Document Type
Systematic Look at Events
Abstract
Imagine yourself, for a moment, in a classroom where six other competitors are talking and eagerly waiting for their next Dramatic Interpretation (D.I.) round to begin. The judge surfaces from the depths of the judging room, coffee in one hand, ballots in the back pocket, pen stuck behind his ear appearing as though he has not slept since the tournament began, and takes a seat back row center. The room is silenced as the authority settles in and then calls the first competitor's name. She stands and walks to the front of the room. The metaphorical lights dim as she commands the absolute attention of her surroundings. It appears as though a spotlight suddenly clicked on; shining gloriously upon her as she begins to open her book ... which ... is not ... there. She continues on in her teaser still holding an invisible book while you, the judge, and all the other competitors are becoming increasingly more confused at this random act. She finishes her teaser, closes her "book," and launches into a delectable introduction about how individuals are being hidden behind the works of others, forcing everyone to fit into molds, and everyone copes by inventing phrases like "I am unique!" then adding, "just like everyone else." Her argument: resistance is futile and change is inevitable. She completes her cutting without a hitch, without a book, and without even acknowledging that this act probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. She is disqualified for not having a manuscript.
The rationale behind this fictional narrative and this paper is to point out several things. First is to address the recent request making Dramatic Interpretation (D.I.) a book optional event and what the reasons are on both sides of this debate. Second, relating this issue and its arguments to aspects of creativity and the official rules of unlimited preparation events. Third is the attempt to propose a new viewpoint for this issue and to encourage our community not to concentrate as hard on the actual presence of a book, but the reasoning behind it as to why it is there and whether or not we can do without it. Finally, I will attend to the pedagogical goal for this issue of controversy and display my outlook on this ordeal.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Recommended Citation
Kuipers, Amber
(2008)
"Gasp! Faint! Cry!: Making Dramatic Interpretation a Book Optional Event or Not,"
Proceedings of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events: Vol. 4:
Iss.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/ndcieproceedings/vol4/iss1/11