Forensics

 Lauren Coplan and Morgan Strobel, Forensics Coaches
[email protected], [email protected].

Forensics

What is Forensics?

Forensics is basically competitive speaking.

How do I know if Forensics is for me?
Do you like to talk? Do you like to hear yourself talk? Do you like to have other people hear you talk? If you answered "YES" to any one of these questions and are in the 5th grade or above, you are a prime candidate for Forensics!

What do you do in Forensics?
Students compete individually or in small groups in a category of their choice. In each category, contestants perform before a judge and compete against other performers. At the end of each tournament, they present awards for each category, and a single winning school who has the most wins.

How many people watch you when you compete?
You have on average five of your competitors in your category and a judge. That's it. No huge audiences. No lights. No cameras. That comes later when you graduate from college and become famous.

Can I choose my own material to present?
Yes, generally, you can choose the category that best suits your personality, as well as your performance piece. However, in order to cover as many categories as possible, the Coach may limit the number of students in certain categories and approve all performance pieces.

When does the team practice? When and where are the competitions? How long are the competitions? Cost?
Practice is held every Thursday from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, between August and March. The competitions are held about once a month at various schools in the Diocese.

Competition is from 8:30 PM until about 2:00 PM on a Saturday. Between competition rounds, students play board games or cards, watch plays, and even dance in the gym, or just bring your iSomething..

Each tournament has an entry fee of $8.00.

What schools participate?
We participate in the Nashville Diocesan League which consists of Christ the King School, Holy Rosary Academy, Overbrook School, St. Ann School, St. Bernard Academy, St. Edward School, St. Henry School, St. John Vianney School, St. Joseph School, St. Rose of Lima School. At Invitational Tournaments we also compete with other schools in the state. NOTE: Some of the diocesan schools offer Forensics as a required subject in their curriculum.

What are the benefits in joining the Forensics Team?
People who participate in Forensics go on to become successful in life. Forensics helps you to build self-confidence and poise, refines your acting and speaking skills, and enhances your communication skills.

Only nerds, geeks, and freaks compete in Forensics! Why would I want to join?
WOW . . . if that's what you think then don't read this list of famous people who were on their school's Forensics Team. (partial list here) You might be added to this list someday.

  • Nelson Mandela, the President of South Africa
  • Brad Pitt, actor
  • James Earl Jones, actor, the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars
  • Adam Sandler, comedian- actor, Saturday Night Live, and the movie "Bedtime Stories."
  • Michael Stipe, leader singer of the rock band, R.E.M.
  • Bruce Springsteen, rock star
  • Steve Buscemi, actor, in the movie "Armageddon"
  • Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain
  • Lee Iacocca, CEO, Chrysler Corporation
  • Dr. Henry Heimlich, inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver
  • There are thousands of others including presidents, attorney, senators, actors, comedians, CEO's of companies.

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Descriptions & Rules CLICK HERE (PDF)

Judging Before & After the Round - CLICK HERE (PDF)

Forensics Judging FAQ's – CLICK HERE (PDF)

Judging Tips - CLICK HERE (PDF)

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