Forensic s team acts up at meets
Hillsboro High School's forensic team has qualified in 11 events for the State Championship at Wichita East on May 7. They have also qualified in four events for the State Festival which is held this year at the same place on the same date.
The State Championship consists of students from class 3A schools competing in Public Speaking, Interpretative Events, and Acting Events. They only perform one time and are rated by the judges on their performances.
The State Festival, on the other hand, can be more nerve-wracking for competitors, because they perform in three preliminary rounds. If they make it to the top 12, they perform again. Then if they make the top six, they must do their routine one more time for the judges.
Terry Bebermeyer, who coaches forensics, said that last year, 18 students went to the state meet. A couple of them were awarded medals. He noted that Hillsboro has gone to the State Championship every year for the past six or seven years, and has had at least two medal winners each year.
Forensics students admit they have to squeeze time for this activity into their busy schedules by coming in before and after school and during learning support to receive coaching or assistance from Bebermeyer.
Gina Andrews is a senior and has participated in forensics for the past four years. She qualified for Festival during her freshman year and State Championships the last three years.
This year she qualified in Poetry with "The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died, but Teacher, You Went Right On."
"I like this poem because it allows me to use a lot of feeling." says Gina. "Forensics allows me to go out of my comfort zone, make new friends, and gives me good experience with public speaking."
Freshman Chelsea Bebermeyer qualified for State Championship at the Marion meet by memorizing and delivering a four-page informative speech about twins. She receives encouragement from friends and family members and says, "It helps a lot." She also qualified for Festival at the Abilene meet where she performed prose.
"One of the best things is leaving the room and knowing I've done a good job. It is so rewarding and exciting," acknowledges Chelsea. She enjoys watching the judges' faces to gauge the effectiveness of her performance.
The judges not only rate the performances but they also fill out critiques of each event.
"The judges try to help you get better," says Chelsea, and she uses their input to make each rendition of her piece better.
Bebermeyer says his main emphasis with students is to explain the various events, offer choices to those who participate, and guide them. Often he helps students refine and polish their speeches so they flow better. He sees many advantages to being involved in forensics.
It builds confidence as public speaking skills are rehearsed and delivered. Students also expand important organizational, research, and writing skills. And some people view forensics as an opportunity to hone their raw talents in acting.
Although 25-30 students are involved in forensics, often about half that number actually go to meets. Some people go to every meet and some are involved in only one or two. That flexibility works well for those students who are in other activities also.
Seventeen students from Hillsboro will compete at the Peabody meet from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 5. Their long hours of work and practice will be on display for the judges to review. And no matter what happens, new skills, new experiences, and new friends have been gained.
As Gina says, "It's a very rewarding experience."
