It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Speech Season!

As 2023 comes to an end, the 2024 Speech (Forensics) season is just beginning! For people who don’t know, here is some basic information about this club. Speech is part of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech & Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA), and over 6,000 Wisconsin high school students from over 340 different high schools compete in their events annually. The season consists of three competitions: sub-district, district, and state (at UW-Madison every April). At each of these, the student is evaluated by an adjudicator and must receive a certain minimum score to advance to the next competition. There are sixteen different categories for students to compete in, ranging from original speeches to performance of literature.
Does this sound like something that you might be interested in? If so, you can join the HHS Speech (Forensics) team this year. We currently have about 15 students who compete in categories like prose and poetry reading, play acting, and radio news reporting. Some categories require memorization and acting, while others just require reading fluency and inflection for success. There are many opportunities to work alone, and a few categories that let you perform in a small group. There is definitely something for everyone- all you have to do is dig a little, and you’ll find a match for your interests and skills.
This year, things are looking a little different for the team, as I will be on maternity leave during most of our season; However, I am so lucky to have Mrs. Duffy (a seasoned Speech coach who did great things as the coach at Northwood for many years) coach the team in my absence. Any interested students can work with us to find a category and/or piece to perform- all you have to do is ask! Practices with Mrs. Duffy will start when we return from winter break, so those of you who are interested should start seriously thinking about what you’d like to do this year and set up a practice time with her. Our first meet is on Monday, February 19th at Drummond HS.
Still on the fence about joining? I will tell you that students that participate in speech really do enjoy it. It’s fun, flexible, and a great challenge! I will also say that colleges love to see this on admissions applications, as public speaking and communication is a very important life skill. Most students who join the speech team stay on it for all four years of high school, plus many colleges and universities have a speech club as well.
If you want to join or have any questions, please contact Ms. Pritchett or Mrs. Duffy. We’ll be happy to help you and also add you to our Google Classroom so you can stay up-to-date with our season!