Large group speech contest was a little different this year…you guessed it, due to the Coronavirus. Unlike years past, where kids all travel to a specified location to compete against each other, this year, the judges came to them.
Three different groups performed in a classroom at Eagle Grove High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26 to a gentleman judge reportedly from Webster City.
Taking the “stage” first was the Reader’s Theatre group consisting of Cael Schaffer, and Cadence Stephens.
Back row, from left: Dustin Dawson, Angela Binkerd, Cael Wesselink, Gabe Binkerd, Alex Frakes, and Imani Shufford. Their story “An Absolutely True Story (as told by a bunch of Lying Liars) by Ian McWethy,” told the tale of a broken vase…and how the kids blamed the dog. It was a light-hearted piece that gave each student a chance to bring out their own version of the quirky character they were portraying.
“This was good…I enjoyed it,” were the judge’s comments.
His advice as they prepare for state competition was to remember that we are living in times of mask-wearing, which makes it more important than ever to enunciate your words and talk a little more slowly…good advice not just for the speech kids – but for the general public as we live through this pandemic as well.
Frakes and Wesselink teamed up to compete in a small group Improv as well. They drew from an envelope three topics, chose one, and were given only two minutes to come up with a time-limited skit. Their interpretation of a young boy taking a driving test left the judge, EGHS Principal Heidi Vasquez, their coaches, peers, and myself laughing almost non-stop.
After the performance, the judge told the boys how much he enjoyed their Improv, and then asked, “Have you ridden in a car with each other before?”
When the boys answered “Yes,” the judge just shook his head as to understand why the skit came so easily for them.
The final performance of the day came from Cadence Stephens and Angeles Peters. They, too, participated in Improv. They chose to portray a school PE teacher getting ready to teach a class how to swim…only the student knew more about swimming than the instructor. This performance, too, was filled with silly one-liners and a few twists that made the COVID-limited audience laugh out loud.
The judge was entertained by their performance as well.
Before the kids went home, they were excited to find out that all three groups received a Division 1 (superior) rating and will be advancing to state speech on Saturday, Feb. 6. According to their coach, Lori Olmstead, it will be a very small in-person tournament held in Hampton-Dumont. However, because of a conflict with wrestling, EGHS students will be performing Reader's Theatre virtually.
“This year has been challenging with the quarantines and all the new Covid related changes. It is quite difficult to do a convincing job acting with a mask covering so much of your face, but this group has put in the work and are doing a fantastic job,” said Olmstead. “I'm very proud of all of them.”
