SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Dear Coach: Sorry to send another invitation, but we made a major change and wanted to bring that to your attention. We have decided to add a second division to the tournament. The JV division will be for middle school and first-year (novice) high school competitors. Any experienced high school students should enter the OPEN division. As long as entries warrant, we will offer competition in both divisions. If necessary, divisions may be collapsed for preliminary, but then separated for elimination rounds. If you do not coach a middle school program, please consider forwarding this information to those in your area who do.

We are cordially inviting you and/or your students to participate in The MASQ (Making Art while Socially Quarantined) hosted by The Perfect Performance, LLC. The MASQ Virtual Regional #1 will take place the first weekend of December of 2024 and Regional #2 will be in early February of 2025.

The MASQ originated in 2020, when Covid made in-person tournaments an impossibility. This asynchronous tournament format has been quite popular, resulting in us continuing to offer it as an alternate or addition to your current live competition schedule. Having students videotaping their performances is an important educational tool and this competition provides an opportunity to submit those videos and get critiques from a nationwide panel of experts.

There are no qualification pre-requisites for a student to enter this tournament. This competition is open to all middle and high school students, provided your state association permits online and national competition. We will offer two divisions: the JV division will be for middle school and first-year (novice) high school competitors. Any experienced high school students should enter the OPEN division. As long as entries warrant, we will offer competition in both divisions. If necessary, divisions may be collapsed for preliminary, but then separated for elimination rounds.

The MASQ is designed to give competitors a competitive digital experience with competitive costs and no judge requirements. This competition will serve as a qualifier for the NIETOC national competition next May. For the eight NIETOC events within the OPEN division, finalists will receive an automatic qualification and semifinalists/quarterfinalists will earn a bid if entries warrant in each event.

Each student must submit a single-take (non-edited) videotaped performance in one or more of the following events: Declamation, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Program Interp, Original Oratory, Informative, Prose, Poetry, Duet Acting, Duo Interp and Extemp. Students can enter as many events as they wish. For all events except Extemp, the same video will be used for all rounds of competition. Extempers will submit two videos – one for prelims and a second video to be used for ALL elimination rounds.

Fees are $40 per event and a $150 per school judging fee (schools do not have to provide any judges as all judges will be hired by the tournament). All entries are due by December 2. A late fee of $15 per entry will apply to those added before December 5th, after which no entries will be accepted. Payments (or proof of payment) are due by December 6. Unpaid entries after Dec 6 will be dropped from the competition. Entry fees are non-refundable. Invoices will be sent on asap after that, with a link to pay via Quickbooks. This will allow you to pay via credit card, Apple pay or direct via bank transfer. There will also be a Venmo option if you wish to use that.

We are planning for three preliminary rounds, semifinals (if entries warrant) and finals. Performances will be judged and critiqued by a nationwide panel of experts who specialize in forensics and theatre. Electronic ballots (with videotaped performances embedded) will be used and educational critiques will be provided to the students immediately following the competition. Students are not required to be present for any part of the tournament.

Planned awards include trophies, medals and masks. The top three teams will receive trophies.

REGISTRATION STEPS:

Confirm receipt/acceptance of legally binding document. Coaches registering multiple students will be sent directions for how to do this for each individual.

Submit your entries in each of the various categories.

Provide piece information (titles/topics)

Click on Current Invoice in order to pay fees electronically.

Record and upload video (Because it will not allow you to advance without adding information, we recommend adding the words ‘PENDING’ here until you are able to provide the final video clip link.)

Once all steps are completed and verified for every entry, your participation will be officially approved and you will receive a confirmation email. Any missing steps will appear on the Registration Page as a ‘Not Yet Approved’ statement in red.

Details regarding our events, schedule, rules and video submission procedures are also available under the ‘Files for Download’ feature of our SpeechWire tournament page.

Questions regarding registration should be directed to Matt Heimes, Tournament Manager, at mheimes@lps.org or by texting/calling 402-310-4153.

Sincerely,

Demond Wilson

Owner & Founder, The Perfect Performance, LLC