The Speech Team has arrived for another school year and student-led rehearsals have already begun. It is a team that offers competitive events divided into many different categories such as Informative Speaking, Original Comedy, and Radio Speaking. Returning to school after the pandemic, competitors came back to a changed experience with new regulations but still picked up right where they left off.

“After the pandemic, not much has changed, but I think we have learned to be more adaptable,” senior Skylar McClure said. “There are a lot of things that are going to have to be re-learned, though, because standing in front of an audience is a lot different than standing in front of a screen.”

In speech, for those who chose not to do a solo category, there is an opportunity to do duet events. With duet interpretation, two competitors team up to deliver a performance of a published play or story. Using on-stage focus duet acting conveys emotion and an environment through many performance techniques without costumes or props.

“I am in the category called Humorous Duet Acting, and my partner and I have to act out an eight minute script using only a table and two chairs,” senior Saish Pothina said.

Interested in performing poetry? Or dramatic acting? Even though the Speech Team has already been established for the 2021-22 school year, do not hesitate to audition next year for any category of your choice. McClure, who manages the Poetry section of the Speech Team said, joining a club like Speech Team is a way to build new connections with people of all backgrounds, and it creates opportunities for students to develop as individuals.

“All we [the Speech Team] want is to grow and enhance together as a unit, and this is the first place in school that has allowed that,” McClure said.