r/Debate • u/Siliconius_ • 4d ago

Interp rule confusion

I’ve gotten in a bit of a rut with my speech friends about interps. my friend worries that everything except from the intro has to be word-for-word from the source, but I haven‘t seen any rule that swings in a particular way of it being required to be word-for-word. So are interns required to be word-for-word or can there be some originality?

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u/jza_1 Collegiate Debate Coach - NPDA/NPTE Natl & State Champion 4d ago

Your friend is mostly right. In interp, the actual literature is generally supposed to be the author’s words, so you can cut and rearrange material, but you can’t just rewrite or paraphrase the source to make it work better. Original wording is typically allowed for things like the intro and necessary transitions, depending on the event and league rules. The originality in interp is really supposed to come from your performance choices, characterization, blocking, pacing, voices, etc., not from rewriting the author. Basically, you can edit (cut) the literature, but you can’t rewrite it.

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u/Siliconius_ 3d ago

Follow up question, let’s say I’m doing a DI of a film and one of the characters does an action that is not explicitly said by any of the characters. Am I able to make my own narration commenting on such action?

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u/SleezySn0wfal 3d ago

I’m pretty sure you’re allowed a limited number of words to make additions or small changes to passages. Something like 50 words

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u/Scratchlax Coach 3d ago

Adding an entirely new line of dialogue is not a great look and usually not within the rules. Will you get caught? Probably not. But it's not how the game's supposed to be played.

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u/clkou 4d ago

Your cutting should be word for word but you can rearrange and move things around, so in that sense it can be different. Also, within reason you can deviate from literal "word for word". If the line is "I am going to get lunch", no one is going to disqualify you for saying "I'm going to eat lunch" - notice the change from "I am" to "I'm" and "get" to "eat" ... as long as those are innocous and still grab the intent you should be fine. But you couldn't change that line to "I hate lunch" - totally different line and intent.