A section for spoken performance, from solo verse speaking to one-act plays, in which entrants choose their own material and are judged on how well they bring the words to life, entered by individuals in three school-age categories.
Speech and drama is the section of South Africa’s national eisteddfod for performance built on the spoken word. It is Part 9 of the festival’s prospectus, and the festival describes it as covering a wide range of categories, from solo verse speaking up to one-act plays. Two things in that public description shape everything else: the section provides for all of the country’s official languages, and all of the material is own choice. Nobody hands the entrants a set piece. The performer, or the teacher beside them, picks the poem, the prose passage or the scene, and the adjudicator judges how well it was chosen and how well it is spoken.
The best-known part of the section is solo verse speaking, and here the festival’s own approach is worth knowing. Since 2007 it has asked teachers and entrants to understand what kind of poem they are speaking. Poetry, it says, falls broadly into two families, narrative and lyrical, and each has its own forms. Its public page lists limerick, narrative, ballad, epic and free verse on the narrative side, and lyric, sonnet, ode, elegy and free verse on the lyrical side, while admitting that some poems fit more than one box. The practical point is that a ballad that tells a story asks for a different voice from an elegy that mourns, and the adjudicator expects the speaker to have made that choice on purpose.
The festival has also dropped the word “dramatised” from poetry and prose. Its reasoning is that an “undramatised” performance does not exist: whenever a person stands up and speaks a text to an audience, they are interpreting it. So a poem or a prose passage is simply performed, and the performer decides how much voice, movement and characterisation the text can carry. At the other end of the section, the one-act play moves from a single speaker to a scene with other actors, which on eTalenter is something your entry notice needs to spell out, because the template carries one Individual item.
A round is one short live performance in front of an adjudicator, who gives spoken and written feedback. The festival describes itself as a non-competitive, developmental platform, so entrants are not ranked against each other. Each performance is rated against the level expected at that stage of learning and translated into a Diploma, Gold, Silver or Bronze award, with a Junior Diploma for Grades 0 to 3. On eTalenter the item is a single Individual item, open to both genders, offered in three categories: Entry Level (Grades 0 to 3), Junior (Grades 4 to 7) and Senior (Grade 8 and above), in English. It is scored out of 100 on a working scale and sets no time limit, because the festival’s public pages publish neither a limit nor a marks scheme for this section.
Organisers add a speech and drama section because it needs almost nothing but a quiet room and a chair for the adjudicator, yet it gives a platform to the children who are not singers or dancers. It also suits mixed-language events, since the language of the piece is the entrant’s own. If you want duets, group verse or full plays as well as solo pieces, say so in your entry notice and consider adding separate items for them.
Where Speech and Drama is run
On eTalenter this item appears in one template, the one modelled on South Africa’s national eisteddfod, where it runs in all three entry categories. The own-choice rule, the narrative and lyrical approach to verse, the three categories and the feedback-first awards are that festival’s own. Spoken-word classes are among the most widely run competition classes in schools and arts festivals, usually under names such as verse speaking, poetry recitation, solo drama or public speaking, so use this page as a description of one festival’s section and write your own rules into the entry notice.
- South Africa
Key facts
- An Individual item in the template, open to both genders, in English, offered in the Entry Level (Grades 0 to 3), Junior (Grades 4 to 7) and Senior (Grade 8 and above) categories
- The festival’s public description: categories from solo verse speaking up to one-act plays, in all of the country’s official languages, with all material own choice
- The festival groups poetry as narrative (limerick, narrative, ballad, epic, free verse) or lyrical (lyric, sonnet, ode, elegy, free verse), and notes that a poem can sit in more than one group
- The festival no longer uses the label “dramatised” for poetry and prose, on the view that an undramatised performance does not exist
- The festival rates each performance against the level expected at that stage rather than ranking entrants; awards are Diploma, Gold, Silver and Bronze, with a Junior Diploma for Grades 0 to 3
- The template scores out of 100 on a working scale and sets no time limit; time limits and category rules are in the registration-gated prospectus, so state them in your entry notice
- Idea, not a rule: ask each entrant to say on the entry form whether the piece is narrative or lyrical, so the adjudicator knows what the speaker is aiming for
On eTalenter, Speech and Drama is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Speech and Drama is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.
What judges look at in Speech and Drama
What a Speech and Drama panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Voice and speech: clear, audible words, a voice that carries to the back of the room without shouting, and pace and pauses that follow the sense of the text
- Understanding of the text: the speaker should clearly know what the poem or passage means, and the performance should show whether it is telling a story or expressing a feeling
- Interpretation: choices of tone, emphasis and mood that suit the kind of piece, so that a ballad sounds like a story being told and an elegy sounds like grief held back
- Characterisation and physical expression: movement, gesture and facial expression that serve the words and stay in proportion, with nothing added just to look busy
- Choice of material: a piece that suits the performer’s age, voice and experience, and says something to an audience, scores better than a difficult piece the performer cannot yet carry
- Memory and control: secure lines, a recovery that does not break the mood if a word is lost, and a clear start and a finish that is held before the performer relaxes
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Speech and Drama under Scoring Setup, or start from drama and skit judging criteria.
How to prepare for Speech and Drama
How entrants and their teachers usually get Speech and Drama right on the day:
- Choose the piece by reading widely, aloud, and keep the ones that still sound good on the third reading; if it is a poem, decide whether it is narrative or lyrical before anything else
- Write the meaning in plain words: one sentence for what happens in the piece and one for how the speaker feels about it, and check every later choice against those two sentences
- Mark the script with breaths and pauses, then underline the one word in each line that carries the sense, and practise saying the line with that word leading
- Learn the text until it can be said without thinking, then add the performance in layers: voice first, then face, then any movement, so that none of them hides the words
- Practise in the kind of room the event uses, with a listener at the back who can say whether every word arrived, and record a run-through each week to hear the pace
- Keep movement small and motivated; a single clear gesture at the right moment is stronger than constant action, and a still performer can hold a room
- On the day, walk on, take a breath, and wait a beat before the first word; at the end hold the last line and the stillness before you leave
- After the day, read the written comments together and pick one thing to fix first, usually either clarity of speech or the shape of the interpretation
Ready-made event templates that include Speech and Drama
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Eisteddfod of South Africa (NEA) | On Stage | Marks | 3 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Speech and Drama judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What does the Speech and Drama section cover?
The festival’s public description says it covers a wide range of categories, from solo verse speaking up to one-act plays, in all of the country’s official languages. The detailed rules for each category are in the registration-gated prospectus, so on eTalenter this is a single Individual item and your entry notice should say what you accept.
Do entrants choose their own poem or scene?
Yes. The festival states that all material in the section is own choice. If you want a prescribed text, you need to set it yourself in the entry notice.
What is the difference between narrative and lyrical poetry?
The festival’s approach to verse speaking divides poems into two broad families. Narrative poems tell a story, and the festival lists limerick, narrative, ballad, epic and free verse here. Lyrical poems express a feeling or thought, and it lists lyric, sonnet, ode, elegy and free verse. Some poems could be placed in more than one group.
Why does the festival not use the word “dramatised”?
It says the idea of an “undramatised” performance does not exist, because anyone who speaks a text to an audience is interpreting it. Poetry and prose are therefore just performed, and the performer decides how much voice and characterisation the text can bear.
Will the adjudicator rank the performers and announce a winner?
Under the festival’s own approach, no. Performers are not compared with each other; each performance is rated against the level expected for that stage and the adjudicator gives feedback. If your event wants placings, use the 100-mark scale on eTalenter and say so in your notice.
Want the full judging picture? Read drama and skit judging criteria, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Speech and Drama in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Speech and Drama, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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