mookAbhinayaM (Charades in Telugu)

This is a competition where teams of three will participate to communicate a sentence in Telugu using body language without moving lips or making any sounds by mouth. The Telugu sentences are given both in Telugu and English scripts (RTS format is used to write Telugu in English script. For a quick lesson on RTS format, please visit: http://chaitanya.bhaavana.net/Rangavalli/webeditor.html). For those who cannot read Telugu script but understand the language, the Judge can help the team member who does the miming. However, it is highly recommended that the contestants learn the RTS format, which is very easy and straightforward.

Rules:

1. Each team consists of three people, one actor and two translators. Each team member has to mime at least for one complete round. After three rounds, any one of the team members can continue as the actor but cannot change within one round.
2. The translators and the actor have to be at least 15 feet apart facing each other.
3. Each team is allotted 5 min per round. The team can translate as many sentences as they can within that time. The actor gets to randomly pick a card containing the sentence. Clock starts as soon as the card is picked. As soon as the card is translated, the actor can pick another card to continue within the allotted time. If necessary, the Judge can whisper the sentence to the actor without revealing to others. The clock does not stop for any help needed from the Judge.
4. When ready to mime, the actor has to put the card away on the Judge’s table and start acting to convey the sentence to the translating partners following these rules:
1. No lip movement or sounds from mouth are allowed.
2. No structured sign language or special codes for letters and sounds are allowed.
3. No drawing in the air to show letters or numbers is allowed. Numbers can be indicated showing the fingers.
4. The translators are encouraged to talk it out as their partner acts and the actor can affirm the correctness of the word(s) with gestures.
5. One of the translators has to say out the complete sentence loud and clear as written to complete the card. No variations or partial credits are allowed.
6. If the team feels that they cannot complete the sentence, they can abandon that sentence and choose another card. If they choose to, they can revisit the abandoned card within the time limit. However, more than one incomplete sentence left at the end of the round costs points (see below).
5. Scoring:
1. Each completely translated sentence within the 5 min will fetch 5 points. No partial credits are allowed.
2. Each sentence that was left incomplete will cost one point with the exception of the last one. (This allowance for one incomplete sentence is to encourage the participants not to look at the clock before they pick one more card to proceed with translation).
6. After all teams have gone through two rounds, the scores are tallied and teams with three highest scores will be declared winners and ranked First, Second, and Third. In case of a tie for any or all three positions, tie-breaking rounds will be conducted only to the tied teams to determine their places.