When You Say Your Piece Is a DI or an HI and No One Disputes You

When I cut my first interp, I didn't know if it was a DI or an OI. I now know that if it's questionable, it's an OI. But I didn't at the time. I just knew my speech was kind of dramatic and not really funny. (Keep in mind this was back in those novice days where I knew almost nothing about speech or debate.) Then I watched someone else do a DI. I decided that my piece was an OI. That was a good decision.

Lots of times, you want a piece to have a good enough death scene to be a DI, but it's not really happening. Or you want the piece to have people laughing so hard they cry, but really it's looking like you'll land chuckles. So you call it an OI. At least, that's what a lot of the first-year kids do. Ever wondered why there tend to be about twice as many OIs as there are HIs or DIs? Well, the novice thing is part of the reason. Sometimes a piece is just better as an OI even if you disagree. OIs are just easier to find. One of many reasons I love Open Interps.

Anyway, back to my story. My speech was the classic OI. Sort of. I mean, not too funny, not too sad. And that was ok. I wasn't trying for Dramatic or Humorous. I was just trying to act out my favorite book with a cool accent. But sometimes, you are trying to get a piece to be an HI or a DI. And sometimes...

IT WORKS!

And that's a great feeling. You tell someone, It's a DI, and they say, "Oh, yes it is." as they wiped their tearstained cheeks. Or, It's an HI, and they say "I know! It's hilarious!!" No disputing. None of that, "Have you thought about entering it as an OI?" stuff. Nope.

You're homeschooled. You're funny. Or sad. I don't know which.