Solo Speech Students Succeed

MONTEZUMA – Individual Speech Districts were held at Montezuma on Feb. 24, where students read off poems, stories, public addresses, reviews, literary programs, original oratories, sang musical theatre songs, and performed acting and improv pieces.

Local students who received I ratings and moved on to the state contest include:

English Valleys

Keegan Burdick - Musical Theatre: “Screw Loose” from “Cry-Baby” and Solo Improv 

Emily Allison - Musical Theatre: “Beauty and the Beast” from “Beauty and the Beast.”

Elliana Patterson - Prose: “The Chaser” by John Collier.

Kaylynne Hoylman - Prose: “High and Lifted Up.”

Cyrus Morrison - Prose: “Death by Scrabble” by Charlie Fish.

Stacia Linder - Prose: a piece by Stacia Liner and Original Oratory: “Under the Influence.”

Forrest Schott - Spontaneous Speaking.

Emma Pierce - Storytelling: “Scary Monsters Hate Red Socks.”

Rebecca Berry - Literature Program: “Legends of Music.”

Pekin

Natalie Hamilton - Public Address “The Lady’s Not For Turning” and Musical Theatre: “Lost in the Brass” from “Band Geeks.”

Lillian Buie - Musical Theatre: “As Long As He Needs Me” from “Oliver.”

Michelle Jacobs - Musical Theatre: “Funny Girl” from “Funny Girl”

Kaleigh Adrian - Storytelling: “Where the Wild Things Are” and Musical Theatre.

Izabella Earnest - Music Theatre: “Right Hand Man” from “Something Rotten” and Prose: “The Lunch Table” by Izabella Earnest.

Brinley Phillips - Musical Theatre: “The History of Wrong Guys” from Kinky Boots.

Alisia Brock - Storytelling: “Love You Forever.”

Ayla Banes - Solo Improv.

Sigourney

Ava Fineran - Poetry: “The Ruckus” by Dr. Seuss.

Tri-County

Chloe Zittergruen - Original Oratory: “The Harm of the Carbon Pipeline.”

Wesley Davis - Prose: “The Day Dad Made Toast” by Sarah Durkee.

Cyrus Morrison of English Valleys competed for his first time in individual speech, reading off a humorous short story about a man who attempts to kill his boring wife while playing Scrabble. “I chose this piece because, sometimes, we all just need a good laugh. I like this piece, I feel like it can make people laugh,” said Morrison.

Ava Fineran of Sigourney read the Dr. Suess poem “The Ruckus,” about a loud, obnoxious bird who has nothing important to say. “I feel like everyone always does sad pieces and I like to brighten it up throughout the day and make sure people get a little laugh,” said Fineran. “I like (poetry) and I feel like it’s a good way to express myself and my importance.”

Eliana Patterson of English Valleys read part of the short story “The Chaser,” about a sinister shopkeeper offering a love potion, seemingly for free. “I thought it was very interesting and, what’s the word...suspicious and mysterious,” said Patterson.

Keegan Burdick of English Valleys made it to state for the fourth year in a row by singing the song “Screw Loose” from the musical “Cry-Baby,” a cheery song sung from the perspective of a very mentally unwell woman. “I’ve always loved music. I have a passion for music. In fact, I’m planning on going into music when I go into college,” said Burdick. “I think (the song) conveys that a little bit of crazy isn’t bad.” Burdick also made it onto state with an Improv performance. “I like the spontaneous kind of story where I don’t have to practice repeatedly and I can just go up there and use the skills I have honed,” said Burdick.

Chloe Zittergruen gave a self-written speech on the dangers of the carbon pipeline going through Iowa. She began her oratory by asking the audience what would they do if a pipeline burst and they had only five minutes to get away, then explained that getting in a car would be a mistake.“I actually have family members that live in north-east Iowa and they would have a carbon pipeline running some of their land not too far from their house, and they were told essentially that you would have five minutes to get five miles away from this pipeline, or else it would not be good. And all combustible engines quit working, so you can’t just drive five miles away. So you're kind of stuck...This year, for FFA I’m competing in a category called Prepared Public Speaking...So I was already going to be writing a speech for FFA to use and practicing for FFA, so I figured if I’m already practicing, already have the material, why not use if for both individual speech and FFA? Kill two birds with one stone,” said Zittergruen.

Natalie Hamilton of Pekin gave a public address and sang a song from the musical “Band Geeks.” “I’ve had a little bit of sickness lately, so it was a little bit shakier than I would have liked...I’ve loved performing for my entire life. It’s been my favorite thing in the whole entire world, and singing is something that brings me joy and I want to bring other people joy with my music. I am indeed a band geek and I feel like I know what it means to be lost in the brass in all senses,” said Hamilton.

Emily Allison sang the song “Beauty and the Beast.” “It just makes me happy to spread joy in the world. I went to a camp and they said to sing to inspire, not to impress, and that’s just stuck with me since,” said Allison.

Izabella Earnest of Pekin sang the song “Right Hand Man.” “I’ve just been singing since I was really young and it’s just something that’s spoken to me…(The song) was really fun and fit well into my vocal range and I wanted to just do a comical piece this year,” said Earnest. Earnest also read an excellent self-written piece called “The Lunch Table” about a group of friends that slowly drifts apart.

Brinley Phillips of Pekin sang the song “The History of Wrong Guys,” about a girl with a bad love life. “It was honestly my best round of it...I feel like I felt the emotions more and tried to get into my character more,” said Phillips.

Wesley Davis of Tri-County read “The Day Dad Made Toast,” about an incompetent father attempting to make breakfast. “At first I was really nervous, but eventually I started reading and then the nervousness went away for a bit. I chose it because it just seems really positive and I wanted to work on my expressions…My mom said I’d be good at speech because I don’t need a microphone at all. I speak loudly all the time.” said Davis.

Alyssa Hadsell of Sigourney read “The Never Ending Ring,” a prose piece she wrote that received a II. “I was very nervous and I practiced a lot, but it didn’t really go the way I wanted it to, but it didn’t necessarily go bad...It was about me and my girlfriend, how she gave me a promise ring and the ring turns and it’s never-ending. Kind of like our love. So it’s like a metaphor,” said Hadsell.

Daige Sabin read the story “Chasing Light,” about a scientist attempting to discover a way to travel faster than light, who is implied to be killed by his discovery. “I feel like it’s kinda about chasing dreams and I kinda relate to that and people telling you you won’t be able to do anything until you actually do it. And then they turn around and say the exact opposite, like, ‘Oh, I always believed in you.’ And I don’t know it just kinda spoke to me,” said Sabin, who received a II.

Carly Goodwin of Sigourney read the Dr. Suess poem “The Zax,” about a pair of stubborn animals who refuse to move out of each other’s way. “I always enjoy getting the feedback back from judges. If I make it to state, I can use that to my advantage. I think Dr. Suess is a really good author and it’s fun to read his poetry,” said Goodwin.

Ella Bahlmann of Sigourney received a II for acting out a speech about the struggles of being a woman from the movie “Barbie.” “Feminism has always been something that’s really important to me and watching the move and seeing that monologue, I thought it was something really important that needed to be said,'' said Bahlmann.

Keegan Walker of English Valleys did an Improv scene about a chef dealing with a pest problem. “I was leaning more towards comedy, but then I decided, you know what? Instead of just trying to force a bunch of jokes, I’m just going to make the scene work.”