Mt. Pleasant Speech team seeks a return to All-State after strong showing at Districts

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant Community High School (MPCHS) Speech Team put on a strong showing at the Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) Large Group District Contest which earned half their competing groups a ticket to state contest this weekend.

MPCHS speech students competed in six different categories.

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After weeks of preparation, three groups — Radio Broadcasting and two Short Films — earned Division I ratings, qualifying them for the State Contest this Saturday, Feb. 8, at Cedar Rapids Washington High School. The remaining three groups — Readers Theater, Ensemble Acting, and Group Improvisation — received Division II ratings and will not continue to the next level, but still delivered impressive performances.

For the MPCHS Speech Team, the journey to districts began in the fall, with students meeting in November to discuss the rules for their respective categories and brainstorm ideas for their performances. Students in the Radio Broadcasting and Short Film categories were responsible for every aspect of their production, from scriptwriting to recording and editing.

In the Radio Broadcasting category, Michael Tansey, Max Heater, Ronin Lanferman, and Jonathan Kellogg developed their own fictional news station, KHLT, creating a broadcast centered on events from 2009, shortly after Michael Jackson’s death.

They added an element of humor with a satirical take on Subway’s "$5 Footlong" commercial, which was a widely recognized advertisement at the time.

Radio Broadcasting groups are required to produce a five- to six-minute audio news program featuring at least 30-45 seconds of commercials or sponsorships. They are judged on voice quality, style, clarity, content flow, and team cohesion.

In the Short Film category, two groups from MPCHS took home Division I ratings.

The first, "Dear Ruth," is a deeply emotional piece which MPCHS Volunteer Speech Coach Jackye Bowlin says, “ combines visual storytelling and artistry with poetry as they use the poem ‘On Death’ by Kahlil Gibran to dive into the grief experienced after losing a loved one.”

Katherine Tansey, a returning member from last year’s All-State film selection, Sarai Sanchez, an individual speech All-Stater, and Jonathan Kellogg, a new speech team member, created this film.

The second film, "Alone is not Forever," was created by four newcomers to the speech team — Michael Tansey, Lianah Phangchanthong, Lucca Moyes, and Ella Leonard.

“ Their film tackles the feeling of loneliness but provides a hopeful message for their viewer with the reminder that being alone does not last forever,” Bowlin said. “This film also received positive feedback on their visual artistry.”

The Short Film category allows students to explore any genre within a five-minute time limit, requiring them to write, film, and edit their projects independently.

While three MPCHS groups earned Division I ratings and will move on to state, three others received Division II ratings at districts.

The Readers Theater performance, "Just Girls Talking," featured Lexi Murphy, Zatori Williams, Sydney Graber, Bethany Drury, Lianah Phangchanthong, and Delania Hourihan. This category requires students to read from a script while seated, focusing entirely on vocal delivery and expression without the use of props or costumes.

The school’s Ensemble Acting group performed a scene from "Rumpelstiltskin," featuring Sarai Sanchez, Katherine Tansey, Shaye Barbee, and substitute performer Ella Leonard. In Ensemble Acting, participants perform a memorized scene with two to six actors, judged on their chemistry, expressiveness, and interpretation.

The third group competing in the contest was the Improv team, consisting of Shaye Barbee, Lexi Murphy, Zatori Williams, and Sydney Graber. In this category, students draw a random prompt and have only two minutes to prepare before performing a five-minute scene. Judging is based on creativity, character development, and teamwork.

New to the MPCHS Speech Team this year, Bowlin is not new to coaching IHSSA teams. With 16 years of experience under her belt, Bowlin is excited to work with this team that already took a short film to All-State last year.

“ A Short Film selected to the All-State festival which is the highest honor so I believe that has helped motivate these groups this year as well,” Bowlin said.

Bowlin spoke about the effort required to compete in prerecorded categories like Radio Broadcasting and Short Film.

"Each of these prerecorded categories requires a great amount of self-motivation and dedication from the students as they are responsible for all levels of the production: brainstorming, writing, recording, and editing," Bowlin said. "Witnessing the judges and audiences' reactions to their art is such a rewarding part of the large group speech experience and being just a part of their journey to become successful communicators, while having quite a bit of fun, makes coaching so worthwhile."

Head speech coach Jessi Rich echoed Bowlin’s sentiments, expressing her pride in the team’s dedication.

"We have a great group of students," Rich said. "Nine of them attended competition for the first time! I love watching the groups come together and work as a team to prepare for competition. Their individual talents are so fun to witness and watch grow."

Rich focused on live events for this competition, while Bowlin worked with the prerecorded categories. As Bowlin continues with the students in large group, Rich is already preparing for the next phase of speech season, as MPCHS will be sending 12 students to compete in the IHSSA Individual Events District Contest on March 1.

For the MPCHS Speech Team, advancing to the state contest is a significant achievement, and with last year’s Short Film entry making it to All-State, the team is hoping to build on that success. As the students prepare for their performances on Feb. 8, they aim not only to earn Division I ratings but to receive the coveted All-State recommendation that would send them to Ames for the final stage of the competition.

The path to state competition is rigorous. At districts, students perform in front of a single judge and receive one overall rating. In order to move on to the next round, they must earn a Division I.

While the path to state contest can be a difficult one, the path to All-State is even harder as the process becomes even more competitive. At state groups will perform for a panel of three judges, hoping for unanimous Division I ratings or at least an overall Division I rating and a recommendation from one of the judges. Only those who meet that standard will be invited to the Large Group All-State Festival on Feb. 22 at Iowa State University.

State-level contestants will receive their division ratings the day of the competition, but they won’t find out if they have advanced to All-State until after 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 10.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com