The end of the season for large group speech means it is just the beginning of individual speech. Individual speech parts were selected in late January, and practices begin in early February. Individual and large group speech do not have the same categories but still incorporate many of the same elements. The events range from singing, acting, and even writing a speech or a script. Speech competitions consist of districts, state, and all-state.

“The biggest difference between individual and group is you do not have to rely on others, and you can schedule your own practices, which is convenient. I was inspired to try out for speech because last year there were a lot of good acts,” sophomore Emma Stadelmann said.

Speech offers an individualized opportunity to improve one’s abilities in singing, acting, and writing.

“I gained the skill to present myself in a clear and articulate way,” senior Caleb Burkin said. “ No matter what character you are, you have to be fully aware of what your body is doing at all times, which was not an easy thing to understand right away. It got me out of my comfort zone and in the end, it helped me grow.”

The scoring for districts, state, and all-state are divisions. Division I is the best score possible, Division II is the second best, and so on. The district competitions only include one judge, but the state competition includes three. For this reason, it is more difficult to advance to all-state than it is to advance to state. Nine Xavier large group speech events qualified to be nominated for all-state speech.

The Individual Events District Speech competition is Saturday, February 24 at CPU.

Erin Marti

A&E Writer