Physical Looks and Speech

[airpezman]

1. Does being a "looker" help your chances of making final rounds?

2. Do you ever feel that Final Round Speechies tend to look "mature, attractive, and well groomed"....


There seems to be a relationship with "Good Looks" and Final Round Stage.

Any ideas?

PEZ

[theatrix04]

I think well groomed, professional,mature

however, some I have seen over the years have not necessarily been attractive.

I think talent and appearance both are important. Being a good looker or georgeous may not factor into it.

[nubian_lover]

It may help to be good-looking. Judges are probably going to pay more attention to someone who's not so hard on the eyes. That doesn't mean if you're hot you're automatically in finals, but it doesn't hurt your chances. (Unless maybe you are doing a piece about how ugly you are, and how everyone despises the way you look, but you actually can't act that well, so no one believes you, plus you're too hot to play ugly with bad acting. Then your looks might hold you back. :) )

[GlobalLlama]

It sure as **** ain't true with extempers.

Overall, looks don't hurt, but I doubt they ever decide a round.

[NFox]

The only thing looks help with is this:

If you are good looking, then there is more of to work out some "activities" with judges outside of rounds that should increase your chances of doing well while in the round. Of course it all still depends on your performance ;) .

Sorry, I couldn't resist a little innuendo.

If you can't help but be unattractive, It won't hurt your ranks. Now your in round conduct on the other hand...

Nick Fox

[TheDrinkNinja]

Perfect example- Natalie Sintek is not what you'd call a conventional looking girl, yet she won Nationals.

Talent outshines petty details like that.

[NeverRight]

Perfect example- Natalie Sintek is not what you'd call a conventional looking girl, yet she won Nationals.

Talent outshines petty details like that.

1. Natalie's look is androgynous, which I think helps her character pops. She can "sell" male or female. It's mostly talent, but there is an element of "apprearance" in there that helps. Maybe 10%?

2. Interpers that "look the part" have an advantage. A few years ago there was a HI finalist that was Indian...doing an Indian piece. Thats helps.

3. There is a Duo doing "Jane's Park" (took 2nd at Crestian) that LOOKS like the characters! They look exactly like the characters. That has to be a huge help.

4. To the moderator: Why was the thread titled "Natilie Sintek" removed from the HI section? Was there something "wrong" about it?

[justine]

I think the well-groomed and professional part of the original question is the most important. I don't think actual prettiness has much to do with anything, but how professional you look REALLY does.

[airpezman]

My only thought is that when you watch final rounds at nationals, these finalists tend to be "attractive". They are rarely plain or ugly. Why is this?


But, I agree. Professional and Mature helps big time....

I think if you are good and you look 40, this HELPS often (depending on the character)!

PEZ

[justine]

One more point, did anyone see Lydia Nelson's OO at nationals a couple years back? Because she was QUITE unatractive (I'm not insulting her, she knows it and her speech was even about it) and she made it to finals (I think).

Okay, that's all.

~Justine

[jman255]

Looks will not get you into finals, but they certainly do help.

[aibee90]

If all the finalists look attractive, my theory is maybe possibly they have an amazing self confidence and it shows, which is great

[Ryan]

One more point, did anyone see Lydia Nelson's OO at nationals a couple years back? Because she was QUITE unatractive (I'm not insulting her, she knows it and her speech was even about it) and she made it to finals (I think).

Heh. This year, Lydia's ADS included a part where she showed off her sexy body in a very Marilyn Monroe-esque way. It was awkward... but intentionally awkward - so it was funny.

[Cinderella]

One more point, did anyone see Lydia Nelson's OO at nationals a couple years back? Because she was QUITE unatractive (I'm not insulting her, she knows it and her speech was even about it) and she made it to finals (I think).

Heh. This year, Lydia's ADS included a part where she showed off her sexy body in a very Marilyn Monroe-esque way. It was awkward... but intentionally awkward - so it was funny.


I guess what we can learn from this is that the best interpers/orators use their looks (good or bad) to their advantage. You have to know what you can and can't get away with with YOUR body and YOUR face and use that knowlege when you choose your piece and develop your characters

[carl olson]

One more point, did anyone see Lydia Nelson's OO at nationals a couple years back? Because she was QUITE unatractive (I'm not insulting her, she knows it and her speech was even about it) and she made it to finals (I think).

Okay, that's all.

~Justine

Lydia came back to our teams dinner/celebration thingy, where she was inducted into the 'Sacred Heart Hall of Fame', and her speech was so great I almost cried. And her brother Joe, a freshman next year, is amazingly talented. Just wanted to say, I know the awesome lady!

[justine]

One more point, did anyone see Lydia Nelson's OO at nationals a couple years back? Because she was QUITE unatractive (I'm not insulting her, she knows it and her speech was even about it) and she made it to finals (I think).

Okay, that's all.

~Justine

Lydia came back to our teams dinner/celebration thingy, where she was inducted into the 'Sacred Heart Hall of Fame', and her speech was so great I almost cried. And her brother Joe, a freshman next year, is amazingly talented. Just wanted to say, I know the awesome lady!

You know Tom Finely AND Lydia Nelson! I must say I envy you a lot. But I get to meet Jeff Moscaritolo this summer at camp (he's my minor lab leader)! Oh, and yes I know I'm being stalker-ish, but in my mind these people are like celebrities.

~Justine

P.S. Random question: does Pike middle school filter into Sacred Heart? If it doesn't, which one does?

[carl olson]

Haha, celebrities. We can take pictures at speech camp and sell them to tabloids! They're both great people, and even better performing in person.

Sacred Heart has its own middle school, S.H.I.S. So, I get to go to their tournaments and judge. It's quite empowering, but you feel so guilty giving the 6.

[justine]

Haha, celebrities. We can take pictures at speech camp and sell them to tabloids! They're both great people, and even better performing in person.

Sacred Heart has its own middle school, S.H.I.S. So, I get to go to their tournaments and judge. It's quite empowering, but you feel so guilty giving the 6.

I judge tooo! Why haven't I seen you there? I judge for JCDS, not because I went there but because my friend did and they need extra judges so me and my sister judge for them.

I LOVE judging! ha hah ha! Have you heard about the novice tournament at CM next year? Juniors and Seniors with 2 or more years of experience can judge- I'm sooooo excited!!!!!!!

Oh, and looks are sort of important in speech- there that was on topic.

[carl olson]

Yeah, I'm speechy enough to read the MFL meeting minutes, so I know about that tournament. I don't know if we'll send any kids, but we've got a pretty good eighth-grade class coming up. We will dominate novice reading, how prestigous! But I'm so happy that we'll have a CX in extemp next year (Now I'm really off topic)

[tobnactress]

I'm so excited about the novice tournament. the only thing is, these are people you are competing with. so if you give someone a six just because they are rude in the round, they are competing with you the whole year. not like i've ever done that...

subconciously i think looks are somewhat important. I know someone like Natalie Sintek isn't your average beauty, but she has, if not any coverup, not much acne and her hair isn't frizzy. i think it does play a slight role.

[guest]

In my opinnion looks have never played that big a role in highschool speech. But if you plan on winning at the highest level, for instance the NFL tournament you'll have to be clean cut and safe. What do I mean by that? When you gaze over the final rounds especially in the non-interp events you'll see what I mean; kids that look like they came out of an Abrocrombie or American Eagle Outfitters calender.

[ssuhag]

Well groomed is a 100% yes. You cannot walk into a round dressed in a raggedy old suit with a stain on it, with bangs in your eyes and an oozing boil on your face. That is a given. No denying that.

As for attractive...no way. I don't believe for a second that beautiful people win. NO. Even at nats last year is wasn't that these people were beautiful, they were ordinary. I like how you guys used the word androgynous. They had this look about them that could change. And that isn't physical, it's mental. It is because of their performance that they were able to change themselves into the character they played.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you were model beautiful (girls, more so than boys) it hinders you if you play it up, unless this is part of your piece. It takes away from the performance and people never really connect with you as a person, they just stare at your hot bod and dream about jumping your bones. And yes, sometimes this does work with college kids who didn't do interp...a lot of ex-debators don't mind this haha. However, speechies who come back to judge don't just look at that. If you're bad, you're bad.

For boys, though, I would say that in some instances really attractive boys with strong jawlines and such seem to do better just because their facial expressions seem more defined. But unattractive boys do well, too. So, I don't think that being unattractive hurts you.

I would say that more than physical attractiveness it's how much confidence and how much grooming you've done that counts, what goes into your appearance. Not overdone, just looking modest and clean. I would say for a girl a suit that isn't tight (skirt knee length or below) with maybe a pearl necklace and pearl earrings, but nothing flashy and hair pulled back (none of that beauty queen overdone bun-curl bushes) neatly and sleekly. Everything ironed. And some eyeliner/mascara to define your eyes (not a lot, very very little) and foundation if you have some skin problems. As for boys, hair nice and neat and a clean ironed suit and tie.

[Josiahzacks]

I will give you that, as a competitor and a judge, I paid special attention to competitors who were physically gifted (shall we say), but that doesn't mean squat if you can't back it up. I got by just fine with my rather goofy head of curly hair because I was prepared, confident, and I brought it every round.

The one aspect of your appearance you CAN control is your dress. I'm not advocating some sort of financially-divided speech world where prada suits are prerequisite for success, but buy a suit, match your colors, and try to look like you thought about what you wore that day. People can claim speech has a sort of uniform, and that's probably true, but don't complain about being kept out of finals because of the way you dressed if you don't want to play by that particular set of rules.

The reason that, especially with men, the more mature looking competitors seem to do better, is that they have much more range for performance. Most plays are not written for 15 year old high school boys, and there can be a disconnect if those boys try to perform plays intended for 20-30 something actors. The more mature looking boys simply are more believable in a number of those roles. Does that mean you can't do a play with an older character for DI if you don't look it? Of course not, but you have to be more careful in your cutting and more skilled in your performance. As in the real entertainment world, good looks will let you get away with a lot, but talent is ultimately what gets you through.

[NFox]

I guess I'll pop back into this discussion because it is a very good one to have.

While you don't have to fit any particular aesthetic mold in order to win, you should be aware of what aesthetic mold you do fit into. Let me explain. If a sophomore guy comes out performing a DI about a crazed axe murderer in which we see the insanity, he'd better be able to look insane. When I was but a wee performer, I had a very young look. I had soft features, and a high voice (Which I still have). Taking the time to self analyze to realize how you are perceived in your every day encounters will go a long way towards you being able to find pieces that fit you better.

As a result of my self analysis, my first two years of interp were spent doing what I consider "cutesy" pieces...and you know what? I did well with them. There was no denying it. In freshman year, I was a little roly-poly meatball, who could have passed for a 9 year old if I wanted to. So what did I do? I did a piece about a boy, around 8 years old, who crossed the street for the first time all by himself. Would I be able to do that piece now? **** no, unless I did it as a very odd, Josh Gad-ian HI...and even then, it would not have the same effect on the audience.

As I progressed through high school (Read: Grew, lost weight, and my voice apparently changed) I was able to select pieces about a "regular guy" amongst crazy characters because my look would, and still does, allow me to play both extremes.

I judged a major tournament last semester, where I wrote "this piece doesn't seem to suit you" on at least three ballots, and I know it affected the way I ranked them. They may have been the best interpers in the room, but the disconnect between who I saw them as (All people make snap judgments like that, it is a survival mechanism) and who they tried to be in their pieces was just too great to overcome.

A little self analysis will go a long way in helping you find pieces just for you, which may very well help your rankings...at least while you're in the round with the large majority of the competitors out there, who just do pieces because they were told to, or because they are popular pieces.

As an aside: I will say that as a judge, by the time I am sitting there, staring at the ballots, trying to make my decisions, I very rarely remember what a competitor looks like (Unless I want to ask her out later), I go on how I was made to feel during the piece, how well each performer did, and how well they seemed to mesh with the piece.

Nick Fox

[Fazzie]

i always give hot girls 1s... no question