Finding competition pieces can be one of the most difficult parts of the speech process. There are so many potential pieces and everyone wants to find the right one that will help them win. One of the most important things to remember is to find something that speaks to you. You should enjoy your piece, and it should fit your aesthetic and make sense to you. Find a story that's important to YOU.
There are billions of potential pieces out there across various types of mediums. The best pieces are always going to be found by reading. Get out there and read. Short stories, poems, novels, children's books, horror stories, mysteries, plays, musicals, essays, everything. Always keep an eye out for stories that you find important and interesting. If you are a new competitor, though, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Look through the variety of resources below to find something that may even have already been cut for competition. It's okay to cut your teeth on something more simple. Every piece is different for every person because your unique style and personality bring it to life.
Finding a piece IS hard work. Your coaches can assist you, but ultimately, you have to decide if the piece is for you. Please note: as tempting as it is to watch videos to find a speech, resist! Watching a video and then any copying of that video in a competition can lead to serious consequences. It always pays off to interpret your piece with your own performance. In addition, performance pieces must "rest" in between use. So, if a student performs a piece, that piece will not be available for use for a few years.
(For every good piece, there will be a sub-par one. Use discretion. Also, read at your own risk.)
Open Library- This is a great site to search if you’re looking for a prose piece or a dramatic/humorous script. Simply type in the subject, author or title you seek and you’re bound to find something useful. Be careful though. Everything is in here, so you can get lost in all the literature. Go in with some ideas and see what pops up.
Alibris- Perfect for the bargain-hunting script seeker, this inexpensive website has tons of used, new, rare, and fascinating books that could be used in speech competition. With 100 million titles to choose from, it will be hard not to find something worthwhile.
Live Binders-Why not benefit from work other people have already done? You can search this public site for collections of interp pieces pulled by other teams or competitors. This takes a little more time because of the number of scripts out there, but you may find some usable pieces.
SpeechGeek -This site is a collection of resources for all events. The market has many resources available for purchase from places like Mushroom Cloud Press, Tibetan Treefrog Publishing, and The Monologue Project. Not all scripts are created equal, though, so read and purchase at your own risk.
Forensics Community -This forensics community forum has a vast amount of information. Some is useful, some is less useful, some is free, some costs money.
The Interp Store - This site offers a large selection of pieces written specifically for speech competitors. These pieces often require a lot of personality and innovation. If you are good at characters and can bring meaning to pieces, some of these have been quite successful on the national stage.
Consortium Publishing - This site also offers pieces written specifically for speech competitions.
The History Place - This site has an extensive list of great speeches to peruse.
JD Drama Publishing - This site offers a large selection of drama. However, it does require purchase to view or use a full piece and you will need to discuss this with your coach if you choose this route.
There are some pieces available in the classroom. Speech has a container reserved for the team and full of usable speeches. There are also novels, books of poetry, short stories, and printed dramas available within the class and in the library.
Here is a link to a list of descriptions for plays in the Humorous category that your coach owns in PDF form: HI Pieces