How to Choose an Interp
It’s about that time of year again. Speech and debate season is just around the corner and you’re beginning to research and choose topics for your speeches. If you’re an interp obsessed competitor like me, you’re surfing amazon, rummaging through the bookstores, and watching youtube videos of past champions, searching for that perfect piece for your interpretation speech. If it’s your first time competing in an interpretation category you might not know where to start. Choosing an interp is daunting and probably the least fun part of competing in an interpretation category. I have been where you are and I have a few tips to get you started on your search.
Creating an excellent interpretation speech begins with a series of answers to specific questions. The answers will help you become laser-focused on what type of piece you are looking for.
Three essential questions you should ask yourself before choosing a piece for your interp:
What do I want my judges and audience to feel?
A talented interpreter communicates a vivid story that evokes a response using nothing but their voice and actions. First, they must intentionally decide what response they wish to evoke. Every element and plot point is meant to contribute to the story and to inspire emotion from the audience. Get a clear vision of what you want the outcome of your speech to be. In other words, do you want your audience to feel convicted, happy, inspired, or challenged? Or maybe you just want them to have fun. Whatever it is, you must have a purpose for your speech. That knowledge will help you choose your story.
What kind of characters do I want to play?
The characters, especially for a 10-minute speech, are the most important part of the story, more so than the series of events. Why? Because characters are the ones that engage the audience. They’re the ones that make the audience care if the characters live or die. They hold our interest and build the story. It is best to understand your characters and enjoy playing them. When choosing a piece keep in mind what type of characters you want to play. Do you want to play a villain, an elderly person, a quirky dad, or a troubled teen?
What unique skills do I want to utilize?
Find a piece that fits you. Yes, that champion you found on youtube from 2014 used seven different voices and moonwalked across the room, but not everyone can do that. One thing is for sure, everyone has skills and talents that can add uniqueness to their piece. If you’re great at different accents and voices, find a piece with several characters to showcase your voices. If you’re better at acting, choose a piece with great dialogue and fewer characters. I enjoyed acting and I was good at southern accents, so I chose Driving Miss Daisy as my open interpretation. It had two characters and rich dialogue. Plus, I got to practice two different types of southern accents. Knowing what skills you want to portray in your piece narrows down the choices and focuses your search.
Congratulations! By answering these questions you have significantly narrowed down your search. However, finding a great story is only half the battle. The other is telling it within your league's time limit. Classics like Pride and Prejudice span hundreds of pages with intricate twists and turns. How do you know what to include and what to leave out?
Three Tips On Cutting Your Interp:
Decide on the message
What do you want the message of your speech to be? In other words, what do you want your audience to learn, feel, and think about? The original piece you chose could have several messages. In Pride and Prejudice, the message could be about any of the love stories, sisterhood, the consequences of gossip, and of course pride and prejudice. Decide on one message you want to tell. This is your theme, almost like a thesis, it keeps your speech consistent and focused.
Craft a story arc to tell that message
Whether your piece is a short children’s book or a thick novel, it has 3 parts. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. If you have a story with complex characters and subplots, cut it down into three smaller parts. Find a theme to highlight and choose three parts that illustrate that theme. For my duo interpretation, I cut a two-hour musical - Newsies. It had several characters, subplots, and themes. First, I chose one of the themes highlighting people standing together to defeat a giant. Then I cut it into three parts, newsies fight injustice, newsies fail, then newsies succeed with back up. I didn’t try to fit a 2-hour story into 10 minutes. I created a small story out of a big one. The plot of your 10-minute speech only has to convey your chosen message. It could be only a subplot that illustrates your message rather than the plot of the whole original piece.
Craft character arcs to tell the message
When cutting your interp, choose parts that develop the characters. In Driving Miss Daisy, I decided to focus on the two characters’ friendship. I chose parts that showed their disdain for each other, then the slight growth in fondness for each other, and then finally their unbreakable friendship. I included an argument in the piece, then a small friendly gesture like a compliment, and then finally a selfless sacrifice. When you develop the characters they will present the message for you.
Choosing and cutting an interp doesn’t have to be daunting. The simplest stories are always the best and have ample opportunity for creativity. Answer the questions and focus on the characters and you’ll have the beginnings of an excellent interpretation.