Title: The Unwritten Rules in Oral Interpretation.
Abstract: One of the frustrations students new to intercollegiate competitive oral interpretation experience is having to learn the for the events. These rules are neither intrinsically negative nor positive. Any of the practices embodied in these rules may be used effectively by a student performing an oral interpretation of literature. Ten of these are: (1) teasers are mandatory; (2) ways to use a manuscript (subdivided into eight additional rules); (3) times to use movement and blocking; (4) minimum time is relative to genre; (5) literature should fit interpreters; (6) literature should be new/undiscovered; (7) program oral interpretations manuscripts should follow a compiled script format rather than the format of a traditional program; (8) no transitions; (9) no self-authored literature; and (10) dramatic duo interpretations should only feature two characters unless the work is of an avant-garde nature. Appendixes contain event descriptions of the American Forensic Association and of the National Forensic Association. (RS) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** Unwritten Rules in Interp 1 The Unwritten Rules in Oral Interpretation Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D. Alfred Golden Department of Speech Communication Mankato State University Mankato, MN 56002-8400 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association November 19-23, 1997 Chicago, Illinois BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 Unwritten Rules in Interp 2 THE UNWRITTEN RULES IN ORAL INTERPRETATION Every year new students begin their intercollegiate forensic experience. Many of the students participate in the oral interpretation events including prose, poetry, drama, dramatic duo, and program oral interpretation. One of the frustrations they experience is learning the for the events. Students show up with possible selections, and are too often rebuffed by coaches and veterans: You can't do piece because . . . [pick one of the following]: (A) that piece is way overdone; (B) that piece was in the final round of nationals last year; (C) nobody does classical literature in competition (E) it's not a monologue. The frustration over finding good material is soon exacerbated by the struggle to learn all the rest of the unwritten rules in oral interpretation. Our purpose is to identify and illuminate the unwritten rules we have recognized operating within intercollegiate competitive oral interpretation. The rules we illuminate are neither intrinsically negative nor positive. Any of the practices we describe may be used effectively by a student performing an oral interpretation of literature. A problem develops when the practices move beyond possibilities a student may decide to incorporate into a performance and become standardized expectations of coaches-competitors-judges. We have no hard data to verify the efficacy of the unwritten rules we contend exist in intercollegiate oral interpretation. We base our findings on more than 23 years of competitive intercollegiate experience.
Publication Year: 1997
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 5
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