AHSTW SPEECH ON TO STATE!

    AVOCA -- The AHSTW Speech team set two new school records by having a Readers Theatre performance and the same Improvisation team selected for the Large Group All-State Speech Festival for three consecutive years.
    Approximately 24,000 students started competing at the district level from 347 schools and less than 1,700 students earned the right to be named as Outstanding Performers for All-State. Sixteen of these students are from AHSTW.
    More than 300 Readers Theatre groups began competing at the district contest level in January.
    AHSTW’s “Toubleshooting” is one of only 12 Readers Theatres in the state selected to perform.
    The cast includes: Bella Zortman, Evan Pattee, Baylee Meyers, Grace Luna, Kaitlynne Henriksen, Ashley Jones, Zach Stanton, Autumn Dea, Nora Paulson, Hope Constable, Sophie Brockman, Kailey Jones, Ryan Kilmer, Chyann Bain, and Emma Maassen. In 2018, the freshmen team’s “Dinorella” was selected as a Non-Performing Readers Theatre and in 2017, the varsity team performed “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon!”
    This is Nicholas Cordes’ and Evan Pattee’s third consecutive year being selected for All-State in Improv. From the 740 Improvisation Groups entered in district competition, only 25 of the most outstanding improvisations are chosen to perform and according to Craig Ihnen, Executive Director of the Iowa High School Speech Association, “Less than 10 percent of the time have groups made it so many years in a row. It is very, very unusual and something to be very proud of.”
    When asked what they thought about this accomplishment, Pattee stated, “The focus of our performances have always been about having fun together, so it’s a bit of a surprise. It’s humbling to know that we’ve set a school record and to be one of a very small, elite group of performers.”
    “It’s never been about making it to All-State. It’s been about doing our best for our team. Making All-State has been an extra add-on bonus,” said Cordes.
    The groups will perform at the All-State Speech Festival at Iowa State University on Sat., Feb. 16 for a Critic Judge who is a professional in that specific field. The top performance in each category will be awarded the Critic’s Choice banner and recognized as the best in the State of Iowa in that performance area.
    “It would be nice to win it,” said Cordes “but Critic’s Choice is very subjective and relies heavily on getting us getting a good draw. I try to focus on giving the best performance I can and feeling good about what we’ve done when we walk out of the room.”
    Performances are in the Scheman Building on the ISU campus. Spectators can purchase entrance bands for $8 at the door. Cordes & Pattee will perform their Improvisation at 10:55 a.m. and Readers Theatre’s Troubleshooting will be at 2:55 p.m. in Center II.
    The speech team, coached by Jim Ross, Amy Pattee and Amy Nissen, is preparing for their next performances at the District Individual contest to be held on February 23 at Atlantic High School.

 
 

 

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