# Dramatic Interpretation

Dramatic Interpretation (often shortened to "Dramatic Interp," "Drama" or just "DI") is an event in National Speech and Debate Association (and NSDA-related) high school forensics competitions. In the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association and the National Catholic Forensic League, the event is combined with Humorous Interpretation to create the Dramatic Performance event. It consists of a piece from any published work, edited to fit within a 10-minute span with a 30-second grace period (it does not have a minimum and cannot be above 10:30).
In a typical round of DI, five to seven performers will each perform a "cutting" (excerpt) from a readily available, published (copyrighted or non-copyrighted) play, novel, or short story. As the name suggests, the cuttings are invariably from non-comedic (e.g., dramatic) works. Some performers select monologues, others may adopt the roles of many different characters, changing their tone, manner, and the position of their body to indicate a change in character.
After all of the competitors have performed, the judge (or judges) in the round will rank them from best to worst, and assign each of them a score. Contestants who score well will "break" out of preliminary rounds and continue to advance through octo/quarter/semi/final rounds if they continue to score well.

## NSDA Nationals

National Speech and Debate Association Nationals was hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2016. National Champions are awarded a scholarship of US$1,000. To receive the title a competitor must have the lowest cumulative score throughout the duration of the tournament. The Dramatic Interpretation competitor to receive the lowest cumulative score in the final round is awarded the BAMA Bowl and a US$500 scholarship. The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world.

### Past NSDA Champions

| Year | Competitor | Academic Institution |
| 1931 | Kathryn Harney | Peoria-Manual, Illinois |
| 1932 | Pauline Crockett | California, Pennsylvania |
| 1933 | Denton Snyder | Humboldt, Iowa |
| 1934 | Donald Swanson | Webster City, Iowa |
| 1935 | Mary Ann Porterfield | Topeka, Kansas |
| 1936 | Caleb Peterson | Peekskill, New York |
| 1937 | Virginia Kraft | Mediapolis, Iowa |
| 1938 | Jack Edwards | Hollywood, California |
| 1939 | Ben Morris | Oklahoma City-Classen, Oklahoma |
| 1940 | James Lee | Santa Rosa, California |
| 1941 | Jean Swidensky | Oklahoma City-Central, Oklahoma |
| 1946 | Rae June Decker | DuQuoin, Illinois |
| 1947 | Beulah Meacham | Canton-McKinley, Ohio |
| 1948 | Ralph Jensen | Kenosha, Wisconsin |
| 1949 | Carolyn Parks | Santa Rosa, California |
| 1950 | Carolyn Parks | Santa Rosa, California |
| 1951 | Sue Routsong | Dayton-Oakwood, Ohio |
| 1955 | Shirley Shubin | Los Angeles HS, California |
| 1956 | Dan McCall | Modesto, California |
| 1957 | April Shawhan | Dayton-Fairmont, Ohio |
| 1958 | Karen McPeek | Euclid, Ohio |
| 1959 | Alan Haufrect | Houston-Bellaire, Texas |
| 1960 | Albertha Hillmon | Stockton Edison, California |
| 1961 | Paul Bernath | Houston-Jesse Jones, Texas |
| 1962 | Joe Rowlette | West Plains, Missouri |
| 1963 | Andy Fichter | Delaware-Hayes, Ohio |
| 1964 | Camille Waters | Houston-Bellaire, Texas |
| 1965 | Suzanne Abernathy | Paris-Grove, Tennessee |
| 1966 | Joan Rue | Lexington-Clay, Kentucky |
| 1967 | Brent Mintz | Houston-Bellaire, Texas |
| 1968 | Ruben Delgado | Stockton Edison, California |
| 1969 | Darren Kelley | Anaheim-Loara, California |
| 1970 | John Wall | Campbellsville, Kentucky |
| 1971 | John Leamer | Fairmont East HS, Kettering, Ohio |
| 1972 | Annalee Jefferies | Houston-Bellaire HS, Texas |
| 1973 | Mark Ferguson | Perry HS, Ohio |
| 1974 | Robert Rosenberg | Toledo-DeVilbiss HS, Ohio |
| 1975 | Darryl Bowdre | McAlester HS, Oklahoma |
| 1976 | Lynne Joyner | Bellevue Newport HS, Washington |
| 1977 | Michael Mandell | Logansport HS, Indiana |
| 1978 | Andrew Sattee | Pine Crest Prep. HS, Florida |
| 1979 | Steven Young | New Richmond HS, Wisconsin |
| 1980 | Solveig Olsen | Sioux Falls-Lincoln, South Dakota |
| 1981 | Darrell Johnson | Okmulgee, Oklahoma |
| 1982 | Greg Dolph | Chesterton HS, Indiana |
| 1983 | Robert Strain | San Antonio-Roosevelt, Texas |
| 1984 | Geoff Abbott | Sioux Falls-O’Gorman HS, South Dakota |
| 1985 | Andy Thornton | San Antonio-Churchill HS, Texas |
| 1986 | David Getzendaner | Kansas City-Park Hill, Missouri |
| 1987 | Lance Harshbarger | Shawnee Mission-South HS, Kansas |
| 1988 | Brenda McElroy | Milton Academy, Massachusetts |
| 1989 | Greg Wilson | Hanks HS, Texas |
| 1990 | Dan Sklar | Glenbrook North HS, Illinois |
| 1991 | Demond Wilson | Vines HS, Texas |
| 1992 | Colin Stokes | San Antonio-Churchill, Texas |
| 1993 | Chris Conner | Kinkaid School, Texas |
| 1994 | Danny Beaty | Miami Valley School, Ohio |
| 1995 | Susan Bohannon | Albuquerque Academy, New Mexico |
| 1996 | Jelena Moore | James Logan HS, California |
| 1997 | Michael Washington | Plano Sr. HS, Texas |
| 1998 | Michael Urie | Plano Sr. HS, Texas |
| 1999 | John Egan | Eagan HS, Minnesota |
| 2000 | Esther Etuk | Newman Smith HS, Texas |
| 2001 | Aimee DeShayes | Syosset HS, New York |
| 2002 | Krystyn Spratt | Apple Valley HS, Minnesota |
| 2003 | Pierre Clark | James Logan HS, California |
| 2004 | D’Angelo Lacy | Creekview HS, Texas |
| 2005 | Cory D. Stewart | Eastview HS, Minnesota |
| 2006 | Blake Williams | The Montgomery Academy, Alabama |
| 2007 | Nana Amoah, Jr. | Edison HS, Virginia |
| 2008 | Stephen Elrod | Bellarmine College Prep, California |
| 2009 | Jane Bruce | Ogden HS, Utah |
| 2010 | Michael Carone | Monsignor Farrell HS, New York |
| 2011 | Jamaque Newberry | Nova HS, Florida |
| 2012 | Deshawn Weston | Grand Prairie HS, Texas |
| 2013 | Anthony Nadeau | Royal Palm Beach HS, Florida |
| 2014 | Abigail Onwunali | Hastings HS, Texas |
| 2015 | Daniel Williams | Holy Cross School, Louisiana |
| 2016 | Izabella Czejdo | McDowell HS, Pennsylvania |
| 2017 | Chase Garrett | Southside HS, South Carolina |
| 2018 | Kimberly Lee | Summit HS, New Jersey |
| 2019 | Jacob Foster | Comeaux HS, Louisiana |
| 2020 | Semaj Lee | Apple Valley HS, Minnesota |
| 2021 | Giana Martinez | L. C. Anderson HS, Texas |
| 2022 | Logan Green | Hattiesburg HS, Mississippi |
| 2023 | Kylan Williams | Comeaux HS, Louisiana |
| 2024 | Karla Rivera | Harlingen HS South, Texas |

## Rules

Dramatic Interpretation falls under the jurisdiction of events under the category defined as “Interpretation” by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). These events are Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation. Events that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the following rules include, but are not limited to Poetry, Prose, and Storytelling. The National Speech and Debate Associations rules are organized into categories of length, material, material availability, performance, re-use, and website approval submission process.

### Length

The set time limit is ten minutes with a thirty-second period in which a student may go overtime with no penalty, colloquially referred to as a 'grace period.'According to National Speech and Debate Association rules, a student who exceeds the ten minute and thirty-second time limit cannot be awarded the rank of 1st in the round. There is no minimum time limit.

### Material and material availability

A student may choose from a single work of literature to perform. Acceptable forms of literature include:
* Novels
* Plays
* Anthologies where only one piece of literature is performed
* Poetry
* Song lyrics

### Performance

In Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Humorous Interpretation performers are not permitted to use any type of "physical objects or costuming." In addition, students may not:
* Adapt material for purposes other than transitional. Controversially, sub-point 5. An under Interpretations on the National Speech and Debate Association Manual has been used to disqualify national finalist and national champions during and after the final round at National Speech and Debate Association Nationals. (See Humorous Interpretation (Contestant H208))
* Rely on the use of scripts.

### Re-use

Students may not perform the same work of literature at any National Speech and Debate Association tournament if they have already done so in a separate contestant year.

### Website approval submission process

All piece selection is subject to online year-round review.

## Collegiate Dramatic Interpretation

In intercollegiate forensics, a competitor may use one or more theatrical scripts to craft a dramatic narrative involving one or multiple characters. The dramatic material can originate from a variety of sources, ranging from stage, screen, to radio. Unlike dramatic interpretation performances at the high school level, collegiate competitors are required to use a manuscript throughout their performance.

### Past AFA Champions

| Year | Competitor | Academic Institution |
| 1978 | Scott Schaeffer | DePaul University |
| 1979 | Terry Kiel | Minnesota State University, Mankato |
| 1980 | Steve Geck | St. Cloud State University |
| 1981 | Mark Fredo | PennWest Clarion |
| 1982 | Michael Eckert | George Mason University |
| 1983 | Philip Shelburne | Southern Utah University |
| 1984 | Greg Dolph | Bradley University |
| 1985 | Greg Dolph | Bradley University |
| 1986 | Greg Dolph | Bradley University |
| 1987 | Vincent Bly | Kansas State University |
| 1988 | Florence Woodard | Howard University |
| 1989 | Sarah Braun | Bradley University |
| 1990 | Paige Petrucka | Southern Utah University |
| 1991 | Zoe Brown | University of Alabama |
| 1992 | Jason Davidson | Bradley University |
| 1993 | August Benassi | Bradley University |
| 1994 | Dustin Abraham | Arizona State University |
| 1995 | Andrew Greene | California State University, Los Angeles |
| 1996 | Esther Austin | California State University, Chico |
| 1997 | Eduardo Maytorena | California State University, Los Angeles |
| 1998 | Sara Mayer | University of Texas at Austin |
| 1999 | Jill Valentine | Bradley University |
| 2000 | Paige White | University of Alabama |
| 2001 | Ryan Knowles | University of La Verne |
| 2002 | Javon Johnson | California State University, Los Angeles |
| 2003 | Scott Boras | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
| 2004 | Tatiana Simonian | California State University, Los Angeles |
| 2005 | Robert Hawkins | San Francisco State University |
| 2006 | Ashley Brasfield | Western Kentucky University |
| 2007 | Sonequa Martin | University of Alabama |
| 2008 | Julia Kolsrud | Arizona State University |
| 2009 | Nick Bateman | George Mason University |
| 2010 | Amanda Voirol | Bradley University |
| 2011 | Kane Kennedy | James Madison University |
| 2012 | Kaybee Brown | Lone Star College-North Harris |
| 2013 | Kaybee Brown | Bradley University |
| 2014 | Robi Mahan | Illinois State University |
| 2015 | Karlee Currin | University of Nebraska Omaha |
| 2016 | Abigail Onwunali | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2017 | Caleb Merritt | Hastings College |
| 2018 | Marianna Garcia | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2019 | Sarah Courville | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | Paige Allbright | Western Kentucky University |
| 2022 | Emily Feazel | Seton Hall University |
| 2023 | Kaylee Frazier | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2024 | David Jacobson | University of Minnesota Twin Cities |
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 tournament was canceled, resulting in no champion.

### Past NFA Champions

| Year | Competitor | Academic Institution |
| 2008 | Emambu Atabong | Bradley University |
| 2009 | Vanessa Carranza | Bradley University |
| 2010 | Jerome Davis | Western Kentucky University |
| 2011 | Elle Pratt | Bradley University |
| 2012 | Jasmine McLeod | California State University, Long Beach |
| 2013 | Ben Davis | North Central College |
| 2014 | Austin Groves | Western Kentucky University |
| 2015 | Huy Pham | Ball State University |
| 2016 | Abigail Onwunali | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2017 | Abigail Onwunali | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2018 | Marianna Garcia | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2019 | Sarah Courville | University of Texas at Austin |
| 2021 | Cheriaca Huntley | George Mason University |
| 2022 | Paige Allbright | Western Kentucky University |
| 2023 | Gavin Millard | Eastern Michigan University |
| 2024 | Cecilia Alali | Western Kentucky University |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 tournament was canceled. However, the NFA permitted competitors in their senior year to submit recordings of their speeches for an asynchronous competition. The top performing student in each category was ranked as the Performance of Highest Distinction. The Performance of Highest Distinction in Dramatic Interpretation was awarded to Trijae from Bradley University.