2017
  8. ^ High School Unified Manual: Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations. 2017 ed. Vol. 1.0. National Speech and Debate Association, 2017. PDF. Updated February 2017 pg 43-44.
  9. ^ High School Unified Manual: Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations. 2017 ed. Vol. 1.0. National Speech and Debate Association, 2017. PDF. Updated February 2017 pg 43-44.
  10. ^ High School Unified Manual: Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations. 2017 ed. Vol. 1.0. National Speech and Debate Association, 2017. PDF. Updated February 2017 pg 45.
  11. ^ "What is Forensics?". communications.fullerton.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Texas Speech: Collegiate Events". commstudies.utexas.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Event descriptions". AFA-NST. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Dramatic Interpretation Champions". AFA-NST. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
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