On Friday, Feb.10, the speech team at Hinsdale Central took a break from competitions to give students an in-school showcase. Performances took place during every period of the day. Students visited the auditorium during English class and some business classes.

The speech team currently consists of about 70 students from all different grade levels. Members chose one or two events for the season out of 14. The events range from original comedy, prose reading, informative speaking, and even dramatic act dueling. 

“Everyone should be able to find something that they enjoy,” said Jackie Vogel, junior. 

Most students have been practicing their piece since the beginning of the season which started the first weekend of November. Practice is about two hours a week and consists of a lot of independent work outside of practice to continue developing their speech.

“My favorite part of speech is going to practice and getting to laugh and have fun with my friends and teammates,” said Sarah Alamir, senior. “It is a really welcoming environment where I feel comfortable.”

The focus of Friday’s performance was to prepare the students to perform in front of others as well as to be able to communicate effectively to others, the main goal of the speech team. The team competed at Sectionals on Feb. 11, with the showcase allowing them another round of practice. They placed 1st at Sectionals. 

“We always appreciate the opportunity to perform in front of our friends and peers at school,” said Paul Woods, speech team coach. “We’re grateful that we have such good responsive audiences throughout the day.”

The team can now look forward to competing at state this coming weekend in Peoria, Ill. To keep up with the team’s progress you can look here.