2006 Roberta'
Lights, Camera, Speak! Welcome actors, thespians, and those of you who got the job because you're not on tenure. The road to the Oscars is perilous - stay off the casting couch. The famous actor and director Indiana Bradbury is here to direct you and give you "all the right moves." 1. Gather some scripts. If the former coach left you some, great! But you do need new ones, too. See the list of suppliers later in this booklet. 2. Gather your team: Have a meeting after school to inform interested students that speech team is about to start. Advertise: over the PA system and with posters. Send notes to students who participated last year, if you have access to that information. They will be a big help in spreading the word about how much fun Speech is. Go looking for talent. Ask other teachers who has been great at speaking in their classes. Methods of Payment ---school pays all ---students pay ---students pay initially then get money back on contest day 3. Have students sign up for a time to come in to pick out a script. You should have 3 or 4 in mind for them. Don't let them rummage through the entire file. Warn students about picking their best friend as a partner - make sure the partner will be eligible. 4. Set up a schedule of practices that you and the students are comfortable with. A regular schedule keeps everybody focused. 5. Let other teachers know who is on your team and when they practice, especially of you are practicing during the school day. I do some practices during student's study halls. [I don't really need to eat lunch.] Use your other teachers to have kids perform as contest gets near. 6. Start blocking with the first practice. Otherwise students get set in their ways. Explain blocking…write everything down in their scripts. 7. I try to get my students memorized in the first 3-4 weeks of practice. It frees up their hands for changes in blocking and gestures. We have 3-4 weeks for refining. It shows. 8. Introductions - You don't need an introduction. If you choose to have your students use an introduction, it will be timed as a part of the speech. Sometimes intros are given part-way into the speech. 9. Remind your students that they need a definite end to their performance. Don't just finish and walk away. Don't say "That's it. We're done." After the last line spoken, stand for a second or two and give a slight nod to the judge. That should do it. New Coach's Handbook Overview of rules Each year your school will get a set of rules from IESA regarding the events for the State Speech Contests. If you don't get one, ask the principal for a copy. They often think it is just for sports. You can also download the rules from the IESA Internet site - HYPERLINK "http://www.iesa.org" \t "_blank" http://www.iesa.org. The rules may change slightly from year to year, so it is good to get the update each year. IESA Guidelines for Speech 1. Individual Events a. Solo Acting - A dramatic presentation by an individual student. This may be a monologue, a selection in which two or more characters are portrayed, or storytelling NEW EVENT. [5 - 10 minutes] c. Poetry - one or more selections of poetry. Poetry may be humorous, serious, or a combination of humorous and serious. [4 - 7 minutes] A good place to start your young ones.. easiest to memorize and shortest time minimum. d. Impromptu Speaking - The student is given two words or phrases by the judge and will then choose one and discard the other. The student has eight minutes to write and present a speech, using one 3x5 card and a writing instrument. Time begins when the speaker is handed the choice of topics. The speaker may divide the writing/speaking time however he/she wishes. While the speaker is writing, the judge or time will announce the time remaining time at one-minute intervals. Once the speaker has begun speaking, the timer or judge will signal time left by means of upraised fingers or time cards, and at the end of the eight minutes by an upraised hand. The speaker then has a grace period of 30 seconds to end the speech. If the speaker goes beyond the 8 minutes and 30 seconds, the performance will be lowered one division. [8 minutes - 30 seconds] e. Original Script - The student will present a speech which he/she has written. The speech may be a monologues, poetry, short story, essay, or presentation. All rules and limitations apply.[5 - 10 minutes] 2. Duet Events a. Duet Acting - A humorous or serious presentation with direct dialogue or conversation between two contestants portraying no more than two characters (one each), who may speak to off-stage or to silent characters. Both contestants must appear or the duet presentation may not be judges or rated, but may be performed. [Note to coach: Check your readings carefully for additional characters.] [5 - 10 minutes] b. Improv Duet Acting - Each pair of contestants shall stand before the judge at the appointed time. The judge shall give the team a prompt to be played humorously. Either of the contestants shall use the line as the opening line of the presentation. No consultation time shall be allowed; the contestants must begin the scene immediately. After the scene has progressed for approximately two minutes, the judge will say "stop." The performers must continue until the judge says "stop." The procedure is then repeated with a prompt to be played seriously, then finally another prompt to be played humorously. The entire performance, including all three situations, shall be kept under an eight-minute time limit by the judge. [8 minutes] c. Original Script - The students will present a speech which they have written. The speech must be a duet. The work must be the product of one or both of the students. All rules and limitations will apply. [5 - 10 minutes] [Note: Comments attributed to a narrator except for the introduction of the presentation shall be regarded as a third person. A duet cannot be judged unless BOTH contestants are there. One member of a duet may not be judged. A judge cannot give a rating to one individual and not the other in a duet. It is permissible for a duet to perform but not receive a rating.] 3. Chorale Presentation Chorale groups of 9 to 20 members must present two or more selections within the time limitation. Groups, except those with only fifth and/or sixth graders, cannot be conducted by the speech instructor. Failure to present at least two or more selections, to have the correct number of contestants, or conducted by the speech instructor shall result in the chorale presentation not being judged or rated. Selections may still be performed at the discretion of the instructor. [6 - 10 minutes] Good place to use a large # of kids with one rehearsal. 4. Small Group Acting A serious or humorous presentation by three to five performers characterizing three or more persons presenting one selection within a time limit. The small group cannot be conducted by the speech instructor. Failure to have the correct number of contestants, or if the presentation is conducted by the speech instructor, shall result in the small group acting presentation not being rated or judged. Selections may still be performed at the discretion of the instructor. [5 - 10 minutes] Getting very popular. You might want to have them sign up individually and you place them since you’ll have to find the right # of participants and sex combinations. 5. Performance Guidelines Qualified students are eligible to participate in the IESA State Speech Contest in any combination of up to three events. Students may NOT participate in two entries in the same classification. For example - a student may not enter two poetry presentations. A student can, however, enter a poetry and a monologue presentation. A student can enter a duet and an impromptu duet, but not two regular duets. General Contest Regulations 1. Parents and students should be encouraged to observe performances at contest. 2. All selections should be carefully selected by the speech instructor and should be suitable for the age level of the student. [Look at and listen to the voices of your students. Pick a piece appropriate to their age and ability.] All selections must be presented from memory. Materials used may come from any source. Cuttings from plays, books, magazines, etc. are permissible as long as they do not infringe upon copyright laws. 3. Props a. individual events - the only prop permitted is ONE chair - only if it is absolutely necessary and appropriate to the selection. b. duet acting - the only props permitted are two chairs and a table. A chair may be a stool is that is what is available. You don't have to use these at all. c. small group acting - the only props permitted are one table and a maximum of four chairs. d. chorale reading - NO props allowed. e. The allowed props can "become" anything the characters want them to be; such as, a bed, couch, sink, boat, etc. 4. Costume and Dress a. For all events, NO costumes will be permitted. Costuming is defined as dress that would intentionally reflect the character(s) portrayed. b. All students shall be dressed appropriately. Contest is a serious evaluation and the student's dress should reflect this. 5. No individual, duet, chorale reading, or small group shall perform the same selection in two different years. Try to limit the number of individuals, duets, and small groups using the same selection in a given year. 6. Prompting will be permitted in scripted events. The contestant shall be graded down on the adjudication sheet. If the judge concludes there is excessive prompting, the contestant shall be lowered one division in the final rating. Excessive usually means more than one prompt. 7. Coaches should indicate to the judge any physical handicap which might affect their judging, such as the inability to stand straight, any type of speech impediment, etc. 8. Sound Effects & Props? a. Sound effects are permitted for all events. They should be kept to a minimum and should not be considered as a character. b. Additional props may not be used to make sound effects. c. If clothes or jewelry are referred to in the presentation or representative of the piece, they would be considered props/costume and would be penalized accordingly. For example, if you look at a wrist watch, or over at a real clock on the wall, that can be interpreted as an additional prop. This is NOT allowed! Body parts are not a prop. Be careful about watches and items of clothing referred to specifically in the presentation. 9. Movement and gestures are permitted for all selections. Oral interpretation shall be stressed. 10. The boundaries of the performance area are "the entire performance room." 11. Violations a. Any violation of the contest rules unless otherwise stated in the by-laws shall be penalized by the lowering of the rating to third place. b. All written complaints to contest hosts shall be forwarded to the IESA Office for evaluation by the Speech Advisory Committee. c. If the coach wishes to challenge a rating, he/she should meet with the contest host and the Judge Representative from IESA to resolve the complaint the day of the contest. [Host schools have a Speech Advisory Committee member or designated judge representative who conducts judge's meetings and resolves adjudication problems.] Helpful Hints Find what works for you and go with it. Every coach you talk to will have a different system for picking the team, practicing with the team, and getting them to contest. Listen to everyone. Try everything. Then go with what is comfortable. Practice at least once a week with every group or individual. Don't cut anybody. They are here because they have a need or a talent. And there are always late bloomers. Keep a copy of all scripts. Students tend to lose scripts on a regular basis. Set down guidelines when students sign up. [A copy of my letter of expectations is enclosed.] When you rehearse with kids, have others present. A small audience is good. It gets them ready for the contest. Try to set up a performance of some type for your students a few weeks before the contest. I do an open house at the school in the evening. I also have a week when performers rotate to the language arts classes to perform in groups of 4 presentations at a time. Preparing for the Contest a. Make sure to get your team registered by the initial entry deadline of September 25th. This is done on-line at the IESA site. Your principal received the information necessary to access the site. Be sure to mark the number of entries you have per category. The site has directions that will walk you through the process. Make sure to print the receipt and mail it to IESA along with your payment by September 25th. b. After your school's payment is received at IESA headquarters, you will get a mailing addressed to "speech coach" that will contain the rest of the information you need to complete the registration process. In the packet will be an advance order form from The Cubby Hole, the company who prepares the official IESA T-shirts. You can advance order these if your students wish to purchase them. Also in the packet will be your ID and password to make final registration of your performances. You will go to the IESA website and go to "speech" and follow directions from there. It's easy. Make sure that you do this by the deadline stated in the letter. c. Don't forget to order the bus. Remind the AD or whoever is in charge. They sometimes forget that speech teams exist. d. If you have to make last minute changes due to student ineligibility or other conflicts, call the host school as soon as possible. Most are willing to change the schedule to allow for maximum student participation. Sources for Scripts 1. The Consortium 2. Edna Means Dramatic Service 3. Wetmore Declamation Bureau 4. Brooklyn Publishers 6. Baker's Plays 7. Pioneer Drama Service 8. Comtemporary Drama Service 9. Dramatic Publishing 10. I.E. Clark Publications Books That Also Can be Used as Sources 1. Winning Monologues for Young Actors by Peg Kehret Most of these are too short for contest, but they are worth looking at if you don't mind adding to them. I have additions for the following: #1 - They'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead, #10 - Tammy's Brother's Dead, #20 - Little Red, The Hood, #4 - Missing Mandy, #3 - The Fire Drill, #11 - The Bargain, #19 - The Efficient Baby-Sitter, #32 - Help, Send Candy Bars!, and My Mother Collects China Cows. [We've gotten firsts with all of these.] 2. Encore! More Winning Monologues for Young Actors by Peg Kehret More really fun true-to-kid stuff. Again, they are a little short. 3. Great Scenes and Monologues for Children ages 7-14 edited by Craig Slaight and Jack Sharrar A collection of scenes from full length plays. some are long enough, some are not. If you really like the scene, you can go back to the original play and add to it. 4. And don't forget the English department. They probably have a stack of old one act plays gathering dust that they would love to get rid of. One I like is Plays: the Drama Magazine for Young People. I have some dating back to the 1970's. They have some great things that can be used for small groups. When all else fails, call for help. All speech coaches are friendly and willing to share ideas. Get the list of coaches and give them a call. GENERAL INFORMATION The Consortium has the most new scripts each year. They are prompt and responsive. If you have the pieces e-mailed you can have the scripts next day. The material is timely and well written. Make sure to look at the estimated time on these pieces, as they write for other groups and some are up to 25 minutes long. I have additions to many of the Peg Kehret pieces to make them run to length. If you need any further information or help, please feel free to contact me at school or at home. School information is on the front of the booklet. My home phone is 815-458-2407. Good Luck! Break A Leg! > > > > HTMLCONTROL Forms.HTML:Hidden.1