Iowa High School Speech Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.

The Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) consists of member high schools from four districts in Iowa, and offers three categories of competition: debate, large group, and individual events. At the end of each of the three contests, the Cooley Sweepstakes Trophy is awarded. To get to the all-state speech tournament, one must first proceed from the district and state tournaments. At district for speech, there is one judge who issues ratings and every team or individual who receives a "I" goes on. At State (there are four "state" tournaments) there are three judges, and two out of three must not only give a "I" rating, but also give a recommendation.

1 Large group events
2 Individual events
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Large group events

One act play. A group performs either one act from a longer play, or a whole play consisting of only one act; limits are placed on cast size and scene changes.
Reader's Theater. A group performs a presentation of a work, read from a script; There are no props besides chairs, and minimal movement.
Choral reading. Also known as voice choir, where group members recite a work from a script, whether in unison or not; movements and voice changes are used for effect.
Ensemble acting. Any type of acting scene requiring more than one participant. No costuming or props allowed except for chairs.
Group mime. A group acts out a scene in silence. Background music (without lyrics) is allowed.Also, tradional mime facepaint is no longer used in competition as it was deemed "racist."
*Solo mime. An individual acts a scene in silence, usually to background intrumental music, although this is not required.
Television news broadcasting. A video "broadcast" is prepared in advance by a group, and displayed for judging; the video includes sections on news, weather, and even commercials.
Radio news broadcasting. A radio "broadcast" is prepared in advance by a group, either on tape or CD, and is played for judging. As with the video-based competition, the "broadcast" includes news, weather reports, and commercials.
Group improvisation. A group of 2-6 people choose one topic from a list of three, and are given two minutes to prepare a scene lasting five minutes or less.
Musical theater. A group performs a series of selections from a musical play, with background music.