drama competition set for shs

By Kim Steele

SEYMOUR – Seymour High School is hosting its first drama tournament that will bring at least four area high schools together for a day-long competition.

The drama tournament, which is open to the public and will feature four rounds of competition, will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat., Jan. 10, at the school, located at 732 Boyds Creek Highway.

“We were going to have a debate tournament, but we were put on the tournament circuit too late and our school is small,” said Danielle Trainer Smallwood, an English teacher and the high school’s drama and debate coach.

“We don’t have the classrooms for a debate tournament right now, but we hope to have one in the fall at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. And we hope to be on the debate tournament circuit at the start.”

Trainer said four schools have committed to the drama competition – Sullivan East High School, Maryville High School, Cookeville High School and Jefferson County High School. Another high school may join the lineup by the time of the tournament.

About 150 students are expected to participate in the drama competition, Trainer said. Seymour High School will send 30 students, but they won’t be able to compete because they are from the host school, she added.

Categories for the competition are original oratory, which is an original, truthful speech; prose, featuring a section from a published work; and poetry and dramatic interpretation, both without costumes or props.

Other categories are humorous interpretation, from a published work; duo interpretation, with limited movement and no props; impromptu duet, where partners are each given a card describing a character, setting and situation, then without conversing beforehand, act out the situation; and storytelling.

Trainer said she is looking forward to the competition and believes it will bring out some great local talent.