CHS Student Prepare for Large Group Speech Contests
Clarinda High School students began preparing for the Iowa High School Speech Association Large Group contests just before our holiday break, and have been rehearsing together during the month of January. The District level contest was Saturday, January 24 at Clarke High School in Osceola. The State level contest will be held at Valley High School in West Des Moines on Saturday, February 7. The following categories have been entered in the contests:
One Act Play: Heart’s Desire by Caryl Churchill. The play is about an elderly couple and aunt waiting for a daughter to arrive home after years in Australia, but she is taking her time and the waiting is difficult. Dialogue is repeated over and over, each repetition sending the story veering in lurid and comical directions. The cast includes Dylan Warrick, Maddy Davidson, Cassidy Marcum, Hannah Sunderman, Levi Frazier, Lucas Shatava, Hunter Crawford, Rachel Schaner, and Josey Stanton. The technicians for the play are Sara Williamson, David Rahn, Sarah Cabeen, And Shelby VanFosson.
Readers Theatre: The Great Bell by Crispin Oduobuk. This is a humorous parable about a king who unwisely seeks advice from his subjects on a tough engineering problem. The performers are Alicia Engstrand, Madi Cabbage, Hunter Crawford, Patrick Morgan-Fine, Dylan Pafford, Jacob Slough, Josey Stanton, Alex Chambers, Jesse Espinosa, Trevor Richardson, Annie Wallin and Mark Enstrand. The student director of Readers Theatre is Sarah Cabeen.
There are three Ensemble Acting scenes for contest. These include Speak Now by Seth Kramer featuring Dylan Warrick and Maddy Davidson; The Grand Design by Susan Miller featuring Levi Frazier and Rachel Schaner; and Doubt by John Patrick Shanley featuring Hannah Sunderman and Cori Owens.
Finally, two Group Improvisation teams will be performing at the contests. Team A is Jacob Slough and Brandon Bommer. Team B is Lucas Shatava, Jared Kirsch, and Travus McGregor.
Not only do the CHS students enjoy performing at the IHSSA contest, but also are able to see various schools and their student performances.