Oral Interpretation of Prose Literature--Serious and Humorous.

1. Purpose. The purpose of this activity is to train students to convey the thought, feelings and mood of a selection of prose literature to an audience.

2. Rules.

a. The selection shall be an original cutting or arrangement of prose literature from books, published short stories, or plays. (Note: Plays written in poetic verse are acceptable.)

b. Commercially produced cuttings are not to be used.

c. The reader shall make introductory remark concerning the author, selection, and cutting designed to heighten understanding and appreciation of the selection by the audience.

d. Maximum time limit, including introductory remarks, shall be ten minutes.

e. The selection may be delivered from manuscript, with or without lectern.

3. Judging Standards.

a. The art of interpretation is to be regarded as essentially one of suggesting the meaning, feeling, and mood of a story so vividly as to recreate the author's work in the minds of the audience.

b. In assigning rank or rating to a reader, the judge should take into consideration the literary merit of the selection, appropriateness, use of the body and voice in interpreting.

c. This is a contest in oral interpretation, not acting.

d. The interpreter should try to distinguish all the characters by suggesting distinctive visual and auditory clues, depending upon the audience to fill in the picture.

e. Familiarity with the script is essential so that the contestant may maintain eye contact the majority of the time.

f. The selection may be memorized.

g. If the speaker uses a lectern, he should use it as a platform aid rather than let it become a barrier between him and his audience.

h. The final test of good interpretation is the ability to use all these factors so successfully that the hearer forgets that he is listening to a contest.

4. Disqualification Criteria

a. Not having an original cutting or arrangement.

5. Lowering Rank Criteria

a. Overtime (exceeding 30 seconds).