Make ‘Em Laugh! Humorous Interpretation (HI)

Winning with your HI Getting started EARLY will give you a chance to work on the piece Waiting until the tournament season has begun could cause you to miss out on performing your piece as often as needed to gain TFA State points Realize that FINDING, CUTTING, and BLOCKING takes time. REHEARSING with and without your Coach needs to become a daily activity.

Finding a Winning Piece Be sure you will show the judges a FRESH piece (not “new,” but fresh- bring out an old classic) Search for lists of Tony Award nominated and winning plays Search playwriting contest winners Search local playwrights’ pieces READ A LOT!! Get a coffee and hang out at Barnes & Noble or the Library Observe rounds at speech tournaments and do Round Reports – however, don’t just copy the performances, research the authors you enjoy

Cutting the Selection STEP 1: Make a photocopy of the play STEP 2: You MUST start by reading the ENTIRE play. The cutting must reflect your understanding of the literature, and the only way to do that is to read it entirely. STEP 3: Highlight sections of the text which you find funny. STEP 4: This raw material needs to be molded into the basic story diagram – exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, and resolution. Select material for your TEASER (think of a movie trailer). It needs to introduce the principle characters and foreshadow the driving conflict of the piece. Cut out your lines and paste onto a file folder for easy practice (can be set on music stand for free hands).

Offensive Content Remember to read plays with MATURITY and DISCRETION. A play may have plenty of literary merit for performance, but contain offensive content for high school audiences. It is CHS Speech Team Policy that this content be CUT from all students’ scripts and performances (ex. Bad language, racial or sexual situations, etc.). How to discover inappropriate content: Ask yourself if you would see this on a family TV program? Would you feel comfortable if the student body watched this piece? Would you feel comfortable if your Parents or Principal saw this piece? WWJD?

Introducing… Your HI! Write the intro down on the back of the file folder cutting Write it early so you don’t have to worry about that 30 seconds or so There are FOUR GOALS in the Introduction: 1. The THEME or message of the piece must be articulated 2. The principle CHARACTERS need to be addressed (hearing the teaser is not enough) 3. Familiarize the PLOT of the play 4. State the TITLE and AUTHOR

BLOCKING You can’t block sitting down, so memorize & get up on your feet! Start with your feet and ankle placement decisions for each character Next, isolate the knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, elbows & wrists. This stance is then complimented by facial expressions Consider your face as an instrument – make decisions about placement of forehead, brows, eyelids, nose, cheeks, mouth and chin to create distinct characters

BLOCKING (cont) Decide on each character’s LOCUS (where a character should be looking) A good way to practice (and keep everyone straight) is to have your Coach call out each character’s name as you POP into each one Careful to notice focal points for taller and shorter characters, as well. A good tip for focal placement as you practice is to tape a grid to a wall Practice popping into each character as you place their locus

Voices Each character needs distinct sounds, voices and/or accents by manipulating vocal TONE and PITCH. Start off reading the lines in your own voice, then vary your RATE, VOLUME, tone & pitch until they fit your characters’ personalities Need unique voices? Try adapting funny TV characters (ex. The Simpsons, Family Guy, British comedy, sitcoms, even children’s shows) Can’t do accents? Or want to improve? Pick up accent lessons on CD and listen & recite each day!

Ya Gotta Have GIMMICKS A GIMMICK is a visual bit that is funny (ex. Rolling your eyes) Gimmicks should come from the literature and your understanding of it Gimmicks may be fantastic and extraordinary… …or may come from normal characters’ lines who are saying things that just happen to be funny You and your Coach should make these decisions together

Conclusion Choose a piece that is right for you, that you enjoy and find funny. Work with your Coach as often as possible Perform your piece EVERY DAY. Your piece should be very personal and special to you… it’s your baby! Don’t focus on winning, but rather sharing your ART with your judge and audience. Have FUN above all… that’s what leads to the Winning HI!