a. TOPIC -- All speeches entered must be the original work of the contestant. Any appropriate subject may be used, but the orator must be truthful. Any non-factual reference, including a personal one, must be so identified. All speeches must have been prepared during the current competitive year. Speeches that have been used in tournaments or service club contests in previous years shall be disqualified; this rule applies to a new speech by a speaker based on the same subject used in a previous year or to any subject used for any original speech by the same contestant during the same or previous years.
b. TIME -- Speeches shall be no longer than ten minutes; there is no minimum time. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. Judges should use discretion if the speaker is forced to exceed this time limit due to audience reaction.
c. QUOTATIONS -- No more than 150 words of the speech may be direct quotations from another speech or writing. Extensive paraphrasing from other sources is prohibited.
d. MANUSCRIPT -- A double-spaced, typewritten copy of the speech with all quotations underlined must be submitted upon registration. The manuscript must follow the MLA or APA style guidelines for internal citations and must include a "works-cited" page.
e. AIDS -- No notes, visual or audio aids, or manuscripts shall be permitted in the contest rounds. Speeches must be delivered from memory.
f. TIME -- Oratories shall be no more than ten (10) minutes in performance. There is no minimum time limit. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. For each final round, a tournament official, or designee shall serve as the official timer, and will have the discretion of waiving time violations for contestants exceeding the time limit due to audience reactions. This may be extended to the semi-final round at the discretion of the tournament director or designee.
a. SELECTION -- Selections used in Dramatic or Humorous Interpretation shall be cuttings from a single source from a published printed novel, short story, play, poem or screenplay. One-character selections, or monologues, may be used. No contestant may use the same literary work that s/he used in previous competitive years. No contestant may enter the same selection in two qualifying events. The material may be humorous or dramatic, or combine both tones depending on the selected work. Contestants may not combine two or more pieces of literature. A piece of literature shall be defined as one piece of writing which was written with the intent to be published as one work.
b. PUBLICATION -- All contestants must use published materials. "Published" as used in these rules means materials commercially printed, published, readily available, and nationally distributed. Only the original printed source or a photocopy of the original printed source shall be considered adequate proof of publication Unpublished material used for introductions and transitions of interpretations shall be the original work of either or both of the contestants. Transitions and other added material must not change the author's intent.
c. MANUSCRIPT - An original or photocopy of the original selection must be submitted at registration. Script check is the last step in the registration process. Schools that do not complete the registration process are not eligible to compete in the tournament. The portion(s) of the author's work being used in the interpretation must be highlighted. All introductory and transitional phrases shall be clearly indicated as such on the manuscript. Transitions and other added material must not exceed 150 words and must not change the author's intent. Contestants must adhere to the material as submitted when performing during rounds.
d. TIME -- Interpretations shall be no more than ten (10) minutes in performance including introductory and transitional materials. There is no minimum time limit. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. For each final round, a tournament official, or designee shall serve as the official timer, and will have the discretion of waiving time violations for contestants exceeding the time limit due to audience reactions. This may be extended to the semi-final round at the discretion of the tournament director or designee.
e. PERFORMANCE -- The interpretation must be delivered from memory; no notes, prompting or scripts shall be permitted. No costumes or props shall be permitted.
a. SELECTION -- Selections used in Dramatic or Humorous Interpretation shall be cuttings from a single source from a published printed novel, short story, play, poem or screenplay. One-character selections, or monologues, may be used. No contestant may use the same literary work that s/he used in previous competitive years. No contestant may enter the same selection in two qualifying events. The material may be humorous or dramatic, or combine both tones depending on the selected work. Contestants may not combine two or more pieces of literature. A piece of literature shall be defined as one piece of writing which was written with the intent to be published as one work.
b. PUBLICATION -- All contestants must use published materials. "Published" as used in these rules means materials commercially printed, published, readily available, and nationally distributed. Only the original printed source or a photocopy of the original printed source shall be considered adequate proof of publication Unpublished material used for introductions and transitions of interpretations shall be the original work of either or both of the contestants. Transitions and other added material must not change the author's intent.
c. MANUSCRIPT - An original or photocopy of the original selection must be submitted at registration. Script check is the last step in the registration process. Schools that do not complete the registration process are not eligible to compete in the tournament. The portion(s) of the author's work being used in the interpretation must be highlighted. All introductory and transitional phrases shall be clearly indicated as such on the manuscript. Transitions and other added material must not exceed 150 words and must not change the author's intent. Contestants must adhere to the material as submitted when performing during rounds.
d. TIME -- Interpretations shall be no more than ten (10) minutes in performance including introductory and transitional materials. There is no minimum time limit. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. For each final round, a tournament official, or designee shall serve as the official timer, and will have the discretion of waiving time violations for contestants exceeding the time limit due to audience reactions. This may be extended to the semi-final round at the discretion of the tournament director or designee.
e. PERFORMANCE -- The interpretation must be delivered from memory; no notes, prompting or scripts shall be permitted. No costumes or props shall be permitted.
a. ELECTION -- Selections used in Duo Interpretation shall be cuttings from a single source from a published printed novel, short story, play, poem or screenplay. No contestant may use the same literary work that s/he used in previous competitive years. No contestant may enter the same selection in two qualifying events. The material may be humorous or dramatic, or combine both tones depending on the selected work. Contestants may not combine two or more pieces of literature. A piece of literature shall be defined as one piece of writing which was written with the intent to be published as one work. Each of the two performers may play one or more characters so long as performance responsibility in the cutting remains as balanced as possible. Introductory and/or transitional material may be presented by either or both contestants.
b. PUBLICATION -- All contestants must use published materials. "Published" as used in these rules means materials commercially printed, published, readily available, and nationally distributed. Only the original printed source or a photocopy of the original printed source shall be considered adequate proof of publication Unpublished material used for introductions and transitions of interpretations shall be the original work of either or both of the contestants. Transitions and other added material must not change the author's intent.
c. MANUSCRIPT - An original or photocopy of the original selection must be submitted at registration. Script check is the last step in the registration process. Schools that do not complete the registration process are not eligible to compete in the tournament. The portion(s) of the author's work being used in the interpretation must be highlighted. All introductory and transitional phrases shall be clearly indicated as such on the manuscript. Transitions and other added material must not exceed 150 words and must not change the author's intent. Contestants must adhere to the material as submitted when performing during rounds.
d. TIME -- Interpretations shall be no more than ten (10) minutes in performance including introductory and transitional materials. There is no minimum time limit. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. For each final round, a tournament official, or designee shall serve as the official timer, and will have the discretion of waiving time violations for contestants exceeding the time limit due to audience reactions. This may be extended to the semi-final round at the discretion of the tournament director or designee.
e. PERFORMANCE -- The interpretation must be delivered from memory; no notes, prompting or scripts shall be permitted. No costumes or props shall be permitted. During the performance, off-stage focus (meaning contestants may not look directly at each other) must be employed by both contestants; during presentation of narration, or transitional material, eye contact should be made with the audience. The contestants may react to each other's verbal and/or non-verbal expressions, but are discouraged from touching one another. Contestants may touch and make eye contact during introductory material.
Duet Acting is eligible under the at-large bid process ONLY. Duet Acting will not be available under the other bid systems because not all states offer Duet Acting as an event.
We realize that duet acting is not offered at a large number of tournaments across the country. Therefore, in an effort to help generate interest and encourage growth of the event, we are offering the following incentive:
If you have a single-entered NIETOC qualifier, that student may enter duet acting with a partner of their choice, as an at-large entry (paid for by the school) at the NIETOC. Each school is eligible for only one of these at-large duet entries.
a. SELECTION -- Selections used in Duet Acting shall be cuttings from a single source from a published printed novel, short story, play, poem or screenplay. No contestant may use the same literary work that s/he used in previous competitive years. No contestant may enter the same selection in two qualifying events. The material may be humorous or dramatic, or combine both tones depending on the selected work. Contestants may not combine two or more pieces of literature. A piece of literature shall be defined as one piece of writing which was written with the intent to be published as one work. Each of the two performers may play one or more characters so long as performance responsibility in the cutting remains as balanced as possible. Introductory and/or transitional material may be presented by either or both contestants.
b. PUBLICATION -- All contestants must use published materials. "Published" as used in these rules means materials commercially printed, published, readily available, and nationally distributed. Only the original printed source or a photocopy of the original printed source shall be considered adequate proof of publication Unpublished material used for introductions and transitions of interpretations shall be the original work of either or both of the contestants. Transitions and other added material must not change the author's intent.
c. MANUSCRIPT - An original or photocopy of the original selection must be submitted at registration. Script check is the last step in the registration process. Schools that do not complete the registration process are not eligible to compete in the tournament. The portion(s) of the author's work being used in the interpretation must be highlighted. All introductory and transitional phrases shall be clearly indicated as such on the manuscript. Transitions and other added material must not exceed 150 words and must not change the author's intent. Contestants must adhere to the material as submitted when performing during rounds.
d. TIME -- Interpretations shall be no more than ten (10) minutes in performance including introductory and transitional materials. There is no minimum time limit. Exceeding this time limit by more than 30 seconds shall be penalized by a lowering of one rank. For each final round, a tournament official, or designee shall serve as the official timer, and will have the discretion of waiving time violations for contestants exceeding the time limit due to audience reactions. This may be extended to the semi-final round at the discretion of the tournament director or designee.
e. PERFORMANCE -- The interpretation must be delivered from memory; no notes, prompting or scripts shall be permitted. No costumes or props shall be permitted. During the performance, on-stage focus (meaning contestants MAY look directly at each other) may and/or should be employed by both contestants. Contestants are encouraged to touch and make eye contact during any part of the performance. Two chairs will be allowed for use as props or to facilitate blocking and to create levels, atmosphere and environment. Two standard classroom chairs will be provided. If the performers deem it necessary, they may provide their own chairs.
The NIETOC reserves the right to deny or refuse to accept the application from any participant to the competition. The NIETOC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, modify or alter the procedures, rules or regulations regarding any aspect of the competition without notice.
Students who qualify for the NIETOC are able to enter up to two main events and two supplemental events. The choice of events to participate in is up to the student(s), along with coaches and parents.
