Forensics: The What and the Why

Forensics (defined as the art of formal debate) was an amazing speech and debate program I participated in throughout high school (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Forensic_League, http://www.speechanddebate.org/).

Every Saturday morning I’d get up at like 2 or 3 am, rouse my poor father who would drive me to school in the middle of the night in the freezing northern Illinois winter, board a bus that drove a pack of us like four or five hours away to another high school, and then we’d perform several times that day in one or two events such as Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Dramatic or Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Prose Reading, Poetry Reading, Expository Speaking, and Reader’s Theatre.

Under the expert tutelage of my divine acting teacher, Barbara June Greener Patterson (aka “Barbara,” “Patterson,” “Greener” or “The English Muffin”), I participated in three events: Humorous Duet Acting, Dramatic Duet Acting, and The Forensics Play. Yup.  Every Saturday, for years, I performed from three to nine or ten times a DAY! And it was amazing!  I had SUCH a blast doing it. And I think it is what made me fearless.

(Barbara June is on the bottom right side – this is a production of one of our favorite plays, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.)

I believe Forensics gave me an unnatural confidence when it came to performing. I want all of you to have the same confidence.

Forensics Kahntests are intended to provide you with an opportunity to

• perform multiple times in order to help you
  • get over your performance anxiety,
  • be free,
  • be fearless, and
  • no longer be prohibitively encumbered by your insecurities,
• focus on acting for the sake of acting outside of your tv and film auditions, and the scrutiny of agents, managers, casting directors, producers, directors, showrunners, studios, and networks,
• practice fucking it,
• have freakin’ fun, and
• act stuff you wanna act without worrying about getting a job out of it, pleasing your rep or your parents or impressing everyone back home. Y’all NEVER get to DECIDE what you’re gonna do.  We choose almost ALL the material for class, and your reps and cds get to decide what roles you read for.  And God knows you’re gonna take almost any job you’re offered, right?  So Forensics puts YOU in the driver’s seat.  Forensics is acting for the sake of acting ONLY. Out there in the casting world, you might be great, but if you’re not ethnic or charactery or leading, or 30’s; if you don’t have a million youtube/insta/twitter/Vine hits/likes/followers, you’re just not getting a callback. Let ALONE a freakin’ JOB. IN Forensics, I just want you to have great listening, a reversal and be in the right genre, relationship and circumstances. I don’t care about your type, your race, your age, your weight, your hair or your follows. (Ok, your hair?  I do care about that a little.) But really it’s just about YOU and your ACTING. Dear GOD! Isn’t that a HUGE relief???? In Forensics you can win with a great scene and a great performance. It’s not like that out there where you have to be a mind-reader and/or be sleeping with the right person/people. The playing field in Forensics is LEVEL!!!! Plus! You get to act at LEAST three times in one night! More if you do more material!!!! And you get SO much feedback! And you get to meet new people and make friends and eat free snacks! And you get free Wifi! What could be bettah?!

Forensics is not about winning! It’s about learning and growing and improving and getting better and acting a lot so you don’t get all freaked out when you’re on set or at an audish. Forensics schmorensics!  Forensics DOESN’T MATTER.  DOING Forensics — acting a lot and preparing and rehearsing and finding material and all the learning and growing that happens along the WAY is what matters!!!!

WHY AREN’T YOU DOING FREAKING FORENSCIS????!!!!