“I have to say a statement of God before I perform.”- Mushamir M.

“I imagine myself doing great.”- Ikumi M.

“I pretend I’m Obama, and I don’t even have to try and everybody will love it.”- Stephanie M.

ISM

“I just have fun. I look forward to talking about a danger they don’t think is a danger.”- Michi F.

“In terms of the rounds, I stay outside and try to relax.”- Lynn Y.

Lynn Y. from ISM

ISB

“For me, taking deep breaths and keeping my heartbeat down.”- Kareen O.

TAS

“My TAS people are in the audience, and it helps.”- Sarah C.

“Seeing people there gives me a conversational tone.”- Justin L.

Sarah C. and Justin L. from TAS

SAS

“The idea you’ve done it so many times. It’s pretty natural when I go up.”- Aisling L.

“I think of skiing.”- Zac N.

JIS

“I just try not to practice before the speech because it makes me more nervous.”- Sun Jin J.

“Laughing at each other’s speech.”- Monica M.

-Sarah

The Cultural Convention is an experience where students from various schools come together to compete, yet also ostensibly to share the knowledge that each one has to provide. Events range from Drama to Oral Interpretation and many require that students improvise on the day of the competition.

Original Oratory is different from others as it gives students the opportunity to explore an issue that they are interested in and expand their research to persuade the audience about the angle they chose. The speeches of the students must be within the limit of five to seven minutes, with a 30 second grace period in between.

In order to prepare for such an event, students should feel connected to their topic because the more passionate they are, the better the speech is. For example, ISKL student, Mushamir M.’s speech about society branding Muslims as terrorists for their faith and beliefs was very powerful. Mustafa highlighted the Muslim terrorists being only a small minority of the whole Muslim population and said they shouldn’t be judged for their skin, appearance, and religion. Mustafa himself is a Muslim, and throughout his speech he maintained enthusiasm and showed his strong opinions.

Mr. McAdam, the Oral Oratory coach from TAS said, “[Students] keep writing and then they practice [their speeches] and the other students give their feedback.” However, although the Original Oratory students are allowed to keep their notes in front of them, these students have been practicing their speeches for months, and they are already memorized.

Students are judged by the following sections: 65% for the content and 35% for the delivery. Interestingly, students keep their speeches animated, making jokes and funny remarks in between details to keep the audience interested and yet serious at the right times. As SAS student Aisling Leow commented, “I like making people laugh.”

Not all Original Oratory are fun and games. The delegates do face challenges, Mr. McAdam noted. He said the toughest part of the process is, “Keeping (the speech) under seven minutes.” Keeping a topic original and creative is probably one of the challenges, and although the OO students need to find one that they feel attached to, they need to remember to engross the audience.

Students greatly enjoy the opportunity to learn from each other. As Original Oratory delegate, Asling L.  said, “You can talk about something you’re really passionate about and the fact you’re convincing someone.”

-Sarah

Fast breathing, sweaty palms, and raging heartbeats could practically be heard as the emotions swirled around each Original Oratory finalist.

Here, in this room, a champion be chosen and as the anticipation in the audience grew, the judges prepared. As the seven delegates presented their speech, each student presented with such perfection that the audience became befuddled over who would win the gold.

Each candidate dazzled the audience with their unique brilliance. A frequent technique was the use of humor such as in SAS’s Aisling L.’s speech of heroism.  The whole audience chuckled in unison when she described Tiger Woods as a failed idol who held the idea of heroism from his supporters as she said, “When a Girl Scout came knocking on his door he bought eight whole boxes.”

Sung Jin J., a JIS representative, supported procrastination, stating, “People who goofed around on the Internet proved to be more efficient [as they] zone out a little to refresh their mind.”

IASAS student, Jasmine T. enjoyed Jung’s speech, “The last one, (the Procrastination) because it was funny and it had good evidence.”

Others chose an animated topic with a hook. For example, TAS student, Kris L.’s speech on illiteracy had an introduction that discussed the 2007 beauty pageant when Miss South Carolina was asked, “Why are 1/5 of Americans unable to identify the U.S. on a Map?”

Kris made the audience crackle with laughter when he imitated Miss Carolina’s answer, “I personally believe that Americans are unable to identify the U.S. because people don’t have maps.”

Ms. Conway, a TAS English teacher and OO coach, praised his performance, “I thought his performance was very relevant to current issues.”

An SAS student, Zach N., introduced his speech on the increase of high school students being defined as “Fakes, Liars, and Cheats” when trying to get into college. He describes college as only a place to learn and quipped, “It doesn’t matter which college you get into, but who you are when you arrive: a Fake, a Liar, or a Cheater.” His conclusion was the highlight of the speech and came into a smooth circle with the perfect ending.

While the delegates amazed the listeners with their astonishing intros and original angles on a topic, only a few seemed to speak of a danger blinding the community.

For instance, ISM student, Michi F., lectured about success depending on the height of a person. She describes success being in jobs and relationships, with women often describing their ideal guy with the phrase, “Tall, Dark, and Handsome.”

Meanwhile, another ISM student, Lynn Y. addressed the “Good Job Syndrome” that seems to consume parents that over praise their children, which tends to create a negative effect. Lynn highlights, “failure is inevitable,” and that praise will not help.

Lastly, ISKL student, Mushamir M. exhibited passion for his topic of stereotyping of Muslims, which showed how the media associates Muslims with “Terrorists” or ethnic profiling.

Mushamir includes, “Muslims terrorists are only a small minority compared to the rest of the Muslims… [and] Muslims should not be questioned for their beliefs.”

Every performance started with the loud whoops of the audience and always ended with a standing ovation.

Overall, Michi F. was declared the winner, but each and every one of the Original Oratory finalist brought something none of any other could convey, showing that everyone truly achieved being a winner.

The OO Finalists: (From Left to Right) Mushamir M. (ISKL), Kris L. (TAS), Zach N. (SAS), Aisling L. (SAS), Michelle F. (ISM), Lynn Y. (ISM), SunJin J. (JIS)

-Sarah

“For Sale”, the TAS dance production, was based on abuse, human trafficking, and the desire for freedom, which were all encompassed in an overall theme of modern-day slavery. Despite the fact that slavery is often thought of as an atrocity that was long since abolished from the world we live in, the TAS dancers successfully showed that this perspective is nothing but a lie. “Even though we only had three rehearsals, we are able to put this together collaboratively and we all are definitely happy with it; not only were we united with the same artistic values but also the message conveyed in the performance meant a lot to us” Jennifer M. and Angeline J. said.

ISKL’s dance production, “Africa,” showed a telling performance about the misconceptions of the African culture. The introductory video clip of African films drew audience’s attention, and the variety of choreography and the animal figures amazed the audience. There was a definite achievement of creativity. Maddy B. and Hannah M. said, “It took us about two months to get the choreography done, we had to work really hard as a team but it was defiantly worth it. We all love to be on stage and just dance, the energy you get on stage is just incredible,”

Based on the themes of Japanese animation, the ISM dance team performed “Kaihou (Liberation)” portraying the real life version of six different animations. The performance began with a video clip from the screen; the special visual effects and the dazzling costumes created an “anima-zing” effect. ISM’s dance production characterized all aspects of Japanese animation, from a thrilling action scene to an average school girl with dynamic and high-spirited dance moves. “The performance definitely met [our expectations] and went beyond the expectations of everyone in our team. One thing I learned during IASAS in particular was how to expand my creative horizons and think outside the box when I’m dancing, ”said Chloe A.

The ISB dance team presented the story of a murder case, unfolding the truth of the incident like a compressed version of a thriller movie with “Tuesday’ child has far to go”. The dance began with a flash-back where a girl was wounded, covered with blood from a gun shot. Each dancer eventually performed a piece depicting different characters. The high quality and the variety of the choreography amazed the audience, luring their attention until the end. The brilliant completion of the performance and the enthusiastic response of the audience satisfied both the dancers and the audience. Alex D. said, “We are really happy with our performance and that we achieved our goal. We [our team] are a family; we are really closely-bonded and we’re glad that we were able to go through this new experience together as a whole.”

“Where are you…Alice”, performed by the JIS dance team, revealed the story of Alice and her adventure in wonderland with a twist. Their performance started with a video clip of Alice sitting around in her classroom and coming across this mysterious bunny running through the hallway. She then followed it and her curiosity brought her to Wonderland. The stage light all of a sudden turned red, “bunnies” sneaked up on stage, each one wearing a creatively made costume and face painting, as if they came straight out of a story book. As the bunnies danced in unison, Alice tried to keep up with them. The music, the lighting effects and animated facial expression on each dancer’s face created a mysterious and almost magical atmosphere that made this production come to life. “We learned many things from this IASAS event. We learned how to creatively express our themes and, also, the importance of improvising on the stage even if there is an error,” said Georgina D.

SAS performed a dance piece entitled “If I Can’t Hear,” based on the lives of deaf people. Body movements and facial expressions can often translate to thousands of words. Dancers on stage each wearing costumes with a vibrant color, leaped, jumped and tumbled across the stage. Through dramatic body movements, they brought a message to all of us, Deaf people can’t hear, but it is who they are and they’ve learned to appreciate silence. Accept who you are and love who you are. Through out their performance, the music stopped and the dancers used sign language to communicate with each other. Using various hand gestures and facial expressions, they were able to “talk” like normal people do. It was a performance that moved everyone.

ISKL Dance Team

-Hanna, Kira

The International School of Kuala Lumpur performed a play featuring a gay couple, thoroughly entertaining the audience.  The International School of Bangkok conducted a piece focused on art and an artist with a bit of humor. The International School of Manila parodied a Bollywood drama with almost professional sounding Indian accents.

Singapore American School’s drama production featured an orphan, and Jakarta International School played charades and interacted with the audience during their performance. The last performance of IASAS CC 2010 was the TAS drama team, which performed a piece featuring many short stories.

After all works were performed, the actors from the six schools had a critique session where they had the chance to discuss their work. They got to share their ideas in this critique session, and the actors were able to ask questions to the directors and vice versa.

They also had a workshop with professional actors on clowning. The actors from ISB stated that they learned the “rules of three, that everything that’s stupid tends to be funny, and that failure is a good thing.”

When asked about performing on a different stage, ISM performers stated that “with a different stage, light pools were different and the set had to be shifted around a bit. TAS’s stage had a smaller performance space than the one at ISM but we also enjoyed playing on a different stage.”

ISM drama team all gather to the centre of the stage for a quick dance.

-Kanako

Many Oral Interpretation (OI) delegates were also involved in IASAS drama. Both OI and drama rely heavily on public speaking skills including accents, enunciation, and volume. However, OI “limits all arm movement and facial expression has to be pretty controlled,” said TAS delegate Leah G.

“The voice is the most important part of acting,” said ISB delegate Marian S. who read Roald Dahl’s short story Lamb to Slaughter.

“[Marian] was really good at keeping her neutral voice when changing characters, and she had really good emphasis on voices when characters were angry and sad,” said TAS student Sarah W. “Her piece was creative.”

TAS delegate Sanders M. said, “In drama, one of the key skills is vocal characterization. I felt this skill really helped me find the different voices for my piece. OI also helped me with drama a lot as well… I was able to focus on clarity and diction.”

OI focuses on bringing a piece of text to life, as opposed to portraying a specific character, like in drama.

“[With] drama, I’m one character, while in OI [there are many] layers and dimensions,” said SAS delegate Olivia A.

There are certain aspects of OI that are difficult for delegates who also take part in drama.

“As a drama person, one big problem for me was controlling my movement and facial expression,” said Leah.

When asked about difficulties he had during OI, since he was also a drama person, Sanders said, “I was used to acting with my not only just my voice, but also with my body and face. At times I felt there was something missing to my recitations.”

Although both OI and drama share numerous similarities, perhaps the most important is the similarity of story telling. Drama is about acting out a story, just as OI is focused on telling a story through words.

“During OI, I’m communicating a story,” said Olivia.

Delegates involved in both OI and drama have the advantage of applying knowledge and skills from one event, such as drama, to OI. Some components include the emphasis of particular words, accents, and volume. Both OI and drama provide delegates with the opportunity to express stories through actions and words. In fact, OI is acting with the voice.

-Meg

Oral interpretation (OI) is the ability to make a text or poem come to life through voice, expression and volume.

“[OI] is the kind of thing where your subconscious mind takes over while reading the piece. It’s like muscle memory; you don’t have to think consciously to recite the piece once you have locked in to the rhythm,” said TAS delegate Sanders McMillan (9). “I love that feeling.”

Compared to other Cultural Convention events, oral interpretation is “less stressful,” said JIS delegate Sean Widjaja (12).

In addition, participants are “able to choose their own piece,” said ISB delegate Sarah Ashley (10).

As opposed to impromptu speaking, where students are only given one minute to prepare a three-minute speech, oral interpretation is much more relaxed, since delegates are given several weeks to prepare before IASAS. Delegates thus have the opportunity to perfect their speeches further.

However, although OI might be less stressful then the other events, it still requires a great deal of focus and like every other event, has its restrictions.

Sanders, who participates in not only OI but also drama, said, “Hand, foot, and body movement was absolutely prohibited altogether, and facial expressions and head movement had to be controlled.”

ISB delegate Marian Spencer (12) believes, “trying to find a balance of facial expression,” is difficult.

Before presenting, most participants are “nervous,” said ISM delegate Young Sun Park (10), “[but] if you have confidence in your own [speech] and bring that energy level, then it’s fine.”

Despite her ability to look calm, Sarah’s heart beats very fast before presenting and she feels as though she has, “run a marathon.”

OI proves to be an exciting event with “vocal variety” and “interesting acting,” said ISKL delegate Stephanie Mcfeeters (11). She added, “It’s interesting to see what other people do.”

“I did poetry, which no one else really does, [because] I like the message it sends,” Stephanie said. Her two poems included I am waitingand Populist Manifesto #1, by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Ultimately, story telling and OI are no different.

“Everyone likes to be told stories! A great OI performance sucks you in the same way a great movie or novel does,” said TAS delegate Leah Grande (11).

2010 Cultural Convention proved to be as successful as previous years, if not more. All OI delegates were victorious at using expression and accent to bring their text to life and tell a story.

-Meg

Sean W.: “Probably British, [because] you can do so many variations.”

ISKL:

Stephanie M.: “Scottish.”

ISM:

Young Sun P.: “Indian, [because of] the way it sounds.”

Young Sun P. from ISM

ISB:

Sarah A.: “My favorite is a deep, mocking, British voice.”

Sarah A. from ISB

Marian S.: “I like to do an Irish accent. They’re humorous and witty.”

Marian S. from ISB

TAS:

Leah G. : “My favorite accent is a probably a French accent, because I’m really awful at it. I think a really convincing French accent is pretty impressive.”

Sanders M. : “I don’t have one. But my favorites are the Irish accent, the stereotypical Italian accent, the stereotypical southern accent of the U.S., and the Yorkshire accent.”

Sanders M. from TAS

SAS:

Olivia A. : “I wish I could do a Polish accent.”

-Meg

The majority of the extemporaneous speaking participants, including Lauren F. and Praneet B. (both from JIS), expressed that their interest in current issues and politics influenced them to join Extemporaneous Speaking. Others like Prin Oungpasuk from ISB stated that his purpose of joining was simply because it was the most interesting forensics event out of all, and he wanted to do an event similar to MUN, which he enjoys a lot.

While many of us would feel intimidated by only having thirty minutes to write a speech, these extemporaneous speakers feel that thirty minutes preparation time is more than enough.

Kyle P. (TAS), one of the finalists described his work process. “I find the article I want as quickly as possible, and I start writing the body paragraph, then the introduction, and then finally the conclusion.” Others like Praneet B. (JIS) feel that the introduction and the conclusion are the most important part, while the body paragraph can be made up during the speech.

From eighteen participants across six IASAS schools, six participants were chosen as semi-finalists. Semi-finalists included Raheem A. (ISM), Michael G. (ISKL), Leandro L. (ISM), Emily C. (ISB), Ryan M. (ISKL), and Kyle P. (TAS). Even though all these semi-finalists were outstanding, one winner was chosen. Emily Corning from ISB was chosen as the winner of extemporaneous speaking for her detailed speech about whether the international community was effective in responding to national disasters such as Haiti.

Extemporaneous speaking is definitely for those who are interested in current issues as many of the topics are related to the current issues going on globally. While the process of writing a speech in such a short period of time is nerve racking and stressful, it will possibly help prepare for the SAT essay as one works on providing concrete evidence.

-Tiffany

Currently, Taiwan is officially called the Republic of China (ROC) and widely known as Taiwan in the west. The Treaty of Taipei, signed on April 28, 1952 by Japan and China, stated from Article 10 that, “ for the purposes of the present Treaty, nationals of the Republic of China shall be deemed to include all the inhabitants and former inhabitants of Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) and their descendants who are of the Chinese nationality in accordance with the laws and regulations which have been or may hereafter be enforced by the Republic of China in Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores).” With Taiwan’s determination, the island became widely recognized as Taiwan, an independent nation.

The sensitivity students from TAS have towards these two words, “Chinese” and “Taiwanese,” are definitely evident. Even though the conflicts between Taiwan and China were thought to be unlikely to be brought up for Cultural Convention, the issue arose as an extemporaneous speaking topic.

The question, “Can Taiwan and China resolve their political differences?” was brought to Andy B. (ISB), Lauren F. (JIS), and Sagar K. (SAS).

When given the topic, all three participants felt nervous because “it is rather a very sensitive and edgy topic,” said Sagar K. from SAS.

Even those who heard about the topic felt they would not want the topic because the topic was related to the host school’s nation, and the judges might have personal opinions towards the topic. “Sometimes, a judge’s personal views would bias the opinion,” Maureen W. (JIS) stated.

Even though all three participants were nervous about the topic, the three participants chose it over others because of the importance of the topic.

However, the contestants were also nervous about the accuracy they had to give because some of the judges were, in fact, Taiwanese. “I knew that it needed to be politically and historically correct, so I was really nervous because the judges might be Taiwanese,” said Any B. from ISB. Sagar K. also felt that the fact that the judges were Taiwanese made him nervous because it might affect the judge’s opinion.

However, Lauren F. from JIS felt otherwise. Initially, Lauren felt nervous, but realizing that she needed to express what she believed even if that meant what she believed would not coincide with what others believed.

“I think it’s an important and relevant topic because it is related to the host school’s nation. [However], the fact that the topic is related to the host’s nation should not make the contestants be afraid of showing their own opinion,” said Lauren.

Was it really necessary to bring this kind of sensitive question to the table? When asked, Ms. Kathy Cutler, Cultural Convention director, said, “[Even though this topic may be sensitive in Taiwan], topics were chosen to teach the students about the world.” She continued, “It is not always about [Taiwanese] or about [Taiwan] just because this year’s IASAS cultural convention was hosted in Taiwan. The students are given the topics to allow them to have an open mind about all subjects, and this is [merely] part of the education process.”

-Tiffany