Yesterday, all 53 state champions competed in three semifinal rounds. The three students who scored highest in each semifinal, a total of nine students, will compete tonight for the National Championship. There will be three rounds of recitation. After the first two rounds, we’ll have an awards presentation for all of our finalists and then announce the top three contestants. Those three students will return to recite one more poem each. Those scores will be added to the scores of tonight’s first two rounds to determine our national champion. Did everybody get that? ‘Kay. [laughter in audience] Contestants will be evaluated on seven criteria;  when I read this list I was so intimidated: 1.     Physical presence 2.     Voice and Articulation 3.     Evidence of Understanding 4.     Poem’s Level of Difficulty 5.     Dramatic Appropriateness 6.     Accuracy, and 7.     Overall Performance Alright, here we go.