IHSA Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - 2005-06

Speech Advisory Committee

April 4, 2006

The IHSA Speech Advisory Committee met at the IHSA Office, Bloomington, Illinois, on Tuesday, April 4, 2006, beginning at 10:00 a.m.   Committee members present were:    Carol Harms, Belleville (East); Tom Dzurison Oak Lawn (Community); William Colson, Chicago (Morgan Park); Rino Della Vedova, Rock Island; Connie Link, Heyworth; Joyce Hubbard, Lincoln.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

I.        Debate
            Recommendation:  No recommendations at this time.

II.        Drama/Group Interpretation

1.         Item X – B- Awards - State Final

            Recommendation: ONE INDIVIDUAL medal shall be awarded to the best of show in drama for technical elements:  Set, sound, lighting, and costume/make-up.

            Rationale:  This award would be in conjunction with the recommendation to nominate the Best in Show at State Drama for the technical and staging elements.

Item 1 Died for Lack of Motion

2.         Items X – C –Awards - All-Contest Casts

            Recommendation:  At the State Final, any student whose name appears on a minimum of four (4) nomination ballots shall be named to the All-State Cast and Crew. 
             Rationale:  3 nominations will remain at the sectional level for student recognition, however 4 nominations at the state level allows for more prestige of this honorary cast in both Drama and Group Interpretation. Additionally, members of the crew may also be nominated for All-State Cast at Sectionals and State.  This may include set and technical elements: sound, light, and costume/make-up nominations. 

Item 2 Approved

3.         Items X – D - Awards – Best of Show for Drama
            Recommendation:   Judges at the State Final shall nominate a best of show for set and technical elements: sound, lighting, and costume/make-up.  Any Drama that receives four (4) nominations shall be names Best of Show for State Drama. 
            Rationale:     The students who perform the technical elements for Drama need to be recognized.

Item 3 Died for Lack of Motion

III.       Individual Events 

 1.        Item VIII- Tournament Rules (Pull-out Section)
            Recommendation:  Impromptu Speaking (in the pullout section) Material:  Topics shall be chosen from the following categories: Quotations, Words and Phrases, and Proverbs.   
             Rationale:    This recommendation would eliminate any students drawing a name of a person that they are not familiar.        

Item 1 Approved

ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS:
1.         The IHSA will develop subcommittees to work on an editorial review of the debate terms and conditions.  With the development of 4 debate events and increased entries in debate this area of the speech rules book needs to be in alignment with the current tournament structure.  This committee will also work on a pull-out section for debate so both novice and veteran coaches can better navigate the basic rules of each debate event.  The committees will meet in the summer and interested parties need to contact Susie Knoblauch at the IHSA.
2.         The IHSA will review the site for the 2006-07 tournament series.  There is a possibility ISU (Stevenson Hall) may be under construction. Doug Jennings and the staff at ISU have done a tremendous job supporting the IHSA State Debate Tournament.  Future plans include better communication with the IHSA and ISU regarding parking for competing schools.  If construction impedes the IHSA from being at ISU, plans could involve hosting the event in another building at ISU, a member high school, or moving the date to week 38 and exploring the option of holding the IHSA state debate tournament at UIS (University of Illinois at     Springfield) with congress finals being held in the old state capital building. 
3.         The IHSA will explore developing an online process for registering debate, speech and drama-group interpretation judges.  This will help update the database of current judges in the state and be instrumental in       the process of judge assignment. Future plans may include an online registration system with the capabilities of a system to rate judges similar to what is used to rate officials.
4.         The IHSA will continue to make strides with the use of technology in providing information online for debate such as legislation, strike lists, key   dates and deadlines and all debate coach mailings to better communicate to the schools competing and for potentially interested schools to review.  This was the first year of online entries for debate and overall it was effective, especially for the manager.  Schools need to have better knowledge of the electronic entry process from both internal and external sources in their buildings.
5.         The IHSA will pursue returning to UIS for the state Drama/Group Interpretation Competition.  The overall comments/survey reports were positive and the site seemed to fit the needs of the competing schools.
6.         The IHSA will develop subcommittees to work on an editorial review of the Drama/Group Interpretation terms and conditions and qualifiers manual.  With moving to a new site, there are several things future communication in the rules book and manual need to address to maintain consistency with the tournament structure.  This committee will meet in the summer and interested parties need to contact Susie Knoblauch at the IHSA.
7.          The IHSA will develop a FAQ – (Frequently Asked Questions) link to the speech menu page so coaches can be updated with current interpretations.  This will help increase the communication with veteran         coaches and novice coaches as well.
8.         The storage space for group interpretation will be examined to increase for next year.  
9.         For IHSA Drama/Group Interpretation and Speech events, teams placing 6th through 1st will all be announced at all award ceremonies.
10.       The contact assignments of hired judges for State Drama and Group Interpretation and Speech will be made from the IHSA office.  By contacting and confirming judges through the state office, better     communication can be made to avoid any confusion with judging assignments.
11.       The IHSA will review rubric based judging criteria for Drama/Group Interpretation and Individual Events.   This will set the framework to develop a subcommittee to examine and review current judging standards and in addition to developing a plan to continue to move forward and create the best judging process possible for students and coaches.
12.       A subcommittee will review the Individual Events (PIR) section of the speech rules book this summer.  The goal is to clarify and cleanup an editorial revisions necessary to make the rules book as clear as possible.              Interested parties may contact Susie Knoblauch.
ITEMS OF GENERAL DISCUSSION

1.         Debate entries increased this year.  Several new schools entered this year for the first time.  Carol Harms, the state debate manager shared how pleased the debate tournament was to see a merchandise vender present.  It is predicted sales will increase each year as students become more aware of the merchandise. 

2.         There were concerns that Illinois needs to become more actively involved again in the topic writing – selection process.  Susie Knoblauch shared that the IHSA will appoint a representative to serve as the Illinois liaison at the annual NFHS Topic Selection Meeting.  The meeting will be held in Little Rock Arkansas in August of 2006. 

3.         A review of UIS was positive for the Drama/Group Interpretation State Tournament.   Additional discussion covered the GI space. 

4.         The Advisory Committee examined a recommendation to move towards rubric based judging for Drama/Group Interpretation.  In the current age of accountability, the focus needs to be on the criteria set to judge the skill  and not the style of performances.  The recommendation was tabled to allow for research and review.  A subcommittee will develop potential framework. 

5.         Discussion of how technology can continue to provide information to member schools (such as qualifiers manuals in Drama/GI) was reviewed. The committee was in favor of using the IHSA website – speech menu page to provide information to coaches.

6.         Discussion reviewed the concern that Drama/Group Interpretation is becoming an exclusive activity.  Ways to include more schools was discussed.  Concern also focused on cost and size of sets in addition to     elaborate costuming in group interpretation.  The committee felt that the judges are best to guide these trends and directors need to maintain the definitions and guidelines of Drama and Group Interpretation set in the IHSA rules book.

7.         Susie Knoblauch will send information to the Advisory Committee from the Illinois Arts Alliance for committee members to share with their respected divisions.

8.         Discussion over multiple characters in Duet Acting in individual events resulted in a plan to table the recommendation and survey the IE coaches. The result of the information gathered will best determine the direction the committee needs to go in regards to a recommendation.  The two presented were:
                        a.   Actors may play multiple characters in a balanced scene or
                        b.   A cutting may include the portrayal of only two characters.

9.         There has been a request by coaches to actively pursue generating a list through the IHSA of “pre-qualified” or “IHSA pre-approved” speech judges. The IHSA will also examine a process to assign judges to regional and sectional competitions.

10.       The IHSA and Advisory Committee thanked and complimented Oak Lawn Community High School for hosting such a wonderful state series in Individual Events.

11.       The IHSA thanked Carol Harms and Tom Dzurison for their service on the IHSA Speech Advisory Committee.  Openings are available for representatives from Division 2, 3, and 7.