“Fears were overcome, Hopes we accomplished, and Dreams came true.” This would be the theme of The Wagner Oral Interp contest held at Wagner School on Monday, November 4th. You could feel the energy in the room as the students were ready to take the stage and present their performances. These kids have practiced all year long for this “Main Event” as we call it. This local meet is the meet that determines who will be continuing on in their Oral Interp Season. This is the meet where the judges choose who gets first place and who will represent Wagner in the Region Contest held in two weeks at Cedar Shores in Oakoma. With the pivotal moment being at hand, the kids were ready; they really came prepared and ready to compete.

The students have worked hard in earning their accomplishments this year. Plaques were given out to those students who were viewed as “above and beyond' this 2019 Oral Interpretation Season. Being awarded the “Most Improved Oral Interper” were Daniel Soukup and Trenton Rolston. These two boys have come a long way as they have practiced and earned many placings throughout the season. In comparison to the beginning of the season, it is amazing how far they have come and how they have overcome that nervousness of being in front of the crowd and accomplishing their goals and being comfortable in front of an audience. They have been such a great support for each other, it is amazing to see their growth; they are very deserving of this award.

The plaque given out to “The Most Dedicated” was given to Skyler Kourt. Skyler has been an excellent role model in leading her groups in their performances. She has worked hard on creating and recreating the reader’s theater she is in. Skyler is very dedicated to Oral Interpretation and she expects nothing but the best from herself and from her teammates. She is very deserving of this award and has earned it well.

Earning “The Most Valuable Oral Interper” was Kallen Kafka. Kallen has been in Oral Interp since he was an 8th Grader. He has grown in this activity and has really worked hard to be the amazing Oral Interper he is today. This season, he has had to shift gears a bit as he took on the Humorus category; which is a big change for him being in Drama last year. He is flexible in no matter what category he is performing. Not only is he in Humorous, but also, he is in two other categories, Reader’s Theater and Duet. He is one who is constantly trying to better himself as an Oral Interper and he strives to make the team better as he is encouraging and is constantly working for the betterment of the team. He has earned this award with all of his hard work and integrity as an Oral Interper. He has represented Wagner well this season.

The evening was filled with many great performances and many inspiring speeches. The competition was amazingly fierce. In the category of Poetry, Karly Reiter placed second with her performance of A Collection of Poems from “Bending The Universe.” In Duet, placing third was Caleb Zephier and Vincent Bechen performing “Better Football ThroughHigh School Chemistry.” Placing second in duet was Trenton Rolston and Daniel Soukup in their performance of “Body Odor; the Proactive People Repellant". In the Humorous Category, Monroe Kessler earned second place with her performance of “Cooking on The Street.” In the Drama category, the placings were very close; placing third was Mia Dion performing “Guilt,” and second place went to Karly Reiter with her performance of “I Knew A Boy.” In Reader’s Theater placing third was the group of Skyler Kourt, Monroe Kessler, Kendra Kreeger, Karly Reiter and Mackenzie Hollingsworth. Placing second was the Reader’s Theater of Jessica Kocer, Paige Anderson, and Olivia Breen.

Moving onto Regions and representing Wagner are all of the Interpers earning first place at this local contest. In the category of Reader’s Theater, the group of Kallen Kafka, Michelle Soukup, Mackenzie Roberts, and Daniel Soukup with their piece “Keeping Score.” These kids kept the audience on their toes and laughing while portraying a scene from the basketball bleachers. In the category of Non-Original Oratory, Ciara Nelson will be representing Wagner with her performance of “Marie Colvin- Our Mission is to report these Horrors of War with Accuracy and Prejudice.” This speech brings our attention to the realities journalists have to face in reporting our news. Taking us to regions in the Drama Category will be Jennifer Barnett with her performance of “The Glass Castle.” This piece opens us up to the reality of living with and being a part of a family with substance abuse. It is a memoir which Jennifer performs very well while pulling at the audience’s heart strings. In the Humorous Category, Wagner will have Kallen Kafka performing his piece, “Radio Days at Xyborg High.” This is a funny piece involving a radio host who has some wonderful comments in dealing with a basketball game. In the Poetry category, Ciara Nelson will be performing her piece, “Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls.” Ciara does a great job portraying what it is like to grow up and remain true to who you really are. Finally, in the Duet Category, we will have the Duet of Michelle Soukup and Kallen Kafka with their piece, “Trapped.” This piece leaves the audience feeling empathy for people being together, or trapped together in an elevator. These performance went above and beyond what we could have asked for. The hard work of these students was evident and very deserving to move on in this 2019 Oral Interpretation Season. We look forward to all of these performances as we move onto the Region Contest held on November 18th.