The 2018 Wagner Oral Interp season opener was held on Saturday, October 6th. It was a successful day for the Wagner Oral Interpers. Winner is always the first round of Oral Interp competition every year for Wagner. The teams attending this meet included Lyman, Sunshine, Wagner, White Lake, Stanley County and Winner. This is a great meet to get the Interpers season underway. Students were ranked with a Superior, Excellent or Good rating; with Superior being the best you can achieve at this particular meet. The students have been diligently preparing in anticipation for this meet. The Wagner Oral Interpers started practicing for the 2018 Oral Interp season in September. The students had to decide what events they were going to represent Wagner in. The different events include Serious/Drama, Story Telling, Duet, Humorous, Poetry, Non-Original Oratory and Reader’s Theater. These events are all very different and each need to have a student who can relate to their chosen category in their unique way. The students had to perform their pieces in front of different judges two different times in the single and duet categories. The Reader’s Theaters each performed once. This was a great meet to attend, especially because this was a smaller meet and the Oral Interpers got to see the presentations from other students in other schools in a smaller school setting. This is a great experience to not only get feedback from a judge, but also to work through some of the kinks that they may have had within their performances. Wagner will be on the road again competing in Sioux Falls Lincoln on October 13, followed by Harrisburg on October 15 and Sioux Falls Washington on October 19. The Wagner Local Oral Interp Contest will be held at Wagner Community School on October 29. The following students received these rankings at the Winner Meet in their given categories: Drama:

· Michaela Kokes – “Post Mortem” - Superior

· Kallen Kafka – “The Big C” - Superior

· Olivia Breen – “I’ll Always Know Where You Are” - Superior Humor:

· Grant Namminga – “Bein’ Crazy” - Superior

· Tex Langdeaux – “How I Got My Superpowers” - Excellent Non-Original Oratory:

· Jessica Kocer – “It’s Not Easy But, It’s Worth It” - Excellent

· Ciara Nelson – “The Parent Lottery” - Excellent Duet:

· Paige Anderson and Jessica Kocer – “The Draft Board” - Excellent

· Ciara Nelson and Michaela Kokes – “He’s Mine” - Superior

· Mackenzie Hollingsworth and Madison Buck – “Stop Talking” - Good

· Michelle Soukup and Kallen Kafka – “Sandwich Bags” - Superior

· Alicia Applegate and Skyler Kourt – “BAAAAGELS” - Excellent Reader’s Theater:

· “Sticky Buns” – Kallen Kafka, Michaela Kokes, Rose Eitemiller, Michelle Soukup, Mackenzie Roberts and Ciara Nelson - Superior

· “Christmas Detectives” – Alicia Applegate, Skyler Kourt and Corbin Weber - Excellent