Speech and Acting Season
Comes to a close...
Alicia Sheldon
March 12, 2008
The successful Speech and Acting season came to a close Saturday, February 23 with the SCOTIE Tournament of Champions in Downer’s Grove, IL.
The season began with the Herrin tournament back in November, when several MV speech students were brand new to the team and were performing all new pieces. The team followed with 7 other meets, located in various high schools across southern Illinois.
The team’s success was reflected in their symbol, which was the Phoenix.
“We chose the Phoenix as our team symbol this year because, as the mythological creature, we are rising from the ashes only to be more powerful than before,” explained Mrs. Roxanna Crain, head coach of the speech team. Sean Tolley is the assistant coach.
Speech meets typically begin at 8:00 AM on Saturday mornings, but team members must get started long before that. The bus to the meet usually rolled out around 5:15, depending on where the meet was located. Each week, the team would stop for a quick breakfast, where “mental preparation and interesting conversations” took place, according to Crain.
The team worked well together through the whole season. They practiced positive reinforcement and encouragement, especially during down time at tournaments. The last few tournaments were very successful, including EFL Finals, Regionals, Sectionals, and SCOTIE.
At EFL Finals, Kylie Arndt placed 6th in Verse, while Alicia Sheldon placed 2nd in Radio and was a finalist in Dramatic Interpretation. At Regionals, Tasha Dersch placed 7th in Impromptu and Cassie Robbers placed 6th in Original Oratory. Alicia Sheldon took 4th in Radio as well as Original Comedy, allowing her to move on to the Sectional tournament, where she earned 6th.
The SCOTIE Tournament of Champions closed out the season with Alicia taking 3rd place in Radio. By winning first place at a previous tournament, Alicia qualified to go. Though weather conditions were unfavorable, they still managed to make the four-hour drive.
Several other members enjoyed success throughout the year in their events. During the seven tournaments, seven team members placed in the final rounds.
Now that tournaments have ended, the team plans on holding a banquet to celebrate the season. They also hope to attend speech camps this summer.
“The entire team has demonstrated dedication, determination, and school spirit throughout our foundation-building season. The team has worked hard and we are looking forward to next year’s Speech and Acting tournaments, where we anticipate to really blow their minds!” concluded Mrs. Crain.
