North Scott Speech Team Sweeps at State!
- Madilyn Brus
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Last weekend, the North Scott Speech Team headed to state! With a call time of 6 am, most Speechies arrived one of two ways: completely ready, in their performance black, to take on the busy day of rehearsal and competition, or still in their PJs and curlers in their hair. They fired up two buses as the team consisted of 14 advancing teams qualifying for state at Clear Creek Amana High School. Some may be wondering, what is the Speech Team, and how does it work?
What Is Speech Team?
Speech Team is a form of competitive theatre with events such as group musical theatre, ensemble acting, improvisational acting, television news, radio broadcasting, readers' theatre, choral reading, one-act play, group mime, solo mime, and short film. Competitors spend a lot of time learning, rehearsing, and perfecting their event. All competitors are allowed to enter two events each; however, schools may enter any number of events. With a team of around 60 students, you can imagine that casting each student based upon their strengths and preferences does take some time, hard work, dedication, and organization.
Once at the competition, there are strict rules and social cues that must be followed by all participants and attendees. For example, a quiet environment is mandatory and enforced; no one sits closer to the performers than the judges, all attendees must enter the event room before the competitors; and no one is allowed to film without explicit permission from the Iowa High School Speech Association. As you can imagine, this takes an enormous amount of support and volunteers. Each room center must have three judges, but also a room chair, who is responsible for the smooth running of that center’s events, and a timer who times each event and stops the competing group if the time deadline is surpassed.
All-State
After performing for one judge at the district level and receiving a division one rating, Speechies moved on to the large group state competition. Here, there are three judges who not only rate the performance but also nominate groups to All-State. Groups must receive an overall score of one and two All-State nominations to be considered All-Staters.
This past Monday, North Scott received six All-State nominations. All-State speech nominations are divided into the categories of performing and non-performing. North Scott received just one All-State performing event in the category of group mime. This was the first time that our school performed mime, and they achieved the highest accolade. Along with one performing All-State, the team also received five non-performing nominations with two musical theatre groups, choral reading, one-act play, and television broadcasting. Along with bountiful All-State nominations, Natalie Sierk (pictured below) was asked to sing the national anthem at the 2026 All-State opening ceremony.
Speech competitions are nothing without the support of parents and fellow competitors who serve as an audience, but did you know anyone can watch them? The next speech competition that North Scott is attending is on February 28th, and is a wonderful opportunity to watch your peers compete in events individually.
This year's All-State participants who received two All-State achievements, bolded, include:
Group Mime “Behind Each Step”: Emmerson Plett, Isabella Suarez, and Sophia Nelson
Musical Theatre “Chicago”: Brayden Serrano, Brooklyn Lacher, and Natalie Sierk
Television News “WTCH”: Charli Conner, Eva Wyatt, Hannah Nelson, Mya Kelsey, and Taylor Murphy
One Act Play: “The Importance of Being Earnest”: Addyson Yanke, Brayden Serrano, Emma Zrostlik, Katelyn Peck, Riley Johnson, and Riley Plymale
Musical Theatre “Come From Away”: Addalie Reese, Addyson Yanke, Bryton Dougherty, Grady Kirst, Hayden Lacher, Jackson McCarthy, and Nora Davis
Choral Reading: Bella Riley, Brooklyn Lacher, Charlotte Madden, Emmerson Plett, Haidyn Koberg, Katelyn Peck, Kaitlyn Knepper, Lyla Johnson, Madilyn Brus, Madilynn Hillman, Mya Kelsey, and Riley Johnson
