GENERAL STANDARDS FOR JUDGING FORENSICS

These categories correspond to the categories for judging on the ballots.

1. INTERPRETATION

Was the speaker able to portray the contents of his/her selection: i.e., did he/she exhibit emotional and intellectual understanding of the selection and did the total performance make clear the theme or central idea of the selection?

Appropriate feeling? Sustained emotion? Vivid characterization (if appropriate)? Vivid situations?

2. USE OF VOICE

Does the speaker use his/her voice to bring out the variety and subtle differences of mood in the selection? Can you distinguish between the different characters in the selections by the speaker's use of voice? Can you visualize the setting described? Does the use of voice invite your involvement and call on your imagination? Does the student speak as though he/she actually is a part of the situation described? Was the voice audible? Were the rate of the speaking and articulation clear and appropriate for the selection?

3. APPROPRIATE EYE CONTACT

Does the speaker look at the audience? The kind and amount of eye contact may vary according to what is appropriate for the category and the selection. Judges should especially realize that "appropriate eye contact" in the Drama competition does not necessarily mean that the speaker looks at the audience, but instead may mean that she establishes the location of a character or characters by looking back and forth to fixed spots, especially when the selection as a dialogue between two or more characters. If the speaker does create the sense of different characters in different locations, even without looking directly at the audience, the judge should give him/her a good score in this category.

4. POISE AND PHYSICAL PRESENTATION

Controlled movement? Poise? Is the posture appropriate? Facial expression? Did the physical performance suit the selection? Did he/she underplay and suggest rather than use action that was overdone? Did the speaker's movement seem natural or did it distract from the performance?

5. MEMORIZATION

How well did the speaker memorize the selection?

NOTE: This category is not included in the judging of the "Reading" category.