Central’s Forensics speech team held their first round of auditions on Tuesday, Sept. 20 for the 2011-2012 season. Try outs were open to all students and were judged by Forensics coaches and current members.

In order to audition, students memorized two monologues and were asked to perform one in front of the judges. “The judges gave us a packet with different monologues from different categories such as humorous, serious, and informative. I ran over two and knew them really well,” said Kristin Collins, junior. Collins auditioned for the second time this year, and hopes to join Forensics because she has heard of the great experiences people have on the team.

Those auditioning were then asked to recite a monologue that they did not previously practice. “They gave me a monologue from a category I hadn’t prepared for,” said George Levy, sophomore. Levy has not auditioned for Forensics in the past, and despite the lack of preparation allowed for the second monologue, still feels confident in his performance.

Dan Cassin, senior, student judged the audition process. Having student judges is an important part in selecting successful members for the team. “We have really valuable input because we know how Forensics works and the skills kids need to have to be a good speaker,” Cassin said.

From the first round of auditions, selected students received callbacks to return for a second round of judged auditions. “We just want kids who can be eloquent and confident for our speaking events and convincing and real for our acting events,” Cassin said. After callbacks, the team will have a month of practice during which they will develop speeches, practice scenes, and memorize lines before they begin to compete in November.