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 the event is combined with

Humorous Interpretation Humorous Interpretation (often shortened to "HI", or "Humor") is an event in competitive middle and high school forensics leagues such as the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association and the National Speech and Debate Associat ...

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). 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 Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

. 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

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. 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. The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world.

Recent National Champions

Rules

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

, 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.

Length

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.

Material and material availability

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

Novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

* Plays *

Anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

where only one piece of literature is performed * Poetry * Song lyrics

Performance

In Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Humorous Interpretation performers are not permitted to use any type of "physical objects or costuming." In addition, students may not: * Adapt material for purposes other than transitional. Controversially, sub-point 5. An under Interpretations on the National Speech and Debate Association Manual has been used to disqualify national finalist and national champions during and after the final round at National Speech and Debate Association Nationals. (See

(Contestant H208)) * Rely on the use of scripts.

Re-use

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

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

College Dramatic Interpretation

In college, DI cuttings must be from a play. Novels and short stories are used in prose. College competitors in the event are discouraged from singing and are allowed to select exclusively from published plays. Creating a Dramatic Interpretation from multiple plays is allowed if the aggregate product is of one cohesive theme.https://gustavus.edu/forensics/events/di.php

References

{{Reflist

External links

Dramatic & Humorous Interpretation, Dramatic Performance
Debating Public speaking