Greater Tuna

Abbey placed 3rd at the Sedalia Middle School Forensics Tournament last Friday night for her performance of "Greater Tuna." Actually, she has placed somewhere between 2nd place and 4th place in every tournament this spring, with the exception of one...and it was later found that there was a mix-up with whomever was tallying points from the scoring sheets--she would have advanced to finals had it not been for the error.

What is Forensics, you ask? Great question! Its basically competitive acting. The kids each participate in one or more events...including things like Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Improvisation, Duet Acting, etc. Abbey's event is Humorous Interpretation, or "HI" for short. She participates in 2 rounds to qualify for finals, and then a final round to determine 1st-6th place winners. A "Round" means performing an 8 minute segment from a play for a judge. One at a time, each student walks to the front of the room, writes his or her name, school code, and title on the blackboard and then stands there, nervously waiting for the Judge to look up and say he is ready. The student performs his or her piece while the judge writes comments on a scoring sheet. The judge's feedback is later shared with the student so that she can work on making improvements before the next tournament. The night is wrapped up with an award ceremony, typically held in the school gymnasium. Winners receive ribbons or trophies in front of about 200 students who participated in the tournament. Students from each school whoop and holler in excitement as winners from their own school are announced. The excitement culminates into a final announcement for which school will take home the large 1st place trophy. This season, Moreland Ridge has taken 1st place at every tournament.

Middle School Forensics has been a terrific experience for Abbey and her theatrically-inclined friends. "Down" time between rounds is spent talking with friends and meeting kids from other schools in the metro area who share common interests.

I know what you're thinking... "Karen, why didn't you post a video tape of this event on your blog?" This too is a great question. I reluctantly have not taped any of these performances at Abbey's request. I protested her request on behalf of friends, family, and posterity...I gave it my best shot. But she said she absolutely did not want her performance to be recorded :-(

If you feel passionate about seeing Abbey perform "Greater Tuna" there is still one more opportunity remaining at the Belton tournament this coming Friday night. Call me for details!