It’s often stated that public speaking is the number one fear in America. Is it yours? It may have been a fear for The Wagner Oral Interp students at the beginning of the season, but not any more! These kids came to their local meet polished and ready to go. The meet was held on November 1st. Each student who received first place in their category will be moving onto the 2A Regions Contest held in Oakoma on November 15th.

Opening the show was the Reader’s Theater of Trenton Rolston, Macee Stimpson, Jackson Rolston, and Presley Slaba. Their piece is “Caution: Librarians Ahead.” The kids entertained the audience as two principals went through a series of humorous interviews to fill their open Librarian position.

Kathryn Doom then took the stage with a great performance of The 2005 Steve Jobs Commencement Address. This light hearted, yet serious speech allowed the audience to really feel the highs and lows of one’s life. Kathryn did a great job captivating the audience.

The Duets for the evening we started with Macee Stimpson and Trenton rolston as they performed, “Help Desk.” They kept the audience laughing while portraying a funny account of needing help with a package but just not really getting that help. Then, Jackson Rolston and Presley Slaba presented their duet of, “Almost.” This duet starts out as a humorous encounter of two co-workers and then takes a twist at the end making the audience question what really is important in life.

Jennifer Barnett then took the stage with a beautiful poetry performance presenting poetry pieces empowering Women. Her heart-felt presentation was well presented and left the audience wondering what life would be like had women not stood up for their rights.

In Humorous, Jackson Rolston took on his brother, Trenton Rolston. First to perform was Jackson with “Bobby Wilson Can Eat His Own Face.” Jackson had to take on many different characters throughout this piece and kept the audience laughing. Trenton’s piece was titled, “Geek Fight.” Trenton kept the audience engaged as he gave a funny presentation on how opposite opinions can take a drastic turn.

In the Drama category, Jennifer Barnett performed first with her piece, “I’ll always Know Where You Are.” Jenny captivated the audience with her ability to portray a character who is in a struggling relationship and how substance abuse can change even the greatest relationships. Kathryn Doom did an excellent job with her piece, “Normalcy.” She showed the audience an inside look of what life was like while living with schizophrenia.

Ending the show was Presley Slaba with her rendition of “Mockingjay.” This category is storytelling. In storytelling, the SDHSAA chooses a topic, and the students have to find a story to meet and portray that topic. The theme this year is “hope.” Presley did a great job expressing hope in her piece as she expresses how love can be kept alive through that hope.

Both Coach Mudder and myself are very impressed and pleased with these kids! It has been a great season so far. They have worked extremely hard at perfecting their pieces and we couldn’t be more proud of them! We are looking forward to moving onto Regions on Nov. 15th.

Moving onto regions November 15 will be:

Jennifer Barnett in Poetry and Drama Kathryn Doom in Non-O Trenton Rolston in Humor Jackson Rolston and Presley Slaba in Duet Presley Slaba in Storytelling Trenton Rolston, Presley Slaba, Jackson Rolston and Macee Stimpson in Reader’s Theater.