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I think it would attract more students to the category! :)

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While decreasing the total number of stories might attract more students to this category, I also feel that decreasing by 1 category would not be that big of a change. I am in favor of keeping the 4 categories as that will allow greater flexibility.

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I also agree that many students shy away from Storytelling due to the need to prep 4 stories. Reducing this to 3 could increase participation.

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If we are concerned about lack of participation in this category because of perceived difficulty with 4 memorized stories, it would be more beneficial to consider dropping the requirements to one memorized 8-minute story. Students will not perceive much difference from memorizing 3 versus 4 and will therefore we should consider drastically lowering the requirements. Additionally, having one story gives more opportunity for depth and nuance in performance.

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I support any proposal to reduce the number of unique stories required. Most other states (and NSDA) don't require multiple stories. Memorizing 32 minutes of material is a ridiculous amount of work for a single event and definitely impacts the quality of these performances and the number of participants.

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I say we drop it to zero stories and get rid of this category.  Why are we trying to save a category that most students do not want to enter?  There are 17 others to choose from.

Seriously, this category has deteriorated so much from its original intention, it's ridiculous. It used to be like extemp or radio, in that a student would draw the name of a story, then have 30 minutes to prepare to tell it. Every year there would be a set of possible titles, all drawn from one gigantic anthology of stories. It was much more like actual "storytelling" instead of memorized solo acting in a chair.

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Will WHSFA be making the same change?  If not, that should be the first step in any changes made to the categories. Adam has done a great job of including the WFCA in their planning, and we should offer the same respect. The spontaneity of the topic has been severely reduced already, and by allowing either a choice or indicating a topic for the Power Round may either be more difficult to judge or may give some competitor an advantage.

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I'm in favor of staying at 4.  We reduced the category from 5 stories to 4, and the numbers didn't improve.  We changed the story order from random judge pick to pre-determined schedule.  The numbers didn't improve.  Going down to 3 just diminishes the category, and we won't get many new entries.

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I'm in favor of staying at 4.  We reduced the category from 5 stories to 4, and the numbers didn't improve.  We changed the story order from random judge pick to pre-determined schedule.  The numbers didn't improve.  Going down to 3 just diminishes the category, and we won't get many new entries.

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I don't think it's the approximate memorization that is keeping this small. I judged this a few times last year, and most of the participants were double/trip entries, so those students certainly weren't intimidated by learning several different entries.

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In my role as an NSDA Board member, I proposed a deep investigation into the pedagogy underlying all the NSDA competitive events/categories, so the Board (and any committees appointed therefrom) would have a frame of reference for future rules proposals, evaluation criteria, judge training, understanding of educational outcomes for advocacy with school administrators, etc.; rather than making decisions in a constantly arbitrary manner.  A robust and diverse ad hoc committee prepared documents on learning outcomes for each category from a 21st Century Skills framework (since that provides a way of thinking about various learning facets respected fairly universally), including categories that are supplemental, consolation, and middle level. Storytelling is one I personally collaborated on (with Debbie Simon from MA and Chris Wardiner from CA), as someone with some training on it from a theatrical standpoint, as well as from a State that offered it as a regular category.  I have pasted our findings below.  That is all to say I believe we (collectively, as a Wisconsin community of interscholastic Speech coaches and educators) need to be careful to not simply conflate Storytelling as Prose, and should consider a "bigger picture" of what makes the category unique.

NSDA PEDAGOGY PROFILE: STORYTELLING

Critical Thinking

Research and analyze the story, point(s) of view, and cultural background(s).

Relate the story to be told to relevant life experiences to find personal meaning

Discern and outline the story plot structure.

Ascertain perspective/point-of-view of storyteller and reason for telling the story, and the intended audience.

Determine a chronological sequence to create a coherent, unified narrative

Able to demonstrate the work’s movement and development and transfer written word into the oral tradition.

Communication

Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral and nonverbal communication as appropriate for a particular space and audience.

Bring narrative to life with emotion, physical gesture, movement/blocking and engagement with the audience that are natural and feel spontaneous without appearing rehearsed

Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes, and intentions

Be mindful of language and delivery appropriate for – and sensitive to – the intended audience for a story, various cultures, creeds, etc.

The performer will identify their intended emotional impact and consider pacing, word choice, and other strategies for affecting their audiences.

Able to communicate eye to eye with each audience member

Learn and prepare a personal version of the story by memory or spontaneously.

Collaboration

Create a palpable connection emotionally and intellectually between the teller and the audience.

Adapt feedback from judges, coaches, and peers for insights and/or alternative interpretations of the selection.

Creativity

Creation of Narrator/Teller:

Create a believable and conversational narrative/storytelling point of view.

Lead the audience to and through all the important details in the story’s journey.

Display consistent attitudes toward people, events in the story.

Share, foreshadow, and highlight figures of speech and illustrate and visualize the world of the story

Creation of the Characters

Create distinct voices, personalities, attitudes, and faces consistently maintained.

Show feelings, ideas, and actions by characters through the use of voice, face variety, eye expression, and appropriate intensity.

Place objects and other characters in the room when contextually appropriate through sustained focal points, e.g., the window is to the right, the door to the left, etc.

References:
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2013/10/rives-collins-on-storytelling/

https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/making-storytelling-connection

http://www.ijea.org/v2n1/

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED457088.pdf