Preorder the brief for the low price of $10 at DebateChamps.

The Extemp Central Topic Analysis will review each of the 10 possible Commentary areas for the 2011 National Tournament. The brief will be delivered via email on Saturday, June 4, 2010.

Extemp Commentary 2011 Topic Areas

• 2000 vs. 2010: A Decade of Differences
• The Budget Crunchies
• Campaign 2012: Contenders and Bit Players
• Looking for Unions and Their Labels
• Notable Deceased Since 2010 Nationals
• Rogue Nations and Nations Ruled by Rogues
• Social Media vs. Actual Socializing
• Tea for Two Parties
• Who’s Afraid of Foreign Trade?
• Wicked Wikis and Lamentable Leaks

Spend your time working toward your main event. If that doesn’t pan out, we’re here to help you be as competitive as possible in Extemp Commentary!

The Final round was broadcasted live on Korean National T.V.

Forensics is a global activity.  Our friends at Global Debate prove that the case through their insightful commentary and updates from competitions across the globe.

2010 National Forensics Association college Individual Sweepstakes Champion Dan Glaser is currently teaching in South Korea.  He recently had an opportunity to attend an English-language forensics tournament with a friend.

Dan commented on the format of the tournament and other elements:

In case you’re wondering…. the tournament was conducted 100% in English and most of the kids were impressively fluent. The tournament followed Asian Parliamentary Format (read about it here if you want). There were three preliminary rounds, then Quarters, Semis, and Finals. The winning team took home 1,000,000 won (a thousand bucks)!

On the day of the tourney, I got in a last minute coaching session with my friend’s students and had a funny min-session with a very nervous 12 year-old girl who I had to convince there is no mathematical formula to calculate the amount of eye contact you should be making during a speech.

Do we have any international Speech Geeks reading the blog?  If so, tell us about your tournaments and competitive experiences.

We’ve all had that horribly awkward conversation with a friend, classmate, or coworker about forensics.  Generally, the first statement out of their mouth will be something like “So…you see a lot of dead bodies?” If you tell them you’re on the speech team, then folks will probably ask “Is that like debate?”  If you do LD, PF, CX, Parli or other forms of debate, well, it is like debate.  If you compete in interp, public address or limited prep events, no, it’s not like debate.  The PG-13 video above demonstrates the frustrations of sharing our favorite activity with the world.

I’m just surprised someone who is on the speech team has such a monotone voice.

Season Eight: Fall 2010

Purchase this issue in the SpeechGeek Store.

SpeechGeek Season Eight: Fall 2010

Quality forensics performance material is often difficult to find. SpeechGeek provides high school coaches and competitors with scripts that are not only challenging, but also of strong literary merit. Each issue of SpeechGeek contains five scripts in a variety of events: prose interpretation, poetry interpretation, humorous interpretation, dramatic interpretation, and duo interpretation. SpeechGeek’s interp scripts are written by winning authors who know what it takes to make final rounds at all levels of competition.

Science: No Boys Allowed by Jane Nicolaas Duo Interpretation (Female/Female)

Two sisters are on a quest to win the school science fair in this wacky comedy debut by Jane Nicolaas. Precocious youngster Ina takes her annoying younger sister Angelica along for the ride as the two explore the male of the species. Can they create the perfect boy?

Diamond Dreams by Jane Nicolaas Dramatic Interpretation

Miguel Santana is a young Dominican man who dreams of something more in life. His world is filled with poverty, yet his hopes are pinned on the one thing he knows he can do: throw a baseball. When an American agent comes into his life, Miguel may have finally found an avenue to save his family and provide them with a better life. Mr. Jack, though, sees only a better life for himself—and his bank account—in Miguel’s talent. A story of dreams and aspirations that is sure to wow audiences.

Endangered Species by Jane Nicolaas Prose Interpretation

A college student accompanies his girlfriend to a doctor’s visit he wish he didn’t have to attend. Despite being in love, they are not ready to see through an unplanned pregnancy. It’s an uncomfortable situation to say the least: “The woman stares at me. I guess that’s the wrong thing to do? I don’t know. I guess I forgot my abortion etiquette handbook: What to Expect When You’re about to Stop Expecting.” In a room of women who expect him to be the bad guy, he demonstrates that timing is everything and nothing at all.

Prima Ballerina by J.D. Taylor Dramatic Interpretation

Athena Pallas may now be an old, bitter dance instructor, but she was once one of Europe’s most gifted ballerinas. As the Hitler’s reach extends across Europe, the young dancer rises to stardom. When they are invited by Hitler himself for a performance, she is faced with an amazing opportunity and a terrible decision. She learns that fear is a powerful motivator and inaction can lead to a lifetime of regret.

Lost Souls Starboard Ho! Duo Interpretation (Male/Female)

Shawn and Lynn have suffered the loss of their daughter. In this emotional drama, the couple must come to terms with their loss while bridging the growing distance in their relationship. Will this crisis cause even more loss, or will they find a way to move on and love again?

Preview SpeechGeek Season Eight: Fall 2010

SpeechGeek Staff Report

This season, all eyes are on the fashion hubs of the world. Tokyo. Paris. New York. Kansas City. The city known for its smooth music and smoky barbecue is playing host to the most well-dressed group of people under the age of 18 in the nation this week. Nowhere is the couture more haute and the threads more avant-garde than in the rounds of Duo Interpretation. Great minds may think alike, but great performers dress to impress.

What is it about this event that makes dressing complimentary draw so many compliments? Perhaps it is the appearance of coordination and unity that inspires so many partners to color coordinate. Before competitors utter their first lines and the first ‘swish’ of shoes popping in character takes place, the first thing judges and audience members notice are the partners’ appearances. After spending nine months working on blocking and character development ensuring that every gesture and emotion is in sync, coordinating tournament attire adds the final touch of polish to the overall effect. Much in the same way that sports teams wear matching uniforms, complimentary Duo partner attire shows that both individuals are focused on creating a unified, seamless performance. The last thing anyone wants is for a judge to be distracted by your hot pink and olive green suits.

Click through the slide show to see a sampling of some of this week’s most colorful (and coordinated) Duo partners.

Blogging the Supplemental Events may prove a bit more tricky than the Main Events, as information has been a bit more hard to come by.  We apologize for any misspellings of names and welcome corrections from our readers.

Topic Area: The United States of Anger and Demonization

Speaker 1 — Louis Lee
Topic: “Demagogues unite.  Democracy needs you.”
Talk show hosts have a substantial effect on discourse in America.  Democracy needs unity among the groups.
1.  They deter Americans from participating in the political process.
2.  They convey information to Americans, albeit in a biased way.  They are useful as a means to share information.

Speaker 2 — Eli Bernstein
Topic: “Just say no.  Always, no.”
Debate has come to an end.  Taking away the power of debate diminishes the power of the USA.
1.  How Republicans have transitioned further to the during Obama Administration.  Shouting down the opposition and the filibuster are the key tools for accomplishing their “no.”
2.  How this affects Average Joe voters by turning them off from voting.  Americans are quickly losing trust in both political parties.

Speaker 3 — Rohan Pi
Topic:  ”Don’t tax me, Bro.”
Ultimately, we have to acknowledge that taxes are the down-payments we make for an advanced society. The lifestyle we enjoy is not possible without taxes.
1.  They maintain the goods, services and entitlements we enjoy as a society.
2.  We are in debt to the idea of prosperity by utilizing increased taxes to bring down the deficit and provide a better future.  This can be accomplished through reduced spending and higher taxes.

Speaker 4 — Nathaniel Hass
Topic: “Glenn and Rush: Ranting all the way to the bank.”
There are voices that are willing to make offensive, harmful arguments in public that are based on cultural stereotypes.
1.  What these people say, which is just plain wrong.
2.  Why are there people who say this, and who in the world is employing them?
3.  These people are paid to say such racist, terrible and untrue things.

Speaker 5 — Davis Mattick
Topic: “Nattering Nebobs (sp?) of Negativism”
We’ve become a negative culture.  (As negative as Harry Potter in the fifth novel.)  Giving up on an idea before it’s given time is unfair.
1.  Americans, in general, have a fatalistic attitude.
2.  We’ve given up on the future; however, there’s no reason to maintain that negativity.

Speaker 6 — Trevor Griffin
Topic: “Internet Flamethrowers”
We forget that what we do on the internet and social networking websites is a metaphorical flame-thrower that can have serious ramifications.
1.  Social such as Facebook and other social media.
2.  The political napalm thrown via the traditional media (FOX, NBC, etc.)
3.  Solutions for political and social flame-throwing and their extremities.

Were you busy watching the World Cup or the NBA Finals last night and missed out on the interp final rounds at the 2010 NFL National Tournament?  No need to worry, as the NFL LiveStream channel allows you to go back and watch the full festivities.  I wouldn’t expect them to be up forever.  If you don’t want to wait for your team’s DVD to arrive this fall, you may want to go ahead and check them out.

Blogging the Supplemental Events may prove a bit more tricky than the Main Events, as information has been a bit more hard to come by.  We apologize for any misspellings of names and welcome corrections from our readers.

Speaker 1 —  A. J. Tallow
performing “Being that Guy” a program by Tony Damico

Speaker 2 — Malcom Minor
performing “Knock, Knock” by Daniel Beaty

Speaker 3 — James Videl
performing “The Butter Battle”  by Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel

Speaker 4 — Durrell Jamerson
performing “Fallen Heroes” a program by Will Bell and (unknown).

Speaker 5 — Taylor Walker
performing “Somewhere There is a Poem” by Gina Loring

Speaker 6 — Andrea Platt
performing  ”My Thick Heritage” by Barry Solas (sp?)

Blogging the Supplemental Events may prove a bit more tricky than the Main Events, as information has been a bit more hard to come by.  We apologize for any misspellings of names and welcome corrections from our readers.

Speaker 1 — Michael Mosella
performing “Commercial Break” by Augustin Burrows

Speaker 2 — Zachary Eisenstein
performing “Rest Area” by Clay Chapman

Speaker 3 — John Reynolds
performing  ”Under the Wolf, Under the Dog” by Adam Rapp

Speaker 4 — Johari Mackey
performing “Show Business” by Martha Southgate

Speaker 5 — Robert Jackson
performing “I, Dred Scott” by Sheila Moses

Speaker 6 — Nat Zegree
performing  ”The Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris