Hi, gang:
I do a lot of PA work at my high school as well, and find the advice helpful, so thanks. Anyway, I hadn't seen anyone post "The Announcer's Test" yet. It originated at Radio Central at NBC in the early 1940's to test those auditioning for announcing posistions, and it uses every letter in the alphabet in a rapid-fire format. It involves retention, memory, repetition, enunciation and diction. Jerry Lewis first heard it when Ed McMahon taught it to him before he substituted one night for Johnny Carson. Jerry has used this on his annual Labor Day telethon to kill time every few years, as well as many other appearances on TV. You're supposed to read it all the way through without stopping, so take a deep breath...And good luck!
THE ANNOUNCER'S TESTOne hen.
One hen; two ducks.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth.
One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth; 10 lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who hall stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time.
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(Ta-daa!!!) If you tried that and suceeded, you're hired! :-) No, seriously, I hope this helps PYLdude and anyone else who is trying to become an announcer. If nothing else, it's fun to play at parties, lol.
James