Lisbon Speech is gearing up for the upcoming speech season after holiday break.
Head coach Ellen Johanns said the team has a total of 47 students participating in eight different events this year.
Events include choral reading, reader’s theatre, television news, short film, ensemble acting, musical theatre, group improvisation and group mime.
“Kids are busy in a small town – They are involved in everything from athletics, to music and art commitments, to part time jobs,” Johanns said. “I’ve been very impressed by rehearsal attendance and dedication.”
Johanns said in years prior, they’ve had a lot of filmed categories they’ve competed in, but a lot of students are interested in performing live this year.
“We have about 20 brand new speech kids on the team, ninth grade through seniors,” Johanns said. “I am excited to have a choral reading and readers theatre entry again, as it’s been a few years since we’ve competed in those events, and I’m excited for the kids who have never been to contest to experience that.”
Johanns said her goal is always to instill a love for performance and to have all the performers come back for another season, regardless of the ratings they may receive.
“Speech is one of the few events where there truly is something for everyone, and I hope the kids are proud of the performances they leave on the floor, no matter where their season ends,” Johanns said.
She also noted this season is a perfect time for spectators to come to one of their performances, as most of their contests are really close to Lisbon this year.
“If you’ve ever wanted to see a whole bunch of talented kids in action for less than $5, this is your year,” Johanns said. “Check the Daily Pride the week of contests for a list of Lisbon’s performance times and locations.”
The team begins conference large group speech tournament Saturday, Jan. 14, at Central City. Their next competition takes them to Monticello for district speech tournament Saturday, Jan. 21, followed by state large group tournament Saturday, Feb. 4 at Cedar Rapids-Washington.
All State Large Group is slated for Saturday, Feb. 18, at Iowa State University in Ames.
Conference individual meet is Monday, Feb. 20, at Calamus-Wheatland.
The District individual contest is Saturday, Feb. 25, but Lisbon does not know where they’ll be assigned.
“We’re really hoping for Mount Vernon and that two-minute bus ride the day of competition,” Johanns said.
State individual contest is Saturday, March 11, at North Scott.
All State Individual speech contest is Monday, March 27 at University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.