Large Group Speech begins

By Lily E.

In Large Group Speech, participants work in small or large groups to rehearse a piece, then perform it at a contest in front of judges and an audience. While called Large Group, those groups range in size from three to 15 people. Individual Speech does not officially begin until after Large Group speech, but participants in Individual Speech are already preparing for their independent performances.

This year, there are around 15 students in Roland-Story’s Large Group Speech. Each week, these students meet for three hours to rehearse with their coaches, Mrs. Ferrell and Mrs. Hull. The different performances that they will be having this year are one readers theatre, two short films, two improv groups, and a group mime. The students have their first competition on January 20 at West Des Moines Valley. This is their district competition. If the teams get a Division 1 rating, then they get to advance to state competition on February 3 at Ankeny Centennial.

Although Individual Speech doesn’t officially start until the Spring, the students have started practicing hard for the Individual season to start. Individual competition consists of two sub sections: varsity and freshman. Schools have to pay extra to have a freshman team, which then compete against the varsity teams. One of the schools that has a freshman team is Roland-Story. When asked about why she does have a freshman team, Mrs. Ferrell said that she does it so she can provide more opportunities for freshmen to go out for Speech, and then she can have a lot more people go out overall. Varsity has a set limit of 45-50 which is how many individuals can participate. 

District competition for Individual Speech is February 24. Mrs. Ferrell said that she was optimistic for this season, and she is excited for another great year.

Location: Story City, IA 50248, USA

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