opponent: *calls out evidence i’ve been misconstruing this entire round*
me:
Xuebing Du
d e v o n
The Stonewall Inn
Stranger Things
cherry valley forever
Game of Thrones Daily

roma★
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸

ellievsbear
One Nice Bug Per Day
EXPECTATIONS

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will byers stan first human second
Not today Justin
Cosimo Galluzzi
Cosmic Funnies

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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macklin celebrini has autism

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@i-so-move
opponent: *calls out evidence i’ve been misconstruing this entire round*
me:
why are impromptu speakers… like that
I got first place in my most recent tourney! Congress fuckin rocks!!!
first tournament!
tab is really hard to understand but from what I can gather, I did pretty well and had a lot of fun! I was chair and did okay at it!
me and my buddies at the farmer’s union convention
When a varsity pairs up with a novice and they do well
TOURNAMENT ADVICE SERIES
We’re about a month into the season, so it’s a pretty good time for some tourney advice! In this series, I want to share some of my tips for preparing for, surviving, and hopefully rocking a tourney! Here’s what the series will include:
What’s In My Bag (already posted)
Tournament Makeup/Hair/Outfits (leaning more feminine)
Tournament Etiquette
Preparing for Congress
Tournament Food/Eating
Fun Things to Do With Your Team
What to Do With Your Ballots
I hope this series will be helpful! I’m hoping to have it all posted within the next week or two.
WHAT’S IN MY BAG FOR A TOURNEY!!!
I like to bring both my briefcase and a backpack/duffel bag to tournaments. I usually only actually bring my briefcase to my congress rounds, so only on debate days. To impromptu rounds, I’ll only take a legal pad, a pen, and a timer. I only bring a timer to interps. Always bring a water bottle to rounds!
Keep in mind that I do congress, so the briefcase list is pretty congress specific.
BRIEFCASE
Laptop: I don’t use it much in round since I usually have my speeches, legislation, and any other papers printed out and put into a binder, but sometimes it’s good to have the laptop backup.
G2s: Yes, I use G2s. They are really nice! I usually flow speeches and questions. I only bring red, blue, and black. For congress, I generally do red for flowing the speech, blue for any questions I want to ask, and black for extra.
Pencil: If I ever want to submit an amendment, pass a note, or whatever else, I use pencil.
Dry erase markers: sometimes there aren’t any good markers to do priority with, so I like to always have one on hand.
Paper: I’m currently using a legal pad, it’s easier for congress.
Mints: duh. I like icebreakers.
Cough drops: If you are blessed enough to be speaking a lot in congress, you’ll probably need these.
Phone charger + computer charger: these just live in my briefcase during tourneys because I’ve had so many stolen chargers.
Timer: this year I’m gonna make a resolution to stop bringing my phone to rounds/ leave it in the briefcase. How sweet would it be if I got the NSDA timer (not very that would be lame)
OTHER BAG
Deodorant: people will ask you for it a ton, and you really don’t want to smell bad!
Snacks: sometimes tourney food is gross, so bring ya own snacks
First aid kit: it’s easy to get hurt, so just be prepared
Portable charger: a must!
Kindle: I like to read sometimes!
Camera: I’m my team’s unofficial photographer, so I usually try to snap a few photos in between rounds
Sewing kit: you can usually get these at walgreens or CVS! They are very important in case you or a friend have a wardrobe malfunction
Hand sanitizer: people have germs, so make sure to use some often, especially before eating.
Pads/Tampons: It’s nice to be prepared, and if you are a person who doesn’t get periods, it’s nice to help out a friend!
A copy of your script(s): It’s nice to go over before rounds, just to be sure!
Hoodie/Jacket: I don’t like to change right after rounds because of pictures, but I like to put on my hoodie on the bus usually. Especially if it is cold.
Blanket/Pillow: If I have extra room I like to bring a thin blanket just so I can be cozy and a pillow in case I need some naps
Headphones: don’t listen to music during rounds but do listen in between rounds!
Pre-prepared food: listen, tourney food can be very bad sometimes. If you meal prep, you know that you will have food that will for sure keep you energized. I think I’ll make a post about this later.
I’m answering all of the speech and debate asks
what’s your event?: Congress, Dramatic Interp, Informative, Oratory, and Impromptu!
what state do you compete in?: Utah
ever go to nationals?: Nah I'm only a sophomore
favorite tournament?: Marie Clegg jones memorial
debate crush?: Not really any! I used to scope out girls at tourneys but they would either suck a lot, live far away, or I would never see them again
least favorite debate person?: My team calls him salad fingers and he sucks
opinion on your coaches?: Our assistant coach just joined and idk he seems nice! My main coach is so resilient and awesome and I’ve really grown to respect her!
who’s your personal speech/debate goddess?: ugh idk, probably the girl who danced really well at state
any rivals? (schools, individuals?): my school has another school in our district that has a million people on their team and they are all crazy. Also the school I almost debated for.
event you wish you could do?: I’m wishing to do a duo but no one on the team wants to even touch interp so no
event you can’t stand?: Impromptu, even though I do it, I can’t stand it sometimes
any special rituals with your team?: Africa dance, milks, our school song
what do you do during down time during tournaments?: my friends and I are all real big on walking around the school/tourney place. You can see real cool stuff! Otherwise I usually just chill, eat, and cry.
best restaurant(s) to eat at after tournaments =?: we haven’t done it yet but I really want to start a tradition of eating at a local diner after tourneys.
favorite team (other than yours!): I won’t say the name but we played CAH with them a while ago and I just think they’re whole team is cool as hell
dream team to compete for (collegiate/high school) ?: don’t really have one, I don’t think I want to go collegiate
do you make friends easily at tournaments?: yes! I have some pals I love them!
opinion on forensics camp?: it seriously changed my life! It was so amazing and made me realize how capable and intelligent I really am! I think it should be more common for events like congress and extemp because it seriously was amazing!
are the non-neutrals (blue, red, etc) acceptable as suit colors?: I don’t wear suits but yes go wild
best college tournament? (harvard, gmu, yale, etc): idk if Marie Clegg counts but it was the only one I went to and it rocked
NFLs or NCFLs? Both? Any others?: Uhhh it’s called NSDA
is it NFL or NSDA to you?: see above
best place to practice: in my room
favorite place to buy a suit: again, don’t wear suits but if I did probably the art of the gentlewoman
opinions on heels?: wear them if you can walk in them! make sure to bring a pair of flats tho!
Cutting a Book/Play for an Interp 101
I love original cuttings of books and plays. They make for fantastic interps and have a lot more possibilities to be creative with. The only problem is that it can be difficult to figure out HOW to cut a longer work. If you get frustrated, that’s okay. I’m pretty sure I cried sometime while cutting a book for the first time. It’s a bit of a science that just requires a bit of practice. If middle schoolers can do it, you can too! Here goes…
Like actually read it. The entire thing. Not the sparknotes or any of that crap. To do this right, you have to read it all the way through without skipping anything.
grab one of those handy dandy plot organizer things that look like either a sideways weird lightning bolt if you squint or a pyramid. (example at the bottom) SHOUTOUT TO GAC-SSI AND MS. B FOR TEACHING ME THIS AGES AGO!
And use it. Write out the focal points of the lit.
Grab a pencil. DO NOT USE A PEN. ONLY USE PENCIL. WHEN CUTTING LIT PENS ARE A MORTAL SIN.
Go through the lit and [bracket] things that are important to the overall plot of the story.
Type it up.
Print it out.
Make sure you have the entire plot included. If not, go back through and try to find ways to put it back in
Read through it an a talking pace and time it. Just don’t spread it.
Save as “[title]_[abbreviated date]_[cutting number].*” Cut.** I can almost guarantee that it will be too long. I’ve done near to 10 interps and almost all of them were from long works like books or plays that I had to substantially cut.
Read through and time it again.
Cut.
Keep doing that until you’re all done. Honestly, it will probably be the longest part but that’s how you have to do it.
Always read through OUT LOUD for every cutting to make sure it follows a logical flow and has all of the key events.
After it is at the right time, cut 30 sec to a minute (or more if you want to move a lot) to allow for blocking out and an intro
Add the characters and blocking
You now have a 100% original interp that was beautifully done. Congrats!
*Example: TKAM_11615_5
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Date: November 6th 2015
Cutting Number: 5
**This way if you need to add stuff back later, you still have old copies and you can easily do this.
speech and debate asks
what’s your event?
what state do you compete in?
ever go to nationals?
favorite tournament?
debate crush?
least favorite debate person?
opinion on your coaches?
who’s your personal speech/debate goddess?
any rivals? (schools, individuals?)
event you wish you could do?
event you can’t stand?
any special rituals with your team?
what do you do during down time during tournaments?
best restaurant(s) to eat at after tournaments =?
favorite team (other than yours!)
dream team to compete for (collegiate/high school) ?
do you make friends easily at tournaments?
opinion on forensics camp?
are the non-neutrals (blue, red, etc) acceptable as suit colors?
best college tournament? (harvard, gmu, yale, etc)
NFLs or NCFLs? Both? Any others?
is it NFL or NSDA to you?
best place to practice
favorite place to buy a suit
opinions on heels?
Speech and debate is just a bunch of gays yelling at walls and arguing and I wouldn’t have it any other way
Debate Blog Intro
Name: Fiona grace
Age: 15
School year: sophomore, so class of 2021
Debate circuit: Utah, 5A Region 6
Events: mainly congress, but I also do dramatic interp, informative speaking (lol) and impromptu when I’m bored.
Goals for the season: I really want to be knowledgeable about all the legislation that I’m debating and hopefully have some speeches prepped too. I want to do congress at at least 5 tourneys, and my speech events at at least 5. I also want to help others succeed!
Some post ideas: I'll probably post some research tips, topic analyses, season updates, and just stuff that I want to remember/share!
URL: I chose my url to be @I-so-move because I love yelling it after reading legislation, it’s fun!
I’m excited to start this account! I hope I make some good friends and learn a lot!