Dramatic Interpretation (often shortened to "Dramatic Interp," "Drama" or just "DI") is an event in National Speech and Debate Association (and NSDA-related) high school forensics competitions. In the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association and the National Catholic Forensic League, the event is combined with Humorous Interpretation to create the Dramatic Performance event. It consists of a piece from any published work, edited to fit within a 10-minute span with a 30-second grace period (it does not have a minimum and cannot be above 10:30).^[1]

In a typical round of DI, five to seven performers will each perform a "cutting" (excerpt) from a readily available, published (copyrighted or non-copyrighted) play, novel, or short story. As the name suggests, the cuttings are invariably from non-comedic (e.g., dramatic) works. Some performers select monologues, others may adopt the roles of many different characters, changing their tone, manner, and the position of their body to indicate a change in character.

After all of the competitors have performed, the judge (or judges) in the round will rank them from best to worst, and assign each of them a score. Contestants who score well will "break" out of preliminary rounds and continue to advance through octo/quarter/semi/final rounds if they continue to score well.

National Speech and Debate Association Nationals was hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2016. National Champions are awarded a scholarship of US$1,000.^[2] To receive the title a competitor must have the lowest cumulative score throughout the duration of the tournament. The Dramatic Interpretation competitor to receive the lowest cumulative score in the final round is awarded the BAMA Bowl and a US$500 scholarship.^[3] The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world.^[4][5][6]

Dramatic Interpretation falls under the jurisdiction of events under the category defined as “Interpretation” by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). These events are Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Program Oral Interpretation. Events that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the following rules include, but are not limited to Poetry, Prose, and Storytelling. The National Speech and Debate Associations rules are organized into categories of length, material, material availability, performance, re-use, and website approval submission process.^[7]

The set time limit is ten minutes with a thirty-second period in which a student may go overtime with no penalty, colloquially referred to as a 'grace period.'According to National Speech and Debate Association rules, a student who exceeds the ten minute and thirty-second time limit cannot be awarded the rank of 1st in the round. There is no minimum time limit.^[8]

A student may choose from a single work of literature to perform. Acceptable forms of literature include:^[9]

• Novels
• Plays
• Anthologies where only one piece of literature is performed
• Poetry
• Song lyrics

In Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Humorous Interpretation performers are not permitted to use any type of "physical objects or costuming."^[10] In addition, students may not:

• Adapt material for purposes other than transitional. Controversially, sub-point 5. An under Interpretations on the National Speech and Debate Association Manual has been used to disqualify national finalist and national champions during and after the final round at National Speech and Debate Association Nationals. (See Humorous Interpretation (Contestant H208))
• Rely on the use of scripts.

Students may not perform the same work of literature at any National Speech and Debate Association tournament if they have already done so in a separate contestant year.

All piece selection is subject to online year-round review.

In intercollegiate forensics, a competitor may use one or more theatrical scripts to craft a dramatic narrative involving one or multiple characters.^[11] The dramatic material can originate from a variety of sources, ranging from stage, screen, to radio.^[12] Unlike dramatic interpretation performances at the high school level, collegiate competitors are required to use a manuscript throughout their performance.^[13]

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 tournament was canceled, resulting in no champion.^[14]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 tournament was canceled. However, the NFA permitted competitors in their senior year to submit recordings of their speeches for an asynchronous competition. The top performing student in each category was ranked as the Performance of Highest Distinction.^[15] The Performance of Highest Distinction in Dramatic Interpretation was awarded to Trijae from Bradley University.^[16]

• Duo Interpretation
• Humorous Interpretation
• National Christian Forensics and Communications Association
• National Forensic League
• National Speech and Debate Association

• Dramatic & Humorous Interpretation, Dramatic Performance