Forensics: Talking Your Way to State

For the Glenbard West Forensics team, the 2015-2016 season was extremely rewarding. Coached by Ms. Henry, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Holloway, Mr. Kritselis and Mrs. McDonough, the speech team proved themselves to be worthy competitors as almost every event advanced to sectionals. To name a few, the Dramatic Duet Acting, Original Comedy, and Oratorical Declamation progressed past the regional level.

Furthermore, at the state tournament, Emily Gibson, sophomore, brought home a sixth place trophy in the Oratorical Declamation category. She describes Oratorical Declamation as “a public address event where the performer finds a speech that was already given or published by someone else, and they adapt it and make it their own through the performance. It can be anything from serious and dramatic to funny and inspirational.”

The Performance in the Round (PIR) team also did a spectacular job, bringing home a second place title to conclude a year of successes. PIR Participant, Emma Pauer, explains PIR as “15 minute short play performed by a group of about a dozen students.”

Representing the speech team at state were students Emma Pauer, Claire Kenwood, Claire Siebert, Ellen O’Brien, Grace Larrabee, Abbey Simon, Alex Weston, Bijoy Shah, Grant Tecson, Liam Griffin, Owen Crawford, and Erin Hernandez.

Sophomores Claire Kenwood and Emma Pauer were excited to share a handful of their experiences. Since Performance in the Round is an event that that only occurs at the state competition, the participants only have “about 2 days to memorize lines.” as explained by Emma Pauer.

According to Claire Kenwood, “putting together the whole performance in such a short amount of time takes a lot of effort” and is a huge time commitment. She also notes that “none of [their success] would be possible without everyone’s dedication.” Long nights and early mornings were a necessary sacrifice for the team, but this spirit of perseverance will benefit them in future endeavors.

For team member, Claire Kenwood, the time commitment and hard work were well worth it. She emphasizes that her “favorite experience in PIR [was] spending so much time with [her] teammates” and that the team truly “became friends over the course of the three weeks.” Emma Pauer adds that “[she has] learned so much from [her] coaches and the friends [she has] made…[and] it really is an incredible group to be a part of.”  Looking ahead, Emma Pauer imagines that next season, the team will “be working just as hard, if not harder, than [they did] this year” to continue their legacy of achievement.

For any students looking to become more involved in Glenbard West, forensics is a great option. Since forensics is a team activity, it is a great way for everyone to feel integrated in the Glenbard West community. Pauer “absolutely recommend[s] joining,” and highlights the fact that “public speaking is such an important skill to have under your belt.”

Throughout the 2015-2016 season, the forensics team strove to improve upon their previous accomplishments and their efforts resulted in a series of impressive wins. Current members encourage others to join the forensics family and take part in the cohesive nature of the program.