What you should expect to get out of this event:

1. You will enjoy some very good literature, making it "yours" in a special way.
2. You will enjoy coming to understand and appreciate what makes it good.
3. You will enjoy sharing your story and your insights with audiences.
4. You will learn greater control of your voice and body, making both more expressive.
5. You will learn self-control and poise under pressure.
6. You will learn to become a better observer of the word around you, as you stay alert for clues that will make you a better interpreter.
7. You will come to a better understanding of yourself, as you search your own experience to help you understand and convey your chosen reading.
8. You will learn to "control a room" with your performance.
9. You will learn a lot by watching excellent interpreters.

Special features of this event in competition:

PRO usually has the most entries in every tournament. That means it is very competitive, with many experienced and highly skilled speakers. Sometimes PRO requires semi-final rounds, while other smaller events go straight to finals.

What you will do to become competitive in this event:

Initial preparation: about 3 weeks

1. select the Prose event (2-3 days)
2. find a good piece of prose literature (1-2 days)
3. rough cut to approach time limit (1 day)
4. type onto computer disk (1 day)
5. final cut to about 7-8 minutes (1 day)
6. print-out into competition book (1 day)
7. preliminary analysis of material (2-3 days)
8. early rehearsals (4-5 days)
9. compose introduction and transitions (brief!)
10. polishing rehearsals (4-5 days)

Between-tournament preparation:

1. Possible recutting to improve selection or timing
2. Possible revision of introduction and transitions
3. Continuing analysis and rehearsals

Hints for finding material:

Book collections of short stories are often good sources for prose readings. Find a book of short stories, look at the table of contents to locate the shortest ones (the fewest pages - the less cutting necessary, the better), then look at those stories to see if any interest you and would make a good reading. Other good sources are current magazines, like the New Yorker, that publish short prose pieces. Page through the past year's issues, find the short stories, and see if any interest you. Sometimes excellent cutting can be pieced together from longer works, like novels - see if you can select just those places that carry one strong thread of the story.