Iowa Valley students demonstrate creativity, talent

(Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include results from District competition.)

MARENGO — After large group speech contest finished up with All-State competition Feb. 17, individual competition began.

Among the Iowa Valley High School students who prepared pieces for Districts in South Tama last weekend were Shayla Helgeson, Jackson Slaymaker and Hannah Smolik.

Helgeson, a sophomore, competed in expository address and after-dinner speech. Her expository piece, which received a 1 rating Saturday, is about mental health, and her after dinner speech is a funny and motivational, she said.

“I like speaking in front of people,” said Helgeson. “It’s something I enjoy.”

During her freshman year, Helgeson advanced to state with her expository address. She likes informing and persuasion part of expository speaking.

Helgeson hopes to get better at public speaking, advance to state and earn a Division 1 rating. An All-State nomination would be great, she said.

Helgeson will compete in expository speaking at State March 9 at Cedar Rapids Xavier High School.

Other Iowa Valley students who received 1 ratings and will advance to state are freshman Delaney Stubblefield, in prose; junior Alannah McKibben, in original oratory; senior Anna Garza, in storytelling; and Taite Peach, in acting.

The district competition has one judge who grades performances with ratings of 1 (the best) through 4. Performance pieces that earn 1 ratings will advance to state.

At state, three judges give a collective score.

Slaymaker was part of the large group that produced the short film, “Silent Victims Unit,” which was presented during All-State competition at Iowa State University. The film is a murder mystery noir, he said, about someone murdering mimes, said Slaymaker.

A junior, Slaymaker prepared pieces in reviewing and acting for the individual speech contest but wasn’t able to attend due to illness.

“I’m reviewing ‘The Princess Bride,’” said Slaymaker. He likes the premise of the battle of the wits in the much-quoted film as well as the marriage scene: “Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togethah today.”

“I’ve been reviewing for two years,” said Slaymaker. “Last year I did all three of the Cars movies,” he said. He animated a visual aid to accompany his review.

“It was really cool,” Helgeson said.

For his acting presentation, Slaymaker takes a role he played in Iowa Valley’s fall production of “Inherit the Wind.” As Jeremiah Brown, a man accused of teaching evolution in a high school in Tennessee when the concept wasn’t allowed, Slaymaker goes beyond the play’s script, creating an intense, dramatic picture of Brown as he devolves into rage and sentences his daughter to hell.

Slaymaker credits former English teacher Jackye Bowlin with interesting him in speech. “She really got me into it, and I have, so far, done very well with it,” Slaymaker said.

He’s had three pieces make it to All-State in the last two years.

“[Speech] challenges my intellect a lot,” said Slaymaker. It requires creativity and the skills to present the pieces.

“It’s been fun,” said Slaymaker. “It kind of blows off steam sometimes.”

Hannah Smolik, a sophomore, competed in acting and solo musical theatre.

Her acting piece, “Acceptance” is about a girl having conflicted feelings about a letter from Juilliard. “It’s kind of humorous, but it’s emotional, I guess,” said Smolik.

“I think it will be a challenging piece because the moods change,” Smolik said.

Smolik choose the piece from several links that adviser Brooke Ness sent her.

For her solo musical piece, Smolik sings “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.”

“I love this song,” said Smolik. It’s been a favorite ever since she saw movie.

Smolik isn’t in choir this year because of scheduling conflicts, but last year she earned four medals in large group, small group and honor choir, she said.

“Last year I didn’t know what Speech was,” Smolik said. The club had an opening in radio broadcasting, so Smolik agreed to compete in the category. “I wrote the whole script for that,” she said.

Smolik didn’t want to write and perform this year, she said. She’d rather do one or the other. “I didn’t like having all the pressure,” she said.

Smolik, Kena Purk and Colton Hudepohl competed at Districts but did not receive 1 ratings.

Smolik was working on a short film for large group contest, but the team didn’t have time to complete it, so they’ll present it next year, Smolik said.

Smolik said she’s been performing since she was little, doing improv with her sister in front of their family. “Overall, I think people would describe me as a confident person.”

While the students compete before judges for ratings, they have a more important goal, said Helgeson. “To make ourselves, make our team proud.”