Washington High School to send eight students to state individual speech contest

WASHINGTON - Eight Demons have qualified for the Iowa High School Individual State Speech Contest Saturday, March 14 in Grinnell.

The eight earned their spot at state for their performances at district contest Feb. 29 in Wapello. The students advancing are, followed by their speech category: Molly Klinzman (Literary Program and Improv); Quinn Wubbeana (After Dinner Speaking and Solo Musical Theatre), Jenna Messer (Expository Address); Sarah Newman (Poetry); Hannah Rees (After Dinner Speaking); Brynn Beenblossom (Prose and After Dinner Speaking); Mathew Osborn (Solo Musical Theatre); and Emmy Geyer (Improv)

The Union had a chance to catch up with some of the students to learn more about them, their performance, and how being on the speech team has changed their lives.

Matthew Osborn

Matthew Osborn is a sophomore in his second year on the speech team. His Musical Theatre performance is 'Giants in the Sky” from 'Into the Woods.” Osborn said he had stage fright when he started the speech team, but after a performance, he feels that he has conquered his fears and can do it again.

'It also helps to not look at the audience much. It can mess with you a little,” he said.

Osborn said he reviewed his lines many times. 'You have to in order to succeed,” he said.

'I had five different people watch me perform to see if I could do it right and I wanted them to tell me what I did wrong,” he said.

Though the name 'speech team” makes it sound like the students are delivering speeches, Osborn is glad that the competition is much more than that.

'There is a wide variety of acts like one act and musical theatre,” he said. 'It was not what I expected when I joined up but I ended up really liking it. [Speech team] makes me a more confident performer all together and I feel that I will continue to do this for the rest of my time in high school.”

Hannah Rees

Hannah Rees is a junior who has performed on the speech team all three years of her high school career. Her After Dinner Speech is titled 'Expert Advice for Expectant Moms.”

'I got to write it, and I used pregnancy myths as advice,” she said. 'I've always loved speaking and acting in front of an audience, and I still do to this day. I usually get super nervous before I perform, but once I start speaking, I don't want to stop!”

Rees said she performed her speech for coaches and teammates to get feedback, and incorporated their ideas into her act.

'The best way for me to get better is to allow criticism, and I would not have any confidence to do this if I didn't have them,” she said. 'I've also grown as a speaker by observing and learning from other speakers. It's so fun to get to help my friends and to watch them build an awesome performance.”

Rees said she likes that the speech team is so supportive. She remarked that everyone does their best to see each other's events.

'Nothing is as comforting as seeing encouraging, familiar faces in an audience,” she said. 'I love our group, we're always laughing about something, and I would highly recommend incoming freshman to give speech a try. I think there's something for everyone, whether it's acting, speaking, singing, or miming, the possibilities are all super fun!”

Rees said she feels speech team has made her a more confident speaker, and that she no longer gets nervous when she has to make a presentation for a class.

'I'm so thankful for this opportunity, and I can't wait to perform this Saturday, the 14th at Grinnell,” she said. 'Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive.”

Sarah Newman

Sarah Newman is a junior at WHS in her second year on the speech team. She performed an original poem called 'Too,” which focuses on how, in the eyes of society, women and girls will always be imperfect.

'We're always ‘too' something, too tall or too short, too old or too young, and many other forms of ‘too,'” she said.

Newman said that she felt comfortable speaking in front of people she knew before she joined the speech team, but now she feels like she can talk in front of anyone.

'During my first year in speech, I came to the conclusion that when speaking/performing, most people won't judge you for trying because they aren't willing to take that risk,” she said.

Practicing her speech with her peers and coaches has helped Newman become a better speaker. It makes her focus on her pronunciation and diction, which was a tip given to her during one of her practice sessions. Being part of the speech team has made her more comfortable giving presentations in her classes and made her a more confident speaker.

Newman said she loves being able to share things that are important to her with an audience of more than just her friends. She was not expecting speech to be so accepting and fun.

'I've met many wonderful people at speech competitions who included me into their conversations/games without a second thought,” she said. 'If you're thinking about joining speech, I highly recommend it. There are countless categories that you can choose from, you won't regret it!”

Brynn Beenblossom

Brynn Beenblossom is a junior in her second year with the program. Her Prose piece is called 'Dear Virginia,” and is all about the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated.” She said that means everyone, because you never know what a person is going through.

'Before speech, I had been required to speak in front of a large audience, but I never really enjoyed it or felt super comfortable,” she said. 'Speech has given me the confidence I need to be able to do these things and now I love talking in front of people and I know how to engage my audience.”

Beenblossom is grateful for her coaches and teammates who gave her such helpful feedback.

'My mom also helped coach me, she did speech in high school, so her feedback was beyond helpful,” Beenblossom said.

Beenblossom loves the diverse group of students who comprise the speech team and who love each other very much.

'It's not at all what I expected when I joined, it's so much better,” she said. 'If someone was on the fence about joining, I would tell them to go for it, because there is nothing bad that could come out of joining. I have built up confidence, gained so many connections, and obtained so many skills that I can use in other places in life.”

Jenna Messer

Jenna Messer is a sophomore in her first year on the team. For her category of Public Address, she had to give a speech that has already been written and present it to a group of people. She chose to do Ronald Reagan's speech following the crash of the space shuttle Challenger. Her second act, which she will perform at state, is in Expository Address.

'In this event, you give an informative speech using visual aids, sort of in a TED-Talk style,” she said. 'My Expository Address is over Synesthesia: Hearing Colors, Seeing Sounds (a neural condition where the senses sometimes overlap and are triggered by other senses).”

Messer had some experience talking in front of crowds before joining the speech team through her participation in 4-H. But she had never been in the spotlight quite like she's been in speech.

'I definitely was not comfortable speaking in front of a large audience,” she said. 'Although I am still working on polishing my communication skills in front of large audiences, I have improved throughout speech. I was fearful, but I overcame my fears by practicing whenever I could and practicing in front of peers and teachers when I can.”

When reviewing her performance with coaches and peers, the main piece of feedback Messer received was to slow down and articulate her words. Practicing in front of an audience has taught her to maintain her composure during stressful situations, which is helpful not just on the speech team but also in everyday life.

The thing Messer enjoys most about the speech team is making new friends during the season. She also enjoys getting to watch her friends perform and succeed.

'Interacting with other speech team members from other cities at competitions is a really cool experience, too!” she said. 'Speech team is everything I expected and more. There are so many unique opportunities that have come from speech. I would tell anyone who is interested in joining speech team is to do it. The least that will come from joining speech team is improving your overall communication skills. There are no cons.”

Messer is proud to report that speech team has made her a more confident speaker than she ever would have been without it. She considers herself a shy person, so giving speeches in class is always nerve-wracking.

'Speech has gotten me out of my shell and made me gain more confidence while speaking in public.”