Frequently Asked Questions

 

If this is forensics, where are the dead bodies?

Most people have only heard the word "forensics" associated with coroners or with scientists who work in police labs.  When we call our speech team activities by that term, it's natural that confusion arises.  Actually the word "forensics" comes from ancient Greece where the term was applied to speeches made to convince a group of people who would make a judgment based on the arguments and evidence presented in the speech.  The definition "speaking for judgment" still applies to the word today.  Hence coroners or police specialists do tests or postmortems, reporting results to a judge in a court of law--and our forensic team members speak before speech experts acting as judges at intercollegiate tournaments.  All are engaged in the activity of "speaking for judgment" but in vastly different contexts.

For us, Forensics is the competitive speech and debate team that represents Moorpark College at tournaments throughout the region and country.

 

 

So what's in it for me?

Forensics participation is a marvelous opportunity to expand your present speech skills and to develop new ones.  A glance at any current business textbook will verify that communication skills are rated among the most important abilities that a company looks for in hiring an employee.  Even technical personnel, like engineers, are expected to be excellent communicators as well as competent professionals.  The inability to communicate clearly could stifle your future career and advancement. 

Forensics provides you with a chance to become more skilled as a communicator and also to develop your self-confidence.  That aura of assuredness is a big plus in interviewing and in presenting yourself and your ideas to others in many other situations.  Plus, forensic experience looks great on a resume!

Please don't get the idea that forensics skills are applicable only in the business world.  Many of our students have gone on to legal careers, to teaching careers, and to careers in the dramatic world to mention just a few other possibilities.  The scope of forensics activities is so varied (we'll discuss that scope later) that forensics has something for almost everyone.

Some famous people you probably know about have found forensics competition to be an invaluable asset to their careers.  Some of those people are Josh Gad, Jared Padalecki, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) Burt Reynolds, Bette Midler, Jane Pauley, Barbara Jordan, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, and John Belushi.  Actress Shelley Long told TV Guide that forensics was the best career preparation she had experienced.

 

 

What does it take?

The first thing we'd like you to do is be sure you're signed up for Forensics (SPCH 10A, 10B, 10C, or 10D).  First semester students generally sign up for 10A, second semester students for 10B and so on.  If neither of the sections in A, B, C, or D is a "match" with your school schedule, see us and we can arrange an alternative section. 

Now as to how much work you'll be doing during the semester, the answer is that the benefits of forensics are in direct proportion to the effort you expend in preparing for and being involved in tournaments.  Those who work steadily and with coaching assistance tend to be the ones standing at the front of the auditorium when the gold awards are announced at our State and National tournaments. 

From the time you get involved with forensics, we expect that you'll be meeting with one of the coaches at least once a week. That way we can guide your progress and keep you from making errors that may waste time and frustrate you.

 

 

How to Join?

Joining the team is very simple.  All you have to do is sign up for COMM M10A or email Rolland Petrello if you have more questions first.  The team is open to all Moorpark College students and no auditions are required.

 

 

Why do you call the team MoFo?

This is an abbreviation of Moorpark Forensics.  The label was actually coined by one of our team members in 2004 when he quipped that the team was MoFo ’04 (the ‘r’ was silent).  Since then, it is a label that has been eagerly embraced by team members and alumni.

 

 

What are the different events?

There are four categories of events: Debate, Public Address, Limited Prep, and Oral Interp.

Debate

This probably the event that most people associate with Forensics.  We actually participate in three different types of debate:

  • Parliamentary Debate – In Parliamentary debate, a team of two students are given 20 minutes to prepare to debate a topic that may be drawn from current events, pop culture, philosophy, etc…
  • IPDA Debate – This form of debate is very similar to Parliamentary debate except that it is one on one debate and students are given 30 minutes to prepare to debate their topic.
  • Lincoln Douglas – This form of debate is also one on one.  However, there is a single topic for the entire year that we research and prepare a variety of arguments on both sides of the topic.  The topics are focused on discussions of policies around contemporary issues that we face.

Public Address

These are the events where students research, write, and deliver speeches that serve a variety of purposes.  There are four events in this category:

  • Persuasive Speaking -  For those of you interested in developing your ability to convince other people, this event allows you to focus on a problem in society which is both unique and significant. 
  • Informative Speaking -  The focus of this event is to inform the audience about something they do not know.  This can be anything from a new medical/technological breakthrough to something more philosophical in nature.
  • Speech to Entertain -  For those of you who are budding comedians, here's a chance to develop a speech designed to entertain while also making a "serious" point.  It is not a stand up comedy routine.  It is an organized presentation aimed at developing a central theme through the use of humor. 
  • Communication Analysis -  The purpose of this event is to analyze a communication event or phenomenon (drawn from media, advertising, politics, social movements, etc…) and to draw some conclusions as to its effectiveness using the theories of an expert in the field.

Limited Preparation

While the name suggests there may not be as much work involved, it only means preparation in the moment.  The two events in this category develop your ability to speak more ‘off the cuff’.

  • Impromptu Speaking -  Impromptu is a challenge for those who want to learn to think on their feet.  You'll be trained by your coaches to prepare a fully organized speech from a choice of three topics in two minutes or less.  After the prep period you'll speak for approximately five minutes. 
  • Extemporaneous Speaking - Here's another challenge for those of you who want to learn to prepare a speech quickly and who are analytical and well informed about current events.  You'll be given a choice of three current events questions with thirty minutes to prepare a well-evidenced, well-structured speech of seven minutes on one of those topics. 

Oral Interpretation

The easiest way to describe the events in this category is acting with more rules.  You will have a chance to develop characterizations and emote all sorts of feelings, but you will do so without props and with only limited movement, since you are required to hold a manuscript. In most of these events, you will be preparing a solo performance.  These events are primarily categorized by the type of literature being performed.

  • Drama Interp – This event draws from plays or screenplays as its source.  While monologues are very common in this event, performers often play more than one character.
  • Poetry Interp – Most of our familiarity of this event comes from the slam poetry you’ve seen on YouTube.  While that is similar to this event, a performer often includes several poems on a common theme in their performance.
  • Prose Interp – This is the category that includes all of the literature that does not fall into one of the other two categories.  Most often this is short stories, novels, autobiographies, etc…
  • Programmed Oral Interpretation of Literature (P.O.I.) -  This event combines the previous sources of literature around some sort of theme. 
  • Duo Interp -  At last, a slightly different event.  Again, interpretation ("acting" with manuscripts) is required, but in this event two people perform a scene, or scenes, usually from a play or screenplay. 
  • Interpreters' Theatre -  Here's an event which all "Interpers" dream of participating in.  A script of 25 minutes length using 3 or more performers is developed from a single source, or from a collage of many literary forms. This includes limited costuming, sets, singing, and blocking.